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You should ALWAYS bypass the Bose amp....here's why

327K views 721 replies 251 participants last post by  Cstout 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
A while ago, I posted that I was getting some serious static/noise from my JVC KDSH909. The problem was the Bose amp.

I had just hooked it up with the wiring harness and although the sound quality was better, there was noise. I bypassed the amp this weekend by just putting a jumper wire between the correct wires down at the amp's connector. The noise problem has completely gone away. I highly recommend bypassing the Bose amp. :thumbs up:
 
#585 ·
I have the integration harness with pioneer avic d3, the speakers and Bose bass sound allot better than stock however, I do get this light noise when car is running. Sometimes while driving it will get louder for a second. Gets annoying but I like the actual sound that the speakers produce... I'm grounded to that bar thing behind the radio. I don't know what to do to get rid of that noise
 
#588 ·
Just wanna let you guys know, If your getting serious static it's probably from your rca cables if your using the typical amp integration harness. I had to cut mine off and run speaker wire down to the bose amp, and Now i have ZERO static. It's really surprising just how quite the car is now when your just sitting there. It's Night and Day. So no need to bypass the amp, just ditch the rca cables and grab a 20 dollar line out converter and some speaker wire. Real simple.
 
#591 ·
integration harness= no new wiring and you keep the bose sub

Bypass w/regular harness= no bose sub w/o additional rewiring
 
#593 ·
I've been having a problem with the ground wire. Its either I have a bad ground connection or its something with the bose amp.

I have an aftermarket amp with an aftermarket sub (both Kickers). I disconnected the bose sub. Hooked up the Kicker amp & sub. It worked for a few weeks than it just drain my battery. I got a new battery in and after a few weeks it still did the same thing.

My question is. Could it be that the bose amp is still intach OR is it really bad grounding and where can I find a better ground in my trunk?

Thanks. I'm a newb to car electrical stuff.
 
#594 ·
If you are draining your battery than you have something that is staying on after the car is off. is your amp shutting off? if not you probably have mis-wired your remote on.
 
#596 · (Edited)
I have read 2 diff results. Am i correct that if i replace my headunit with a pioneer double din with the metra 1725 harness that the factory Bose sub will still work also? Im only replacing the HU and adding a backup camera. I want the stock speakers an sub to still work. I would like to use the pioneer power to run reg speakers and keep bose sub working off the bose amp i dont want to have to splice the stock amp wires to use the pioneer built in power. Can anyone clarify this
 
#599 ·
Alright I need a tip. I have a Pioneer Avic D3. It was hooked up in my 02 base. I just tried last time to move it over to my 06 S with bose. The HU powers on and functions, but I have no sound. From all this confliction in this thread I'm confused as to what exactly to do.
 
#603 ·
hey guys, I want to do the exact same thing as was indicated at the beginning of this thread, bypass the speakers so they can work without the amp, will that method still work if I want to use an after market HU? or is there a better way to do it? ive been reading a lot and its all still very confusing. if anyone can point me in the right direction or tell me how to do it I would really appreciate it, thanks a lot in advance.
 
#604 ·
yes to bypass the amp you follow the instructions at the beginning, you will lose the sub though. otherwise you can get the 70-1725 harness to integrate your aftermarket hu with the amp
 
#608 · (Edited)
Ok guys, after much work, i am seriously considering the bypass, but before i do, i would like to know if any of you have had the same problem as I am and used noise filters to get rid of it. I used the metra amp integration harness on my 05 type S and have alternator whine and ignition ticking mostly noticable at low volume. I updated my grounds with no luck. I used a long speaker wire to test another speaker using the actual speaker wires for the kenwood unit and started the car. It appears the noise is only present through the preamps. I tried a Pioneer head unit with the same results so it's not the head units preamps causing this problem. From reading here, the integration/RCA harness is hit or miss and i apparently missed. My friend has an 05 type S and does not have this issue with this harness. Before i bypass, has anyone tried a power noise filter using this harness and did it work? I would assume a ground loop isolator for the RCA wouldnt work in this situation.
 
#609 ·
I would not use ground loop isolator as all they are is transformers and they actually reduce your low and high end frequency response. It may not be as noticeable on the stock equipment as it is with aftermarket amps but highs will not be as crisp and lows will seem cut off on the bottom end. Try changing your radios grounding point to off of the factory harness. sometimes you have to try several grounding points before you find a true chassis ground vs a floating ground point.
 
#610 ·
Thank you, i did try to apply a ground with a power probe II which applies it strait from the battery with no change, It really does appear to be a ground issue since it does not get louder with the music, however I have tried the factory ground and one more ground point on some of the metal bracketry in the center console, I can't really figure out why it has the noise when run through Bose, but not there when run through the head unit amp. I'm still assuming it's a gound issue, however if the bose amp had an issue, I would think it should have shown up with the factory head unit. I just wanted blue tooth and HD and XM, lol I have installed probably about Ten systems and this is the first time i've been hit with alternator wine, it's faint but annoying still. Knowing that the bypass will work is temping me but i want to exhaust all resources before hacking the wires on this low mileage all stock beauty.
 
