Please help me with hooking up my amp to the stock bose system!

[LukeP]

One problem I have however is since i'm using the stock radio the bass that is going through my line converter is the very high level base. I'm going to need to purcahse an equalizer in the future to filter out the higher level stuff and boost the lower level's.

I'm a little worried about the sound quality of the bass coming from the stock radio + LOC. Do you think this is because your particular LOC or does the stock bose system output comes frequency clipped? If so then I have to seriously consider replacing the whole factory system

or maybe get an amp with an adjustable crossover and set it to its lowest point...

 

[Nuffflavor]

You probably can do that LukeP, but it depends on what the owner is trying to accomplish. All I am doing is adding a sub.... or more of..... replacing that Bose underseat want-a-be bandpass midrange speaker with a real subwoofer. The amp I bought does not have enuff CHANNELS to juice the remaining Bose system... which frankly is not THAT bad. So, I am leaving the Bose Amp, and planning to take the Bose Sub out the loop and use its wires for my aftermarket amp inputs.

 

[justinpj]

LukeP,

I'm not sure if the frequency is clipped or not on the Bose system. It is a possibility that the LOC that I have hooked up is a POS. What would you guys recommend brand wise for a LOC? The sound level of the subwoofers aren't up to what they should be either in my opinion (again, crappy LOC). I have a 1600 watt amp pushing two 12's so it should be hitting fairly hard in the lower bass range.

 

[Nuffflavor]

Seriously, this was REALLY not that hard. It took maybe 15 minutes total with a friend to grab the cable on the other side. Once in the engine bay, the heat shield needs to be removed with the 2 plastic gray caps. Then it is very easy to locate the grommet and wire coming through. Route it behind the shield, using zip ties to attach it to various points. I used flex-zoom to protect the wire form heat/sharp objects. The power wire then pops out just around the brake fluid reservoir. You do not need to remove the wiper assembly. You run it around the outside aspect of the battery box and enter it under the front/R corner.

Ahhhhhh....ecniemann...U make it sound so easy . I have not turned my back on your suggested power route. Matter-of-fact, If you looked at my mounted AMP & CAP pics, you'll see that the cap is on the passenger side also, which would make you passenger amp-power cable run the best option! (straight down the right side) The cap would be first component inline with the actual amp connected to the pos. post on cap. I will probably verify/try your suggestion 1st since I do not have to remove the wiper assembly.

I will perform/take pics this weekend. I do have a Nav system (DVD in glove box) so an extra 5 mins to disconnect that.

 

[ecniemann]

Ahhhhhh....ecniemann...U make it sound so easy . I have not turned my back on your suggested power route. Matter-of-fact, If you looked at my mounted AMP & CAP pics, you'll see that the cap is on the passenger side also, which would make you passenger amp-power cable run the best option! (straight down the right side) The cap would be first component inline with the actual amp connected to the pos. post on cap. I will probably verify/try your suggestion 1st since I do not have to remove the wiper assembly.

I will perform/take pics this weekend. I do have a Nav system (DVD in glove box) so an extra 5 mins to disconnect that.

I'll take pics of my engine bay when I get home if that will help, to show you how I routed the wire without removing the wiper assembly. That link I posted illustrates perfect how to route it through the firewall though. I'd think if I had routed it bad, it would have burned by now. It's been in there for almost 2 years now though with no problems. Feel free to PM me with any other questions with your install.

 

[LukeP]

That link I posted illustrates perfect how to route it through the firewall though.

I checked that link over and over but all I see is how to get through the firewall by going through the wiper trim and down on the passenger side, NOT on the driver side past the heat shield/brake reservoir. I also saw some molex wiring and some fiberglass tweet making, but again no driver's side route.

