Bass Drop Out
 

I have a 03 with the Bose system. Recently bass began to drop out randomly. It comes and goes. Do any of you folks know if it’s the amp or HU?





Click below for fix:
https://my350z.com/forum/7381292-post14.html

I have the same problem, and i had an aftermarket head unit with the bose amp and speakers...anyway i went to an audio store and they said 95% sure its the amp because when the base came in it sounded good...they said they can fix the amp though GL

wasnt there a recall on those amps

BASS people... not base, this isnt crack were talking about


the problem is that bose blose

change it out asap

I know the system sucks but am not interested in dropping $1K into it. The CD froze long ago with six discs inside. Is the only option to replace the HU and AMP?

you can just replace the H/U

i had the same problems and the dealer rplaced the hu and the amp and it still cuts out, im thinking its the sub?

There was a TSB and I had mine checked within months of buying the car. It was a latter model that did not fall under it.

I am a newb at car audio but if the AMP is the problem than how can replacing the HU fix it?

Thanks for all your help.

I have the same problem going on now, with aftermarker HU on bose speakers and sub, and it first started with the tweeters crackling, so I had those replaced... didn't do jack.

Now my left speaker is low and pretty much obsolete when on, as well as my sub, while I'm bumping there is slight "popping" at certain peaks...

So I'm guessing it's either connection problems or the amp... I have an 03 touring and the problem is only occuring now which is pretty good in my opinion, but I think I might do an aftermarket amp that matches or is higher than the OEM specs of the stock amp. And atleast when they are installing the amp they will be checking connections, so it's like a two birds-one stone scenario.

Has anyone tried this solution? Does anyone know the factory specs on the OEM amp?

Okay after reading 9 freaking pages of "bose amp sub" searching... ultimately it comes down to the speaker amp and the sub amp being sub-par.

Some people have suggested of replacing it with another set of bose speaker and sub amps, possibly used ones from members on the forum.

No one has really answered the question if the OEM speakers and OEM sub could be used with aftermarket amps especially the question of if the wiring of the OEM components is even adaptable to aftermarket amps because of Bose's awkward sub-par design of the speakers and sub.

I personally think for common use/DD use it's a decent set, obviously I wouldn't do a sound competition with them, but for DD use, I would really like to keep them myself.

Hopefully someone could answer the question of aftermarket amps being used on OEM speakers and subs, and what specifications are necessary to make the aftermarket work with the OEM.

It’s a mistake to believe you can improve your CES by adding decent components to existing lame components. It never works; it’s a waste of money and time.

If you are experiencing a problem with the junk OEM stuff, but are not willing to do a complete replacement ($$ is certainly an obstacle), just find OEM junk to replace the stuff that isn’t working.

It’s foolish to attempt blending good components with OEM junk. Don’t do that.

--Spike

I think you are right.

Who has an unused OEM amp sitting in their garage?

OEM amp problem found (at least in mine)
 

After listening(I make my living with my ears) the intermittent pop and subsequent dropping in my amp is because of the relay in side of the amp.If you open the amp you'll see a little white box. It is the relay. I applied a little pressure to the top and the amp started working. This was done after checking every connection in the amp. I released the pressure and the sub quit working again.Not wanting to track down a replacement relay I simply cut a piece of solid plastic the diameter of an pencil and positioned it on the lid of the amp to keep pressure on the relay. This by no means is the best way to deal with what is clearly a bad design on Nissans part but it has worked for me for over a year with no dropping out.If I ever have to open it up again I'll post pics. Pretty easy fix.

What does pressure on the relay do to correct the issue?

so the plastic piece applies pressure because it the box closes on top of it, therefore applying pressure on to the relay?

Anyone have an Bose OEM amp for an 03 I can buy?

Thanks for posting this. I just tried this on my Bose sub amp and it actually worked.

If you open up the amp itself, which is enclosed in a metal enclosure, you'll see this gray box on the circuit board. I made my sub go out first on purpose (by increasing bass) and then applied pressure to see if that indeed would correct the problem (while the amp was taken apart but still connected). Lo and behold, it actually solved the issue and I blasted everything to purposely make the sub go out again with pressure applied, but it held up fine. BTW, I have an aftermarket headunit with its own amp, which also allows me to crank up the "bass" more than the stock headunit.

