gqmac2

Gang, I need some information. Is it possible to replace the Bose head unit in a I35? I have heard so many stories that I don't know what is true or not. I have heard its linked to the security system, removing it will cause the speakers in the car to not play at all, if I replace it the controls for the steering wheel will not be functional anymore. Can someone please tell me if its possible to replace the unit???

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

Yes, It's possible. Exact same thing as doing it in an 02 Maxima. I'm actually in the process of doing it now.

Just get a dash kit - I went with the Metra kit (for the maxima), get the bose adapter - (PAC ROEM-NIS2), and a Nissan Antenna adapter. There are no security system issues.

I'm now trying to get someone to paint the dash kit to match the interior before I order my HU. As for the steering wheel controls - no they won't work - but you can get the PAC SWI-X adapter and make them work with your new HU.

Do some reading through the FAQ and whatnot. It should answer most of your questions.

gqmac2

Thanks Meta, I am having the same problem with the new Head Unit Infiniti replaced in my car under warranty. Do you know if the warranty of my car would be affected by me replacing the head unit? It doesn't add up. Any cd (regardless whether its new, old, scratch, smooth, dirty, clean, cd-r, cd-rw.) will skip as though the antishock mechanism it faulty. I have trouble shot and honestly I am just tired of dealing with it. For the money I am paying for this car, the radio should at least be functional.

ABS

Also, PAC makes a product called the SWI-X that can be used to re-enable the steering wheel controls. This product sends an IR signal to the aftermarket HU so you may want to purchase a HU with an IR remote if you want to enable that function again. On my 2K2 Maxima, I also had a 3rd plug going into my Bose HU. This plug went directly to the steering wheel controls. It included a wire that had to be re-grounded to re-enable my turn signal switch and the other buttons on the steering wheel like the Trip computer button. I think the wire was Brown/White but you should double check that. It is not a big deal to tap into it and re-ground it.

Definitely do not use the Scosche kit. Nearly everyone is having problems with it. The Metra kit is cheap and works well.

Last, if you are planning on replacing your speakers too, it is possible to put "jumpers" between the input wires and the output wires to/from the Bose amp in the trunk. If you do that, you can use a regular harness adapter, plug your new HU into that harness, jumper the wires in the trunk, and then use the amp in the new HU to power your speakers. I decided to try this out until I got my new amp installed and I can tell you that it is working just fine for the moment. I used T-Taps so that I could easily remove the jumpers later if necessary.

P.S. I had my Bose HU replaced 4 times and the last couple of times I had the same problem as you. CD's skip all the time - even if they are brand new. Go figure! I now am using an Alpine 9813 HU and I couldn't be happier.

Good luck!

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

I haven't had any problems with my OEM HU, I'm just changing it out for SQ reasons.

As for the warranty - the only thing that will be affected will be your warranty on stereo components. Which makes sense, since you're replacing them. Everything else should still be covered.

gqmac2

Sounds like a winner to me then. I think I will do this.

gqmac2

Thank god, finally someone that knows what I am going through. I I have taken every precaution I could think of and now I am just feed up. If you don;t mind me asking, What head unit did you end up going with? And did you have a dask kit designed so your radio and car would not look tampered with?

Maxima 504

I got my Bose HU replaced with an Alpine cda-9811 and i didn't need that wiring kit that everyone thinks that you need for $60... Its a waste of money... you can wire the speakers to run so that the internal amp inside the HU isnt on... now my Bose speakers sound better than before....

gqmac2

Maxima 504, can you give me a diagram of what you did with your system. I am debating on getting either the Alpine CDA7897 or the Kenwood KDC-MP925

ABS

I went with the Alpine 9813. This HU is nice because it supports built in 3-way active x-overs and has an adjustable frequency 5 band parametric eq and it has time correction for 6 channels. Once I find the time to install my new amp, perhaps tomorrow, I'll start running the front channels in active mode instead of passive. I don't know how the OEM Bose amp would sound if you just used the line outs from the new HU. I had the impression that the Bose amp uses a floating ground differential signal and I'm certain that most head units do not support that type of line level output by default. On the other hand, I believe that some of the Eclipse models might . . .

gqmac2

Please don't tell me the Bose system in our rides are 3 way xover. Man I am not believing this. So I will surely have to purchase amplifiers and crossovers and new speakers. Man I man as well gut the whole system and say screw the Bose components.

