I have a 2003 Max that I bought new, recently the passenger speakers are cutting in and out randomly. This has never happened before. It's been as a polar bears **** here and I belive this is the culprit but don't know where to start. I searched about is but there wasn't much help in those. Thanks for the help.

 

Factory Bose? If so, then it is a common problem. Main reason why I got rid of mine.

 

Not Bose, just standard stereo. A swap might be in order but I dodn't want to spend money on that. Any advice?

 

Odds are its the speaker. Probably the cone has self distructed and it can appear to sound intermittent. Going on probability, the radio/head unit is a longer lasting part. You will have to take the door panel off to check this out.

 

^^^^WRONG

I guarantee it's the HU. Time for a replacement.

I have an inexpensive one for sale if you're interested.

 

I have the same problem with my 03 and it is the Bose system, cuts in and out some time just play on one side of the car and not the other the cd payer works sometimes sometimes it doesn't. How do I fix this? Is the only way replacing the head unit with an after market one?

 

Bose or non-Bose, it doesn't matter. The head unit is the culprit.

SOME people have been able to open up their decks and repair them. (The results have been intermittent, some decks go back to acting the same way after just a couple weeks) I've seen DIY guides floating around the forum. If you want to attempt this, you're going to have to search for the guides. But your chances of fixing it 100% forever, is just about 0%.

My recommendation - based on the countless systems I've worked on, is to replace the deck altogether. Your aftermarket head unit will make the rest of your system sound BETTER. It will give you less trouble in the long run, and the added features you'll get over the OEM deck (Bluetooth, aux in, iPod, etc etc etc) make the money spent well worth it.

 

What head unit (brand) do you recommend, and I am sure I can find out what harness i will need to use by using the search. Thanks

 

All depends on your requirements/preferences. Do you need Bluetooth? Aux in? iPod?

Stay away from Sony or JVC. Alpine, Pioneer, Eclipse all make great decks. Panasonic is also up and coming if you want a double din.

Browse on Crutchfield. They give you the dash kit and antenna adapter for installation. They will also advise you that you need the PAC OEM-NIS2 wire harness.

But in reality, depending on the preout voltage of the HU you pick, you either need the Metra 70-7551 or the PAC OEM-NIS2.

 

Probably the speakers. I had the same problem when it was cold. Got an aftermarket HU, same problem. Pulled a speaker from the driver's side (which the original owner had replaced but just on the driver's side) and hooked it up on the other side and it worked fine. Put the rear speaker from the driver's side in the front passenger side and got a pair of 6.5" Alpines for the rear.

Tremendous improvement in sound. Much louder and a lot more bass even without an amp or sub.

 

Yeah, well that's what I thought. It was the speakers.

Easy enough to test anyway. Door panels come off in literally 90 seconds. Take a speaker from the driver's side, hook it up to the passenger side and see if it works.