I just folded up some printer paper and taped it down to the gray box, then closed the enclosure back up. One corner of the enclosure was lifted up maybe a little under 2mm, which I felt was enough, when the enclosure was put back together. Then when you put the screw back it, it will hold the pressure onto that gray box.

Anyway, you probably can't imagine this in your head, but once you start taking things apart and see the actual pieces, it will make sense.

Thanks again for posting this little trick.

Hey wats up ? i have been searching the thread and you seem to make the most sense. first off, where the hell IS the sub amp, i havnt had much time to explore and dont drive my o4 Silverstone much, but the in-out base is killin me when i do ! man it would be a great help if you could e-mail me some picts. i know i can do this, just too lazy to find out where everything is. if i know where to start i can just go rip into it.
hey thanks again,, kwb077177@verizon.net

kenny brown Glen Allen Va.

This problem has been coming up for years and years. In the past I've sent people to check for loose connections in the back on the amplifier and the speaker ... and they stopped complaining. I'm assuming they're finding the problem. The stuck relay might be the problem. I'll keep that in my bag of tricks.

Attachment 423204

^ haha :bowrofl: :icon30:

That bose amp looks to be smaller than a 2.5 hdd. I can't even believe they get off selling the Bose systems as an "upgrade". Yeah the base equipment sucks even more, but at least its easier and cheaper to swap out IMO.

Interesting "fix" though.

I am afraid to ask what the sub amp looks like.

I'm going to have to do this to my amp to. I'm having the same exact problem.

That is the subwoofer amplifier. The four-channel amp is a bit bigger so I opened it up to see what was inside and found that there were no power amplifier transistors only integrated circuits. And small ones at that. A big IC amp can put out 20-40 watts. These were tiny little ones and might be good for 4 to 10 watts (may be).

^ Thanks for the follow-up.

Where is the subwoofer amp located and how do you get to it?

I've been looking for a "how to" to do this, but I am having no luck searching for it. Can someone point me to it or explain how to do this? Thanks.

It's located next to the subwoofer on the transmission hump side. To get there you've got to do a bunch of work to strip off that whole plastic covering - basically start at the door sill covers and work backwards!

Damn, I thought that plastic cover was just a pop out... :icon27:

i kno the answer...

....REPLACE EVERYTHING that says BOSE on it

Lol can you post those pics soon? I want to fix the relay lol =)

It's really not that hard. Once you get to the tiny amp and open it up, you'll see right away. It's enclosed in another plastic "box" that's gray, I believe. Just apply pressure on that and you're set.


Or, if you're gonna be a girl about it, I can always take mine apart and show it to you. :icon17:

Dude, you are a savior... you figured out what two different dealerships couldn't... you are the man! :thumbup:

What do you do by the way? :icon38:

your are the mother fing man it worked. Thanks so much!!

why is this not a sticky...this works for sure!!!

Yeah this should be a sticky...


anyone have a solution for the left front speaker dropping, possibly because of the speaker amp as well?

Stickied and first post edited. :)

Thanks for making it a sticky it deserves it. I've been without my sub for a couple of months now and this solved the problem. It only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cure the problem.

thank god so we dont have "Base drop out" in our sticky section and look like a bunch of kids with down syndrome

^ I had to fix the spelling error while stickying it. :)

you know you're not supposed to be doing that here. In all cases, its even the wrong forum added that.

The reason that rely came loose was because of the vibration from the sub. I still do not see how you can enjoy the bose system. The system is designed for the bass and highs to fade out at higher volume, they did this because of 2 things. One is they do not want the speakers do distort and at all, and 2 they know that the small tiny little sub amp can not rely power a sub let alone there own. They have been doing this for years. I could put a 1200 dollar system in any car and blow the bose away maybe even less. Just my observation and my 2 cents.

can someone give me a more detail as to how i can get to this amp. thanks.

