I am going to purchase a new hu to replace the crappy bose in my 2k max. i read the faq's but i didnt really think they ended conclusively. what do i need for wiring? i know the bose system is pretty crazy with amps at the speakers and stuff, so i was wondering what part number i need to hook this up. i've heard about the pac adapter but wasnt sure if that was outdated because most of the posts were from like 2002. i also saw some posts about a certain metra wiring harness but i did not know if that handled the fact that the signal leaves the bose hu unamped and gains power at the speaker amps.

another twist on this is the fact that the hu i'm planning on getting (kenwood dpx 501 or 701 -not sure yet) has the capability to send the signal unpowered as well. i thought that this might eliminate the need for any kind of adapter like tha pac because it should just be able to use an harness that plugs the normal powered lines from the hu. i dont know i guess i'm a bit of a noob, so please help me.

also..someone said that you COULD simply send a powered signal to the bose amps and that they would increase the power on top of that, but then other people said this would damage the speakers which makes sense to me.

i plan on replacing the whole system at some point but i figured i would take just do the hu for now because i heard that makes a big difference. and if all i need is a simple harness that would be great (low cost) so please let me know what i would need to connect this.
thanks

 

Car Audio FAQ sticky. Page 2. Post by yours truly.

 

Wow, another one.

 

wow kpr that was very helpful. i totally missed that post.
just a few more questions-

what is considdered low voltage..and better yet what is high enough?

and also option 1 from your post that includedd the risk of burning out the amps.. if i wired it that way and turned the powered signal off then wouldnt that do the same thing without taking up preouts? just wondering thanks.

 

Your Kenwood has a decent enough preout voltage.

 

ok. but just confirming: the 701 has 5v outs but the 501 is only 2v. is 2 enough?

 

I havent dealt with much Kenwood at all in all my installs, but no, most of the 2v decks I have done have not been loud enough for the customers wants/needs. 5 volts on the other hand would definitely be enough.

There is no way to turn the 'powered signal off' to turn the high level outputs into low level. I think you are confused. This feature turns the high level output completely off, as in no sound whatsoever, so extra running circuits inside the deck dont create excess noise. Second of all, you aren't "taking up" preouts. There is no other use for front and rear preouts other than to power your mids/highs , so there is no need for both high level and low level outputs from the deck simultaneously.

With the 5 volts, get the Metra 70-7551.
With only 2 volts, in your situation Id probably wire it up like a normal head unit. You said you want to replace the speakers at some point anyway, so this install is essentially temporary. You wont blow up the Bose that quickly as long as you dont blast the **** out of it, but be warned you wont be able to crank it up all the way, at all, if you do it this way....being that your stock Bose will then essentially be amplified twice, itll get loud at a very low volume # on the headunit.

 

ok thanks. yes, i was confused. i looked it up again and it says 'sp off (flat)' which would be no signal at all as you said.

maybe i should just go for the 701 -even though i was planning on the 501. the only differences are the voltage of preouts and number (only 2 pair in 501) and the 'g analyzer' that calculates horsepower and stuff- i wasnt really interested in that stuff but it looks like the best way to go if i'm planning on running my stock sps for a while.

 

does the metra harness use 1 pair of rca's or 2? i was under the impression that it needed 2 but the picture looks like it would just take 1. can anyone clarify this? thanks!

 

70-7551 takes two pairs of RCA's...front and rear

 

my car is 1989 maxima with bose system.　Some days ago, the stereo did not work. So I bought one new hu to replace it. I bought harness too.
But when I connect the new unit, it does not work,either.
I test the plug with multimeter. It shows that the power/acc and the batter + are both 12V. so, what should i do next?
please help me.

 

another thing, i can not find Car Audio FAQ sticky. Page 2. how can i find it?

 

Ok, I find it, car audio faq sticky. But I think I wired right all according of indicator from the diagram. But the new HU does not work. Why?two question:
1, I think the new hu should work with no sound output even though only connecting the acc/ignition,battary and ground. I think it is a easy method to test the hu. But it does not work. Maybe my new hu is broken?
2, I think there should be a voltage between battary and ground. But I test it using multimeter, it shous 0.01 or 0.02. Is it probably correct?
Anyone please help me.
Thanks for reply.

 

Thank kpr10is very much. I figure the problem out with the instuction from kpr10is.

 

So with a metra kit, it would be plug n play like? plug into the 2 preouts of your aftermarket unit.

from what it looks like you need to butt connect them together color to color of the existing harness?

would this option be deemed the easiest way for a noob to get a HU in a bose?

 

Yea, plug and play for the preouts. You do have to butt connect the power/ground, etc by matching colors.

Yea, it is easiest

 

GREAT!

idiot proof harness i guess. how much would one of these harness run on average so i can know if its a rip off price or not.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...V36804953_.jpg

from that picture i probaly have to match output wires as well then... I have no problem doing that just wanted to know how much is involved.

 

You're not matching output wires, you need to color match the power wires.

 

that picture shows 7 wires total. given that fact i need + / - and 4 speaker wires that totals 6... is the 7th wire an extra ground? also there are 2 grey and 2 black. i'm assuming 2 blacks /grounds red/power yellow,orange/front grey's/rear.

is that picture of what i'm getting exactly? reason why i'm asking is because i dont want to run into any issues.

 

+12, ground, accessory, power antenna, etc.
Take a picture of the harness you receive if you're really having an issue. I have no idea why there's a gray wire hanging in that picture.