How-To: Install External Amp with BOSE AMP

[zoomjriverszoom]

Tools Needed

1. 14 mm socket
2. 10 mm deep socket
3. Precision flat head screwdriver
4. Socket Wrench, preferably 3/8 drive w/ extension
5. Wire Strippers
6. Wire Crimper

Preparation

• Make sure you have enough room to open all doors completely
• If you are working in a garage or crowded area, make sure you have an area clear for storing the front seat(s) and an unobstructed path to that area

How-To

(1) Locate the 4 trim pieces over the bolts connected to the seat rails. Remove those trim pieces.

• Be careful taking the trim pieces off as they are delicate and will easily break. I ended up not putting them back on and just put them in a safe place until I need/want to put them on.

(2) Slide the seat all the way back & use the 14 mm socket to remove the bolts. Slide the seat all the way forward and repeat the process for the 2 rear bolts.

• TIP: use the socket wrench to torque loose the bolts and then use a power drill with a 3/8 socket drill bit to remove the bolts quickly

(3) Use the precision screwdriver to disengage the delicate locking tabs on the 3 sets of wires going into the wire harness underneath the driver side seat

• You will need to use extreme care and be relatively agile to easily remove these clips without snapping the locking tabs or getting very frustrated...I did both (chair)
• TIP: mark the 3 sets of wires to easily identify where they go when putting everything back together

(4) Now, if memory serves me right, the seat is ready to be removed. This is done by moving the seat almost all the way forward and the seatback almost straight up. Put a blanket or something over the door in order to protect the trim from being scratched

(5) On the BOSE amp there are two wire harnesses connected...the one we are working with is on the right. Remove the harness by pressing the tabs on the upper and lower part of the harness and wiggle it out. There should be electrical tape wrapped around the wires we need to work with so very carefully unwrap the tape about 2"-3" to expose the wires. Do this very carefully

(6) For this next step you will need 5 quick splice female quick connect doohickes (yes, that is a technical term...jk). This is the best way to not completely cut the factory wires and still get the job done while looking professional. You will need to splice the following wires in order to connect the RCA adapter...

L-: yellow/lt blue stripe R-: white/light blue stripe
L+: brown/light blue stripe R+: yellow/green stripe
remote: practically solid light blue

(8) I will add how I installed my amp under the passenger seat after removing the BOSE factory sub (because you will inevitably blow it if you keep it in the loop). This allows you to run the RCA's and remote wire directly over to the passenger side and only have to worry about running speaker wire all the way back. This also allows you to run a shorter power wire and easier grounding for the amplifier. I did this by removing the back seat and then two clips holding the carpet down. The rear seat is removed by pulling up quickly on the driverside and passenger side and two release two tabs and then pulling the seat forward. If you have any questions on how to do this, let me know and I will post that additional how-to.

 

[numbnuts22715]

awesome writeup!
cant wait to see the 2nd part of this howto

 

[R-X-R]

lol.,,a nautica.,.

 

[Etrruyol]

You may know

You may know by a handful the whole sack.--------------------------------------------------- Pet products, dog bed, pet supply wow power level, WoW Power Leveling,

 

[numbnuts22715]

I did this on my ms3 a while back, and for some reason, the lights in the stereo all dimmed, so its somewhat hard to read at night. Does anyone know why this may have happened?

Thanks,
Charles

 

[shoogerfree]

So, are you no longer using the factory amp or sub? Are the wires you're splicing into before or after the the factory amp? Where is the factory amp?

 

[mdavis]

Where is the factory amp?

under the drivers seat

 

[Abilor]

(8) I will add how I installed my amp under the passenger seat after removing the BOSE factory sub (because you will inevitably blow it if you keep it in the loop). This allows you to run the RCA's and remote wire directly over to the passenger side and only have to worry about running speaker wire all the way back.

I will be doing this soon. My concern at this point is blowing the factory subs. My plan is to install a Boston Acoustics 12" woofah, and a JL slash 500/1 v2. Later plans include a car PC, so for now, the goal is to just power the amp and tap signal off of the bose pre-amp. Power is its own thing, my question is about the tap: I will tap pre-amp, and send the signal via RCA to the JL. From there, I will set the head unit bass levels fairly low, probably AC2 and BASS: 3 or some s***. This will give a wee bit of punch out of the stock setup, and from there, I will have the amp juice up the signal to the woofah. I also plan to get the remote bass knob, so I can juice it in traffic (my old setup required parking and setting gain and volume, not so bad, but this should be better).

So if I set HU levels low, won't that keep the stock speakers safe, and let the boom-boom out of the box with my amp levels?

 

[zoomjriverszoom]

So, are you no longer using the factory amp or sub? Are the wires you're splicing into before or after the the factory amp? Where is the factory amp?

Sorry it took so long to get back to you on this question...

I'm no longer using the factory sub because it's not needed with an aftermarket sub.

the wires I splice are before the factory bose amp...my reasoning (although it's not confirmed, just my assumption) the frequencies are "more pure" coming straight from the headunit before getting cut/slashed/messed up by the factory Bose amp...just gives more bass control & better frequency to the aftermarket amp/sub while still preserving the factory Bose speakers quality.