Brand new to the forums, and already this site has been tons and tons of help. To help this thread out a bit I found a simple clean how to removal/replace guide on the sub amp. I'm not claiming its mine just a simple google search brought this up.

http://lifedocumented.blogspot.com/2...placement.html

I just finished "fixing" the sub amp so I took some pics of the little grey box and the inside of the actual amp itself. Can't wait to have some funds to put in a real system.

<a href="http://twitpic.com/dxh0s" title="Bose subamp1 on Twitpic"><img src="http://twitpic.com/show/thumb/dxh0s.jpg" width="150" height="150" alt="Bose subamp1 on Twitpic"></a>

<a href="http://twitpic.com/dxh1w" title="Bose subamp2 on Twitpic"><img src="http://twitpic.com/show/thumb/dxh1w.jpg" width="150" height="150" alt="Bose subamp2 on Twitpic"></a>

Hope this was of some help :thumbup:

I've had my zr for nearly 2 years now, purchased with 36k on it, now has 95k. I've taken the sub and sub amp out twice simply reconnecting the connectors to make it not cut out(sub quits). It only repairs for a day or so. I've used Deox when working with electronics in the past, requested a bottle from a couple of friends who still work with the electronics company where I worked for 13yrs. Trouble is that was 10 years ago and these two always claim to be out when I see them from time to time. Told my oldest son about the trouble, he said I could get it from radio shack. Sure enough, 15bucks and it comes in a spray bottle with two, tin pin connections and gold. After I resoldered the relay to the board with no luck I removed the grey cover from the relay and spayed deox in the relay and left the cover off and the metal shields off. The z uses tin pins on the circuit board so now I have a tiny bottle of gold spray maybe I'll use some day. Just simply disconnect the connectors and spray the deox on both the pins and the plug and it's fixed.
Radio shack has it label deoxit. Has advertising on the package for use on computer cords.
Deox is nonconductive so no need to worry about overspray. Next time my airbag light comes on I'll zap the sensor beside the hood latch but with the battery disconnected before unplugging that sensor.
These pins should have been gold plated. DC or pulsed dc will build up corrosion. Deox cleans the metal chemically. Wish I'd done what I knew miles ago

Just to clarify...
 

I guess this was the answer I was loooking for thanks, Ive been having this issue for ages, it was driving me nuts. So once you open up the silver housing what exactly do you do to the little grey box? someone said apply pressure to it? is that right or do you open up the grey box and tinker?

I did what someone else posted, got some paper and folded it up so when I put the cover back on it applied enough pressure. I figure why not use paper, it will only be temporary until I have enough pennies for a new system :)

Superb!
 

Thanks for that I will definatley give it a shot, does it require a lot of pressure ? (ie a big wad of paper!) or light pressure, might try using a small block of wood, less likley to dislodge.

Cheers

YES!!!!!!!!!

My 350z pet peeve will now be fixed!!!!!

:icon17:

*done. I used cardboard. I cut out about 6 3/4 inch squares, smashed them together and super-glued them above the grey box on the metal cover. I was suprised how much pressure it took. I think I started with 3 unsmashed layers. It squished the 3 layers and didnt put enough pressure on it. So I had to double the amount of cardboard and pre-smash it. Now the blows stereo sounds mediocre again :)

The Bolt Method!
 

The paper idea is a great one, I did this myself yesterday. The only issue was that it was a pain to figure out how much paper I needed to wodge in there to get it to work so. I tried several times to get the right amount of pressure but it seemed like the paper was not exerting enough force so..., (now this sounds drastic but worked great) I drilled a small hole in the housing above the relay (obviously the circuit board had been removed from housing first!) then found a bolt, re-assembled the unit and just screwed down the bolt until it applied enough pressure on the top of the relay to get it working (whatever you do if you try this DO NOT USE A SCREW as this will puncture the relay and could cause permanent damage).

My other concern with the paper method is I had no idea how much heat was likley to build up in the unit after operating it for lengthy periods and didn't feel like taking a chance on having the paper ignite.

Hope this is found to be useful.. If I ever take it apart again I will post some pics.

Dude, you rock. This fix was simple and it worked. I was just about to waste money by replacing the amp and speaker.:icon18: