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1985 aftermarket stereo with factory Bose speakers
Is this even possible? Crutchfield sent me a kit that has a little amplifier inline that was SUPPOSED to work with the factory speakers/amps, but does not. Is there anything I could do to get an aftermarket stereo to work with the factory speakers? Or do I need to run new wiring and add new speakers? I've done that before on my previous 1985, and was hoping to avoid it since I know the speakers and amps are good in this car (factory radio has a short in it and only works 1 out of 5 times I try it).
If not, well...I DO have the wiring and speakers from the old car...just more work than I wanted to do, really.
Which kit did you buy? I am finishing up a stereo install with factory bose speakers. I bought a "bypass wire harness" that bypasses the cdm but uses the bose amps.
If it's like 87 the speakers are wired common ground.
I managed to repin the radio plug and bypass the amps at the speakers. Takes some soldering. If the drivers are OK you might be surprised by the sound. Bose speakers are like 1.8ohms but the receiver didn't have a problem. If I had it to do over I would leave it like that.
Which kit did you buy? I am finishing up a stereo install with factory bose speakers. I bought a "bypass wire harness" that bypasses the cdm but uses the bose amps.
It’s just an in-line amp from scosche, nothing fancy. Still plugs in to the factory wiring. I don’t know what a cdm is-this isn’t my first time wiring up an aftermarket system but because of how Bose works I think it’s different. I’d like to leave as much factory as possible.
going to jump in here because my 85's stereo doesn't work...works but goes off/on, high/low.....really wanting to change the whole thing but don't know much about it....thinking i'd get some good ideas off this thread. no such thing as wireless speakers for c4's yet???
Is this what you have? They say there are problems using it with the 85.
Yup that’s it. I tried wiring some aftermarket speakers to it directly and I get signal but it’s very quiet. If I just take that out will it work? The rest is factory wiring from the plug on.
I switched out my Bose System after the second amp died at the speaker. The people at Crutchfields helped me get a real nice setup that is like the modern cars come with. I got the Schoche (SP?) adapter as well but did not use it.
What I did was use the original wiring to the speakers. I changed the speakers to a better more modern speaker and was very happy not to have to run all new wires.
If you look at the FSM supplemental electrical book you will see that every speaker has four wires going to it. Two of the wires are there to supply power to the amp at the speaker and the other pair is what brings the sound to the speaker. Identify the wires and tape off the ones not being used.
If you want to use the Bose speakers then be sure to check for voltage at the amplifiers by each speaker. While working on mine I found that one corner was not getting power at all.
It is nice to get a modern stereo in my 1988 Coupe, it helps the time go by better and the newer systems have capabilities that we could not even dream of back then.
I switched out my Bose System after the second amp died at the speaker. The people at Crutchfields helped me get a real nice setup that is like the modern cars come with. I got the Schoche (SP?) adapter as well but did not use it.
What I did was use the original wiring to the speakers. I changed the speakers to a better more modern speaker and was very happy not to have to run all new wires.
If you look at the FSM supplemental electrical book you will see that every speaker has four wires going to it. Two of the wires are there to supply power to the amp at the speaker and the other pair is what brings the sound to the speaker. Identify the wires and tape off the ones not being used.
If you want to use the Bose speakers then be sure to check for voltage at the amplifiers by each speaker. While working on mine I found that one corner was not getting power at all.
It is nice to get a modern stereo in my 1988 Coupe, it helps the time go by better and the newer systems have capabilities that we could not even dream of back then.
Good Luck getting your stereo sorted out!
Yeah I want something that works with my phone.
So did you literally just plug them in where the current speakers are? Or have to cut something out because of the amps? I don’t have a clear picture in my head of how everything is connected up I suppose. Replacing the speakers isn’t a big deal for me, I even have some to use. I just would rather not run new wiring if I can help it.
You should be able to use the low level output from a radio to the input of the Bose speakers.
Do I have to do something to take Horne amps out? Or literally just plug the stereo directly into the factory wiring via a harness? That would be awesome.
I managed to repin the radio plug and bypass the amps at the speakers. Takes some soldering. If the drivers are OK you might be surprised by the sound. Bose speakers are like 1.8ohms but the receiver didn't have a problem.
