I purchased a 1988 Corvette last year and, of course, it has the Delco/Bose system in it. The unit has the tape deck but no CD. It was working at times and yet some of the time it had only one channel. Lately it doesn't work at all. I checked the wiring looms and the wires seem okay. I checked out the tech reports on this forum and decided to look at the amps at the speakers. They look good and show no signs of damage. Is there a way to test at the connectors of each speaker with a ohmeter? I figure with the four wires, two are power (12 volt?) and two are from the radio. I'd like to give the radio a chance even though there is a high degree of Delco/Bose bashing. Also, how do you remove the grills on the dash?

 

I don't know about any testing you can do...

the number one killer of bose amps is a capacator on the board. it will explode, or, at the very least, it will leak goo everywhere.

I am not a fan of the bose systems... they do sound ok, but the drivers are not of a very good quality - the paper cones rot!!!!

Then there is the amp problems... and the head units are not the most durable.

As for the dash grilles??? I have no clue... never tried them!!! My 92 does not have them!!!!

 

Hi, welcome to the forum. I won't bash the Bose system, but I will say that I have absolutely NO regrets from pulling it out of my car. Yours might be different, but I haven't heard one Bose system that sounded good. Always sound muffled. Also, don't bother with the dash grilles. There's nothing under there in your car. Non-Bose equipped cars had front speakers in the dash instead of doors.

 

You might want to post in the Electronics/Audio Forum too. I lost one channel too, and after about 20 or 30 minutes of on time, it would magically reappear. The Shop Manual test for a dead speaker is to check for a/c voltage on the signal wires, terminals C & D, at each speaker. Should be about 1 volt A/C with high volume. It also has you check for battery voltage at the amp terminals A & B; should be 12 volts DC. I did this and found no a/c voltage on the signal wires at the speakers or the head unit, until the unit had been on for about 20 minutes. I probably should have sent the head unit our for repair, but for some reason, I dug into the signal harness. That resulted in terminal alternator whine, so obviously, I killed the shields. However, I eventually replaced the speaker/amp units on the dead side and suddenly (save for the whine) it worked again. To access the dash grills, you need to remove the crash pad. The Bose has no dash speakers - I read somewhere that GM determined that the amp units could play havoc with the display, so they were deleted from the Bose option.

 

I also have an 88w/delco bose. The grills on the top dash pad are not cut out. They are only for looks although could be used for an aftermarket upgrade. To get to the grills you must first remove the dash pad. Several screws along the outer edge & 2 or 4 screws next to the windshield. Then the dash slides out towards the aft. There are clips that hold the front down in the front, be careful on installation. As far as fixing all of the problems and still having marginal sound quality, & no cd player, I think that I am going to check out an after market system. Too bad because I like the factory look.

Tom

 

Hey, Thanks! I had heard there was nothing in the dash even though it's called a six speaker system. I did figure there was 12 volts at the speakers and a small amount (AC) coming from the head unit. I figure if I find nothing at the speakers, the head unit is the problem. I hate the idea of changing it out and going with something aftermarket. I probably want things stock to a fault.