If I can just find a head unit that produces good sounds (while keeping the bose sub, amp, and components) that will utilize the steering wheel controls I will be happy.

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

I'm not sure what you're fretting over. If all you want to do is change the HU and keep the bose speakers/amp then get the PAC bose adapter (ROEM-NIS2) and get the PAC SWI-X so you can use your steering wheel controls. Done.

gqmac2

Meta, I am not fretting, I am just concerned that this is going to be a bigger project than I expected. If the Bose system uses active x-overs then I would have to run a loop to bypass them. Why? I installed a stereo setup in a few vehicles with Bose systems back in my basshead days. I remember Bose has a signal that almost prevents sound from playing through the speakers of any other HU beside the Bose. Even with the PAC adapter. (me and crutchfield went through this growing pain several times. lol) Which means I would have to bypass these. And man it is a nuaissance (and a pain in the ***) to do. I mean if I do all this, I may as well just replace all of the speakers (since the x-overs are close to the speakers.) and add amplifiers (because we know the head unit power is not going to be enough for the speaker upgrades.)

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

Odd. More than a few people have installed new HU's using the adapter while retaining all the other bose related components. And I believe the active crossover that ABS was referring to was on his new Alpine HU..

gqmac2

Thats what I said, especially when I had to figure out what was going wrong because I was doing the install work for customer's. I narrowed it down to a "security signal" or a a voltage problem. (which I tested and the voltage was good all 5 times I installed aftermarket head units in place of Bose.) I just hope it does not happen to me again when I yank this Bose out.

Maxima 504

I did not used the 60 convertor when the shop installed mine... Dion Pearl96Max told me that you do not have to use it, it really isn't necessary... When the shop installed my CDA-9811 they did it by bypassing the HU internal amp... Now the sounds quality out my stock Bose speakers is perfect for now, and they are very loud, crisp, and clear... especially after i fooled around with the x-over in my alpine...

ABS

I am sorry if I caused any confusion. The 3-way x-over I mentioned in my ealier post is in the Alpine 9813 HU. The OEM Bose setups uses a passive x-over on the A-Pillar tweeters and no passive components at all on the door woofers (they run full range). The Bose woofer on the rear deck probably has an active electronic low pass filter but I am not positive about this. Hope that helps to clarify things a bit.

My only other comment is that when I performed my upgrade, I did the speakers first then, about a month later, I installed the new HU. The built in amplifier in the Alpine HU seems to be MUCH more powerful than the OEM Bose amp - it plays much louder with my upgraded speakers than the Bose amp did.

gqmac2

Just out of curiousity, is the amp in the trunk running the 6 1/2" ND woofer only or does it run all the speakers?

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

Amp in the trunk powers the speakers. If I can remember correctly, when I removed the bose sub, I think there's a small amp built into the bottom of it to power that.

gqmac2

YES! This is good news indeed.

ABS

Right, the Bose amp in the trunk is a 4 channel amplifier. It sends one positive and one negative speaker level output to each corner of the car. If you want to use the built in amp in an aftermarket HU instead of the Bose amp, you can do this by using a wiring adapter at the HU and then disconnecting the Bose amp in the trunk. Then, install "jumper" wires between the line coming from the HU (originally the line level input to the Bose amp) and the speaker level outputs (originally from the Bose amp). By doing this, you won't have to run any new speaker wires and you get to use the amp in your HU instead of the Bose amp and you don't have to spend $60 on the special PAC adapter . . .

hokie1525

How can I tell if its the Brown/White or not? And you're saying it only needs to touch some metal to work?