I tried wiring the amp of my new Panasonic receiver directly to my Bose speakers, and it sounded good! After testing for a short time, because the impedence of the Bose speakers was lower than that recommended by Panasonic, the amp got very hot! I replaced my speakers with similar sized Kenwood speakers that I was able to fit into the nice Bose enclosures.
ok, so-I did some reading in this thread, and gained some insight into what I wanted to do.
I pulled out the rear speakers and found the factory wire connectors back there. There are 4 wires-2 power and +/- speaker wires. After a little bit of testing, I simply cut the +/- wires (AFTER the connector from the wiring harness-wanted to be easy to return to stock later) and put my own speaker wires on there. I actually tried some Memphis speakers that I had, along with the Bose ones that came with the car. The Bose sounded better, so they went back in. Basically, this uses the car's factory wiring and bypasses the amp while leaving the factory wiring almost completely intact. I believe there is a common ground for the speakers, which means that you don't have true stereo sound this way, but honestly it sounds pretty good to me at this point. I'll play with it more and see if I can sort out the common ground issue later. Haven't done the door speakers yet but I suspect they will be similar (although the factory connector might be harder to reach).
I'll try to take some pictures in a bit, just wanted to let you guys know I solved it and post the solution for the next guy
Do I have to do something to take Horne amps out? Or literally just plug the stereo directly into the factory wiring via a harness? That would be awesome.
You should be able to use that adapter you purchased, but you need to find out what pins are different for that with the 85. Contact whoever your purchased it from.
Sorry for the lack of pictures-it was cold here today and I ended up just working through to finish. Did the front speakers too-they’re the same as the rears, but couldn’t access the factory plug without taking the door apart (did NOT want to do that) so I cut the wire bundle going to the factory amp. It’s wrapped in foam to the rear part of the car, just behind the door speaker. Was a little hard to reach but with some wiggling I made it work. Then did the same thing, spliced my own leads into the wires for speaker +\- that originally went to the factory amp. Still not getting stereo sound but for now I don’t care. I think the common ground happens at the stereo harness, so one day when I feel like it I will try to sort that out. For now I just want to be able to listen to audiobooks during the less exciting parts of my driving, and this will work beautifully. The sound I’m sure could be improved by a stand-alone amp, better speakers, a subwoofer-I’ve done huge speaker installs but that’s not really my vision for this car.
anyway, hope this little adventure helps someone else out there looking to drop a modern stereo into their Vette without a total system overhaul.
It’s just an in-line amp from scosche, nothing fancy. Still plugs in to the factory wiring. I don’t know what a cdm is-this isn’t my first time wiring up an aftermarket system but because of how Bose works I think it’s different. I’d like to leave as much factory as possible.
In later years like my 96 the Bose stereo was in two parts, the "head unit" which is really just a panel with controls and the cdm, which is the tuner and stuff.
BFen I had success with this product and my Range Rover with 4 Amps. They sell it at best buy but not on the floor you have to buy it off the audio car area. It is a metal unit and costs 50 dollars. It cranks but start with the volumes turned very low. It is a low level line
for the amp/s.
Not trying to hijack the thread, but what head units are you guys throwing in? My pops took the bose out of my 84' when he owned it and threw in a perfectly fitting 1.5 din pioneer (was back in the 90s) and threw in some 6x9s in the back. It still works well, but I'm missing bluetooth functionality. I've seen some guys mod the radio trim to fit in double din which either turns out looking great, or a hack job from what I've found online. I also saw that someone use to make these in an older thread.
If I have to go single din, will it sit flush less the faceplate on the radio sticking out? I'd hate to have one of those bulbous radio kits that stick out an extra half inch in there.
I recenty made mine more flush but I had to modify the PO's bracket. I use HD stereos in both my vehicles but I live where all the channels are HD. They recieve regular channels
also.
11-19-2017, 07:54 AM
1985 aftermarket stereo with factory Bose speakers
Mine was this way when I bought it. Had a wiring harness adaptor to the speakers and simply used the non powered outputs of the aftermarket stereo.
I recenty made mine more flush but I had to modify the PO's bracket. I use HD stereos in both my vehicles but I live where all the channels are HD. They recieve regular channels