Expert: Cleggsan - 6/16/2009

Question
QUESTION: My radio has stopped working!  I read an article from someone in 2006 that had the same problem with amp.  Did he find a solution to his problem.

ANSWER: Bose systems are non-conventional in design and are hard to repair.  And, they do not intemix with other systems.  In order to get your car up and running again you need to make a choice:

ONE: Go to an auto install/repair shop or clinic where they specialize in Bose and have it repaired (at a dear price).

TWO: Gut the Bose system out completely and start over with a new aftermarket system.

It is very likely you can get the Bose fixed for about the same price as a new system of medium quality.

But, I cannot give you a confirmation without knowing more details of the symptoms of your system.  "Stopped working" is not sufficient for me to even guess what may have failed.  It could be something a simple as a loose wire or as serious and a dead head unit.

If you need more, please give me more information about what happened when it quite and what you have done to determine the symptoms:  Do any of the speakers work?  Does the display on the head unit come on? Do you hear anything coming out of the speakers at all - noise, buzz, hum, etc.?  Have you checked the car fuses that feed the radio?

C

PS:  You can go to crutchfield.com to find out what systems can fit into your Maxima.  Just click down through their "outfit your car" sequence and it will guide you to various products that will work in it.  



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: A sound started happening about 3 months ago every week or so, it sounded like thumbing or hard tapping on the window.  The radio always came on after this until last Tuesday when it made this same loud thumbing noise and the radio never came on again. I heard a buzzing noise until I turn the car off and started it again.  The noise was gone after I restarted the car.  Today it made a little crackling noise for 5 seconds and that's it.  

There is a dealer in Foley Al that is looking at it tomorrow.  I refuse to take it the Nissan dealership, it is $125 just to get it diagnosed.  If you have anymore advise with what I gave you(what little there is) let me know. :)  

Answer
Based on those symptoms it seems either:

ONE: Bad grounds at the amplifiers.  Cure is to check all the ground connections of the entire system.

TWO: Bad head unit internally - which would require service on it or replacement.

And, yes, it is never a good idea to go back to the car dealer for radio system matters unless they have a qualified electronic technician available and only 1 out of 20 car dealers do.

Hope this helps.
C