 

[Nuffflavor]

LukP,

You got something mixed up. Ecniemann has been explaining the passenger side power route through/behind the glove compartment box. DublinDapper is the one who has routed the power cable on the driver's side. As far as I have searched on these forums, all the PICS and Explaining on POWER routing has ALL been on the behind-the-glove-box compartment / passenger side. DublineDapper said about routing through the driver's side wheel well...inwhich you would have to remove the front driver's wheel / inner coverings to get to the wire route on that side (I did that type of install on my Nissan Spec V).

 

[LukeP]

ah, thanks for clearing that up. I guess either way is kind of a pain. Still wouldn't mind some pics of where its going through though!

 

[ecniemann]

Pics

These are in order, from R to L.

 

[ecniemann]

Last two.

 

[Nuffflavor]

Kewl... thanks for the pics Ecniemann. I Am buying a Hamster today to help me with that tight install... <:-O. LOL. I also have shielding for that power line and will do same as you. Will keep ya'll updated with pics.

 

[LukeP]

Last two.

WELL PLAYED, SIR (yippy)

 

[ecniemann]

WELL PLAYED, SIR (yippy)

Thanks! Hope it helps. That last picture is of the grommit. You cannot see it in the pic, but there is a little "square" above the stock harness in the rubber that I cut to run the wire through. It is very thin.

 

[meicalnissyen]

ok look i can hook up the sub to the amp, the cap to the amp, but how the hell do i wire all that to the stock bose system??? I have an adjustable line output convertor to plug my RCA cables into. what wires do i hook the 4 input wires on the convertor to? on the convertor there is white, white with black, gray, and gray with black. Please someone break this s*** down barney style for me!

follow me here barney style

HU has rca output
amp is under seat with rca inputs


how about replace the stock amp with a nice 4 ch, feed it with the stock wiring that is right there (mebbe beef up the 12v+)
get a small class d mono, mount it there also and run the speaker leads to either the stock sub location with a better driver, or a separate sub box
throw your kappa's in the doors and voila

to easy to be true. I stand ready to be shot down with those pesky facts that I am ignorant of

 

[Nuffflavor]

My Amp to Bose System

Alright peeps,

All the previous info on the Bose system wires are correct.
Ecniemann suggested power route is good/correct.

Everyone has their own system setup / modifications, So I hope this verified information with pictures will at least help you in your connections, if you decide to tap into your Bose system rather than change every thing out.

Ecniemann, I was hunting for those two screws to remove the glove box like a 4 year old in a square mile easter egg hunt . I googled [uninstall MS3 Glovebox] and found out those two screws where hiding in the upper trim.
Everyone else... When routing power cable... Make sure you cut around the knob on the gorment and not just the knod if you are using 4 gage.... very tight with lube. My amp pwr cable was 17'... just enuff with non-2-spare after running across engine comparment to capacitor in MS3 trunk. I had to buy a $24 cap install kit to use those wires for amp pos term to capacitor.

AFTER MARKET AMPLIFIER TURN WIRE
The Bose amp.... motha to get to.... has two plugs. The biggest plug has a SOLID BLUE wire in its plug... that is the wire you need to connect your Amp turnon wire too. (easy to remember Blue wire to Blue wire). I scarped off the shielding on that blue wire like broken scales on a rotten fish....#*$#@ another motha install.

BOSE SUBWOOFER
Easier install. You cannot see the wire color in picture, but BLUE/WHITE is POS and GREY/WHITE is neg. I unplugged the Bose wires, cut off plug, and splice my LOC wires to it. My LOC is a 4 channel LOC, and I only needed two channels, so as you can see, the other 2 LOC channels are not used in my installation. NOTE: On the other side of the BOSE blu/wht-gry/wht plug, the wire are red and green.

Other than that I lost 2 crews in engine compartment trying to install Fuse holder, broke (accidently stepped on) a siding cover secure pin, and kept pulling out subwoofer box and trunk cover mat due to forgetting to route another wire under the rear seats.

 

[Nuffflavor]

Alright peeps,

All the previous info on the Bose system wires are correct.
Ecniemann suggested power route is good/correct.

