Headunit Swaps for BOSE Cars​

This is very easy don't get discouraged because of what others have told you about rewiring it is not nescessary. Sosche, a walmart brand, carries a wiring harness adapter for Camaros with BOSE and it also comes with the antenna adapater for like 7 dollars at walmart. They also carry the dash install kit. You just pull down the glove box and remove the few screws that hold the radio trim on. Believe there all number 7mm screws. Next remove the 4 screws holding the dash panel under the steering collumn. Two should be phillips two are number 7s. Drop it making sure not to break the vent or the switch that i believe turns the window heater on. Remove a few more 7mm screws then pull the radio trim piece off. Unscrew the bose stereo with what i believe were 10mm screws. Unplug the harness then unplug the antenna and remove.

Take the Sosche harness and the new stereo harness and color match the wires together and then snap the harness onto the headunit. Take your assembled install kit and get your cd player situated inside it. Now just snap the new harness into the stock one and plug the antenna into the adapter, then into the new radio. Test the stereo making sure every speaker works and what not. Mess around with the boost and fades and see if it all works. Screw the install kit down. Replace the trim piece with all of the 7mm screws. Then just slide the big dash plastic back into place and screw it down.

Amp Wiring​

Here is a short explanation of how i wired the amp up in my 96. For the power wire you remove the two screws holding the PCM down and lift it slightly up and out of the way to reveal a grommet that you can run the power wire through. I did not have to unplug any wires on the pcm there was enough slack to just gently lift it out of the way. Some people cut this and feed it through, but i just moved it slightly out of the way and slid the power wire through. Next remove the plastic panel that runs along the door and goes up under the dash. Pull the power wire down from under the dash and then tuck it under all the carpet; then run it up under the rear passenger side plastic that also covers our middle speakers. To do this i just pushed it under that panel with my hands, wasnt hard and is not visible. I have my amp on the passengers side of the gas tank deck so i came out right next to the amp where there was already a little opening.

For the ground wire i just pulled up the panel in the trunk and grounded it near the spare tire, or anywhere in that spare tire compartment will work well. For TTop cars you can remove your ttop holders 2 10mm screws and slide the ground wire fitting over that screw and then put the ttop rack back on. (I have used this before)

I did the RCA wire and remote wire by going from the headunit, under the console on the passengers side, out the back of the console then directly under the passengers rear seat and then up to the amp. This way you dont have to make any cuts or anything in the carpet and it is hardly visible. If you are wanting to totally hide it maybe spray paint the wires a color that is close to your carpet. Be sure to leave enough slack on your RCAs and remote under the dash incase you have to pull it again.

Pictures​

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where the power wire (blue) runs, connected to a posotive batterty terminal

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a close up of the power wire running under the PCM (you can't miss the grommet with the PCM pulled out of the way)

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the side panel that you remove to tuck the power wire under the carpet

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where i have the amp wire coming out of the side panels (where the rear seat snaps in place)

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the little bit of visible wire when the remote and RCA wires and done the way i stated above

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headunit after everything is done


If you ever need any help getting this done with your car feel free to contact me and i will assist you in any way that i can.

 

nice write up, zack. i might have beat you to it if i werent such a lazy bastard

 

lol glad you approve... and i just answered a question about if the stock sub will work with an aftermarket headunit and the answer is YES! I had my stock sub in the car for a few more weeks after i got my new headunit, worked and sounded great. Just needed a little more bumpity

 

back up...

 

for the remote wire you can run that back to the passengers feet and run it under the glove box and down the front of the shifter counsel, you won't see a single wire, as for the power wire I would throw a good fuse on it.

 

will 4 gauge wire fit through that grommet?

 

I pulled my carpet. lol. now I have to put the new one it. Grrr.... but my stereo is lookin nice.

 

sure will

err.. yeah, i hadnt even noticed that, you DEFINITELY wanna fuse that, zach

 

Yea a 4 gauge will easily fit thru it.

 

How do the stock Bose speakers hold up to the power of a new head unit?

 

got mine done when i first got the car (august) still works fine and ive cranked the crap out of them

 

dude make the pictures bigger it is fused... its just not a very good fuse but it is there its right by a big PCM plug thingy

 

hmm, guess i just didnt see it.. but it also isnt in the write up

 

what isnt in the write up?

 

good write up

 

The more important question is "Who cares?"

I would imagine that considering no head unit really puts out more than 25w RMS give or take, they should be fine. But I don't know the impedances of the speakers. I have read that the bose systems in other cars have mismatched or low impedances but I've not gotten in their.

Here's how to tell. Put the speakers on AC line voltage in the house and see how long it lasts

 

What about passenger side speaker wire hard to get through???thanks for all your help Zack...Mark..

 

I need to do a writeup on speaker wire installs. You have to remove the door panels, take out speakers, run wire through that rubber hose using a hanger or something. Then to the headunit.

 

there is a way to run RCA and Remote wires without seeing them at all.

Another way to run these wires is right along with your power wire. If you take the rca and remote from out of the back of the head unit, and tuck them up under the dash to the passangers side and them back down they will meet up with the power wire and you can run all 3 wires under your door sill direct to your amp. You can also keep tucking them up under the rear side panel If you also make a slight incision about 3/4" inch long, you can push the wires up through and right to where you need them for your amp.

 

i don't recommend running power and RCA wires next to each other. That's a sure fire way to pick up noise with your RCA cables. Run them behind and beneath the center console between the two front seats. Only a little bit will show and you can run them behind the rear seat to the trim in the back where the spare tire and Bose sub are.