joec

ok so I'm gonna be upgrading my Bose radio in my 13 GS.. Looking at both the high end Pioneers and Kenwoods that I'll be researching a bit.. What's got me confused are the wiring kits.. Rp3, RP5 Gms04, Maestro etc.. I want everything to work as close as stock as I can. I'm not a audiophile (anymore, ears went a long time ago) but DO appreciate good sounding units and loud.. :-) I understand that I won't get NAV on my HUD and that's fine... Can someone please explain the diff between all of the wiring harnesses..


THANKS!!


/joe

TorchRedFred

Hey Joe, I sent you message. About the harnesses there are different brands that you can use. Then you also have to make sure you use the right one that is compatible for your exact system. If you are only changing the head unit, then you need one that is compatible with Bose and OnStar (if you wish to have it). Bose has their own separate amps that you would reuse with the new radio. That's why you need a harness that is compatible. The Pac Audio brand is what I used and is probably your best option. The RP5-GM11 is the do everything harness, meaning it is compatible with or with out Bose and with or without OnStar. I think the RP4-GM11 works with the Bose also and would work for you also but doesn't retain OnStar. Both come with steering wheel controls and chimes.

joec

do you know what the Maestro module does ? is it the same...

TorchRedFred

Maestro is a steering wheel controls that you buy separately for a wiring harness that didn't include it already. They also sell their line of harnesses. I think it's also a little more customizable but not sure. Some cars have much more complicated steering wheel controls and interface with a lot more options. In those cases the Maestro is probably the best or only option.

Mad*Max

What does this mean?

TorchRedFred

If your car has the Bose system, and you are only replacing the head unit and you plan on keeping the Bose speaker system, you have to take into account that the Bose system has amps hidden in the car in between the head unit and the speakers and hook up your head unit accordingly. Hopefully that makes sense. Basically you have to hook up your head unit to work with an amp through the speaker wires. Using the right wiring harness correctly will do this for you.


Normally speaker wires go directly to speakers and not an amp. In this case you need something (wiring harness/interface) to convert the speaker wires to a pre-amp signal.

Mad*Max

Okay, got it, is the amp hidden underneath one of the seats? Also, does anybody know where the subwoofer is hidden (just curious)?

TorchRedFred

I think the amp is located on the passenger side foot well. I'm not sure if it's just one amp or if there is another one somewhere. The subwoofers are in the doors. Each door has a sub and a 3.5" speaker.

86SC

i installed a pioneer in my 10 GS with bose, used the PAC-RP5-GM11 everything works great, the bose amp and speakers don't sound too bad to me, also those are woofers in the doors not subwoofers

TorchRedFred

My bad, I keep calling them subwoofers. Also, I agree with you about replacing the head unit alone in the C6 does improve sound quality and makes the Bose system sound better. I ran my GS that way for a while before recently going with a whole speaker, sub, amp setup.

airforcex

-Does it provide pre-amp connection to the stock amp?

TorchRedFred

Yes, the RP5-GM11 is compatible with or without Bose. The Pac module has 2 slots where you plug in the wiring harness. You connect the wiring harness to the correct slot on the Pac module. One is used and labeled for connecting to an existing amp, the other slot is for no amp.