Everyone has their own system setup / modifications, So I hope this verified information with pictures will at least help you in your connections, if you decide to tap into your Bose system rather than change every thing out.

Ecniemann, I was hunting for those two screws to remove the glove box like a 4 year old in a square mile easter egg hunt . I googled [uninstall MS3 Glovebox] and found out those two screws where hiding in the upper trim.
Everyone else... When routing power cable... Make sure you cut around the knob on the gorment and not just the knod if you are using 4 gage.... very tight with lube. My amp pwr cable was 17'... just enuff with non-2-spare after running across engine comparment to capacitor in MS3 trunk. I had to buy a $24 cap install kit to use those wires for amp pos term to capacitor.

AFTER MARKET AMPLIFIER TURN WIRE
The Bose amp.... motha to get to.... has two plugs. The biggest plug has a SOLID BLUE wire in its plug... that is the wire you need to connect your Amp turnon wire too. (easy to remember Blue wire to Blue wire). I scarped off the shielding on that blue wire like broken scales on a rotten fish....#*$#@ another motha install.

BOSE SUBWOOFER
Easier install. You cannot see the wire color in picture, but BLUE/WHITE is POS and GREY/WHITE is neg. I unplugged the Bose wires, cut off plug, and splice my LOC wires to it. My LOC is a 4 channel LOC, and I only needed two channels, so as you can see, the other 2 LOC channels are not used in my installation. NOTE: On the other side of the BOSE blu/wht-gry/wht plug, the wire are red and black.

Other than that I lost 2 crews in engine compartment trying to install Fuse holder, broken (accidently stepped on) a siding cover, and kept pulling out subwoofer box and trunk cover mat due to forgetting to route a wire under the rear seats.

 

[Nuffflavor]

End of Amp power cable.
LOC.
System Turn on in the dark

 

[Nuffflavor]

I started late Friday which was a rainy/dark day. Purchasing a Auto shop $15 high power light GREATLY helped me with the install.

While routing the Aftermarket Turn-on wire, I routed the Amp's remote control wire and mounted left of the Stick Shift..... can you say velcro.

 

[ecniemann]

Very nice picture documentation! That is exactly where I went through that grommet. You can see what I meant by that "square" on the cabin side pic, now, right? I believe you had less power wire, because I went under the rear seat into the spare tire area, rather than into the molding in the trunk. That would account for at least 2 ft. or so.

I had to LOL at that comment about losing screws in engine bay and stepping on stuff! Same s*** here, except I lost a screw while installing my SRI. It didn't even drop through. I had to use the magnetic reach tool. Usually I step on something laying around too.

This will be a good reference for everyone else now. Thank God I didn't have to deal with the Bose issues! I forgot about the glove box screws too, because I did everything at once, and when I swapped HU's, that trim piece was already off. Sorry about that.

 

[Nuffflavor]

Very nice picture documentation! That is exactly where I went through that grommet. You can see what I meant by that "square" on the cabin side pic, now, right? I believe you had less power wire, because I went under the rear seat into the spare tire area, rather than into the molding in the trunk. That would account for at least 2 ft. or so.

I had to LOL at that comment about losing screws in engine bay and stepping on stuff! Same s*** here, except I lost a screw while installing my SRI. It didn't even drop through. I had to use the magnetic reach tool. Usually I step on something laying around too.

This will be a good reference for everyone else now. Thank God I didn't have to deal with the Bose issues! I forgot about the glove box screws too, because I did everything at once, and when I swapped HU's, that trim piece was already off. Sorry about that.

Same issues eh? (Laughing) Kewl! Not to bring bad on anyone, BUT...But I would say it is OUR (ones who performed these installations) duty to report these finding/issues to the next MS3 installers....(lost items, braking stuff, routing headaches) CRAP happens .
Thanks again for staying strong on your power route, because I would of needed another AMP WIRE KIT, if I would of went the Driver's side route. Also, TRUE TRUE TRUE.. that install was the EASIEST!