Help! bose related !

[domburg]

Hi

just a few questions ..

my 99 s3 has a bose sub and amp, there is bose stamped on both items, however the sub has never worked since i bought the car over a year ago, i have posted before never got round to doing anything about it

this afternoon ive decided to have a go at removing the trim to get a look and see if there is any thing obviously wrong i.e loose wire or somthing, but it doesnt seem to be the case.

i removed the amp, unplugged it and when i turned on the radio to check there was no sound at all, therefore i plugged it back in and the sound came back but the sub still didnt work....

ive noticed that the amp is connected to a harness that dissapears behind the carpet going towards the rear 1/4. there doesnt seem to be any going to the sub from the amp.....however there is a box that is fixed to amp bracket with wiring harness going towards the sub but i cant physically see any of the amp harness wired to this box....

first question..what is the box that is fixed to the amp bracket with the two wiring looms coming off it??

secondly is there any sure fire way of telling if my car genuinly has bose, i.e ruling out a failed 'retro-fit' attempt. ?

is there any way of testing the amp to definatly rule it out of the problem?

also what is the box that is wrapped in foam next to sub?

anybody got any other suggestions? any help would be appreciated

sorry for the long thread, thanks in advanced guys

dom

 

[AndyM]

Box with the foam is the central locking pump
Possibly BOSE code would come up on the fitted options label in the spare wheel well?
Amp for the sub is internal, the amp on the right hand side of the boot is for the other speakers. You should be able to unplug the sub and have sound, or I would have thought unplug the amp and have the sub work as long as the associated amp is still plugged in.

 

[AndyMac]

As said the Bose sub has it's own amp inside the tupperware sub enclosure. You should have a black connector feeding just the sub, the pinouts are shown below. First thing to do would be to check the plug. Unplug the connector and check it is getting both a perm live and 12v on the remote on connection (goes on/off with the HU). If both are present then you'll need to remove the sub enclosure to get to the amp, which is a PITA. Let me know if you need instructions on hw to do this. Most likely causes are either both 4" drivers are blown, (test them with a multimeter, they should be 2 ohm impedance across their terminals), or you have a dry joint on the amp which is very common on the cheaply manufactured Bose PCB's.
Try resoldering the main components on the PCB especially the connector inside the amp.
Or just buy a new Bose sub on ebay for around £50.
Or send the whole enclosure to me and I'll fix it for the price of the return postage.
Very unlikely it's a retrofit as that is a major job for a very poor return.

 

[alijames]

With the Bose system, unplugging the sub should not stop any of the cabin speakers working, as they have a separate amp, which is located behind the opposite boot side panel to the sub. Also, the door pods & rear grilles should be stamped with the Bose logo, unless the interior has been changed.

With non-Bose, the rear speakers are fed off an amp in the sub, so unplugging it would leave only the front speakers working as they are fed off the head unit.

Also, the Bose sub has 2 ~4" speakers in it, whereas the standard sub has 1 ~6" speaker.

The alarm siren is bolted to a bracket below the sub, whereas the central locking pump is between the sub and the rear light cluster.

Is the head unit a standard Audi Concert/Symphony, or has it been replaced with an aftermarket one, as if it's aftermarket, the speaker wiring could have been modified, and that might explain things...

Hope this helps,

 

[alijames]

AndyMac beats me to it again

Cheers,

 

[domburg]

cheers guys, ill have another go at it tomorrow as ive just put all the trim back together

thanks again

dom