Post by
samgauto »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/samgauto-u203818.html
Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:32 pm
Just thought I'd post this as it is related to adding Bose to a car with the base system. I have an 2009 Altima SL with the base single disc CD radio. Although many will say I'm crazy, I decided to add the Bose system to the car. Yes it was somewhat pricy, but I was able to get several speakers used as well as the amp and the head unit. I used Ebay and Car-Part.com to look for used parts. Bose 2007-2009 Altima 4 dr parts are interchangeable (other than the coupe which has some different part numbers) Now, adding this is not plug and play but I learned it was do-able.
To start off, my stock system had six speakers. The Bose system has 9 (although I went with only 8 as I did not want to cut the center top dash for the middle Bose tweeter placement). None of the base system speakers can be used so I had to purchase the two front end dash tweeters, the two front door speakers, the two rear door speakers (there are none inside the rear doors of the base system) and the rear tweeters on the rear shelf. I also purchased the rear shelf and replaced it with the one with the Bose speaker grills.
There is a considerable amount of wiring involved (about 500 feet of 18 gauge wire) as the wiring on the base system connects the radio head right to the speakers but on the Bose system the radio outputs are run to the amplifier ( which mounts under the rear shelf between the rear woofers) then from the amplifier to each speaker. Also, two separate 'hot at all times' 15 amp fused power wires need to be brought to the amp in the trunk. The wiring diagram with pictures of the connectors from the Nissan manual on CD was a big help. The CD is available at Ebay, Nissan and Alldata.com.
The two biggest hurdles to this upgrade from non-Bose to Bose is the fact that (1) you will need to specify to the junk yards that you must have the connectors on the back of the radio and the amp in order to make the wiring work correctly and (2) there is some modification needed to the radio face plate (sort of).
The Amp has two connectors and the radio has 4 (the brown power plug on the radio is the same so actually u just need the large white radio plug. The other two white radio plugs are not needed as they are for Bluetooth and SAT radio....although I did add the SAT also..keep reading for that). I got the junk yards I used to send me the plugs with at lest 6 inches of wiring to make the install go smoothly. If you don't get the plugs then you will need to by several wiring harness from Nissan and they are expensive!
As far as the face plate issue goes, the radio faceplate is screwed onto the radio and it also is the faceplate for the climate control knobs. Unfortunately, Bose built cars always come with dual zone climate controls which has a diff cutout for the climate knob opening. Now, as you read in the thread here, you can swap out the faceplate from the stock radio over to the bose radio (also using the bose faceplate circuit board), That makes the cutouts all work but u dont have the bose logo (yes i wanted the bose logo too). So, with some patience, I was able to cut the bottom climate control section off of my base radio face plate and cut the dual zone section of the bose face plate. So I used the top Bose radio face with my bottom base climate control plate section. The seam is hardly noticeable and looks factory so I like the way it came out.
I thought the sound was a great improvement to the base system. A lot more base, especially from the front door speakers and the rear woofers. Plus the Bose head has the 6 disc changer and the RDS text readout for the radio data.
In doing all this I also decided to add the SAT radio. The same junkyard that had a 2008 altima 4dr with Bose also took the SAT control box out of the same car for me (with the plugs and a few inches of wire). This control box is also mounted on the rear speaker shelf but on the drivers side, the amplifier mounts on the passenger side. I did have to buy the mounting brackets from Nissan for the SAT and amplifier the but they were not expensive.
The SAT has about 9 wires that go from the SAT box to the SAT plug on the back of the Bose radio head and the SAT box needs one 15A on at all times feed (I tied into one of the new amp feeds) as well as a 10 amp feed powered at accessory and key on. This latter feed I ran to the trunk from the fuse panel.
You also have to drill a hole in the rear of the roof to mount the SAT antenna (that's the point when I new I was crazy). I bought the antenna from Nissan and they also sell the cover that comes already painted in the color of your car. The antenna was 90.00 and the painted cover was 30.00 plus a special nut that holds it on. Then you run the antenna wire from the SAT box to the antenna by routing it under the headliner. You can buy the antenna wire from Nissan to connect the antenna to the SAT box if the junk yard does not include it with the SAT box.
It is interesting to note that several on-line sites sell an aftermarket SAT hookup with is easy to install if you just want to stick with the base system and add the SAT feature. (of course you will need a subscription 9-17 per month depending on the package you select).
The system came out nice and the steering controls still work too. I noticed that the section of wiring that i got with the radio plugs off the Bose junk yard car was shielded wire, although were it ends at the amp plugs was not shielded. I was concerned about this 'lack of shielding' on my install but so far I have not had any issues. Technically, if i wanted to I could add the Bluetooth control box and wiring but that would call for a different steering wheel (more buttons) as well as some additional microphone parts on the headliner. I don't need the blue tooth and Nissan sells and easier to install aftermarket kit that replaces the sunglasses holder for those who desire Bluetooth technology.
If there is interest I will post some pictures and the part numbers of the completed install.