#611 ·
only other place to try grounding would be with the bose amp to see if that clears it up. otherwise chalk it up to being a Honda, as most installers will tell you they are notorious for engine noise issues.
 
#613 ·
The bose amp and speakers are indeed made to work together. When the ignition was off and I was using the RCA style harness, it sounded great. As soon as i started it up, got the dreaded alternator whine/buzz that got higher with revs, tried grounding the amp and the head unit to the same location, tried running the head unit it's own power and the amp it's own power. if the car was in the mix at all, it had the noise. Finally decided to bypass and run RCA's to the sub output and use the factory sub, Was easy and looks clean as i taped it all up and used twist caps. I have the pop with every source change and the on off pop in the sub but it's not as bad as the alternator whine. The bypass got rid of it for sure, however the factory bose speakers pushed by the kenwood ddx471hd sounds awful no matter how i adjust the EQ. I just wanted the blue tooth and the phone integration capabilities (which are great on this head unit), had i known that the bose integration harness would give me alternator whine I would have left it all stock. I will say this, the bose amp and sub in the trunk sounds pretty good run to the rear RCA sub out for something that is small enough to be out of sight and out of the way. I'm sure now i will have to buy speakers as well so just some words of advise for anyone thinking of upgrading their headunit only, sometimes it doesnt workout with the bose system and you will wind up with quite a headache. I'll have more than twice what i originially anticipated to be happy or even have something that sounds better than the stock setup. Now i'm pondering on just getting replacement speakers and running them off the head unit with factory wiring (which would be not so labor intensive) or buying a small headunit style amp and a component set....decisions decisions. word from the wise, unless you just want to sink money into a sound system. leave it stock and buy a friggin intake and hondata flash.
 
#614 ·
I could not find an answer to my specific problem, what the best way to hook up a amp/sub(specifically an Infinity Basslink) while Keeping the factory HU & the rest of the Bose system. Since I am using the speaker level inputs to the Basslink(same problem even if I used a LOC) I originally was going to use the red and green wires inside the factory sub enclosure, running from the amp to sub in the sub. Based of this thread: DIY How to install an aftermarket sub and amp to the stock Bose system

After reading through a good bit of this and other threads I assume I should instead be using the signal before the main Bose amp underneath the passenger seat, which are the 6 | LT GRN | Rear stereo amplifier - bass signal (+) & 19 | GRN/WHT | Rear Amplifier - bass signal (-). Correct?

Would this the best way to run it to get the cleanest signal?
 
#615 ·
Tap the signal from the bose sub as the basslink has a built in LOC and the levels that are sent between the 2 amp are to low to get a clean rca signal.
 
#616 ·
Tap the signal from the bose sub as the Basslink has a built in LOC and the levels that are sent between the 2 amp are to low to get a clean rca signal.
Ok awesome, thanks for the help, that will make the install much easier by going that route. I am completely removing the Bose Sub box, but to tap into the Red & Green wires I will obviously need keep the amp from inside the Bose sub and mount/recessed into the dense foam trunk floor board.

The difference in weight between the OEM Bose sub & Basslink only feels to be approx. a pound or two heavier. I am running a 12.5lb Braille battery since I have recently have been focusing on weight reduction and aerodynamics. I have removed/replaced a number of items, but the weight of the OEM intake system and battery alone was quit a significant amount of weight. I will see how well the Braille holds up, it should be fine though as the Basslink is the only stereo upgrade I am running and have no other electrical components other than replacing interior lights with LEDs and some under-dash LEDs.
 
#618 ·
So, I just installed my Kenwood KDC-258u with the Metra integrated harness and two RCA splitters (HU has one set of RCA inputs) and I blew through two of the 7.5 fuses.

Can anyone tell me whats going on and what I need to do to stop this from happening? I'm assuming too much power is being pulled from the HU and amp but I'm not really sure whats actually going on.

On another note, the audio is also terribly distorted. Can only get to about level 13 before it's too unbearable and the fuse blows.

All help is appreciated :pray:
 
#619 ·
I'm guessing that you may be using the wrong harness. It sounds like an impedance mismatch or that you are amplifying a speaker-level signal. Can you post an exact list of what you're using and how they are connected? And are you trying to bypass the Bose; or feed the Kenwood's pre-amp signal into it?
 
#620 ·
HU is Kenwood KDC-258u, metra harness 70-1725. My head unit only has two RCA inputs, so I have two RiteAV (off amazon) male to female RCA splitters in order to fit the four. Otherwise thats it. Stock bose amp/speakers/sub.

Again, Ive read that just the harness has worked for people but even with the harness the audio is brutaly distorted.

I didnt want to by-pass the amp, but if thats whats causing all this it looks like I dont have much choice.
 
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