C4 Bose Gold
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Joined: Apr 2011
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C4 Bose Gold
I just wanted to throw some info out there that some new C4 owners may not know. First of all, I purchased my 1993 "Ruby" in 2005. When I bought it, there were several things that needed fixed. Brakes, keyless entry, CD player, etc. The radio, I thought, sounded fine. Having never owned a C4 before, I didn't know how it was supposed to sound, so, I sent the head unit off to be rebuilt so I could use the CD player. Got it put back in, it worked, seemed to sound ok, and I have used it for the past 9 years like that... until 2 weeks ago. My right rear sub woofer died altogether. I saw a write-up on here that spelled out how to easily and VERY cheaply replace the dried out capacitors on the amps. I went to the local radio shack and bought the caps that they had that I needed. Replaced them (about an hour job), and presto! Right rear comes back to life. That's when I discovered what I didn't know for the past 9 years... my left rear had been operating at about 25% power. So, I pulled it out, replaced the caps on the circuit board, and I am ABSOLUTELY astonished at how well the factory stereo sounds!! I see a lot of people taking the original Bose gold out and replacing with what can only be a lesser sounding system. Those twin 6" subs in the back of your C4 are impressive. Replace the capacitors. Give it a chance. Its a VERY good system. That said, I don't know what other year C4 factory systems sound like, but I am quite impressed with the 1993 system. If you have recently (or like me, not so recently) bought a C4 with a less-than-impressive sound system, do a search for "Bose Gold fix" and for about $20, you will be pleasantly surprised at how well it'll sound.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,061
Likes: 214
From: Epping NH
Yup, as an EE, this is something we know in my field, the material used in caps will break down over time even just sitting a unopened package. The Bose Gold is a great stereo system but I think it gets a bad rap now a days because so many of caps that were used in it no longer run at their design spec. simply due to age.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 648
Likes: 6
From: weems va
I just wanted to throw some info out there that some new C4 owners may not know. First of all, I purchased my 1993 "Ruby" in 2005. When I bought it, there were several things that needed fixed. Brakes, keyless entry, CD player, etc. The radio, I thought, sounded fine. Having never owned a C4 before, I didn't know how it was supposed to sound, so, I sent the head unit off to be rebuilt so I could use the CD player. Got it put back in, it worked, seemed to sound ok, and I have used it for the past 9 years like that... until 2 weeks ago. My right rear sub woofer died altogether. I saw a write-up on here that spelled out how to easily and VERY cheaply replace the dried out capacitors on the amps. I went to the local radio shack and bought the caps that they had that I needed. Replaced them (about an hour job), and presto! Right rear comes back to life. That's when I discovered what I didn't know for the past 9 years... my left rear had been operating at about 25% power. So, I pulled it out, replaced the caps on the circuit board, and I am ABSOLUTELY astonished at how well the factory stereo sounds!! I see a lot of people taking the original Bose gold out and replacing with what can only be a lesser sounding system. Those twin 6" subs in the back of your C4 are impressive. Replace the capacitors. Give it a chance. Its a VERY good system. That said, I don't know what other year C4 factory systems sound like, but I am quite impressed with the 1993 system. If you have recently (or like me, not so recently) bought a C4 with a less-than-impressive sound system, do a search for "Bose Gold fix" and for about $20, you will be pleasantly surprised at how well it'll sound.
