sometime ago i found away to add a full system to my 09 silverado . while keeping the stock bose head unit.i made a plug in harness that i did not have to cut any factory wires. my truck is my daily driver i push the stereo system daily so that i could find any flaws with my harness . it turned out just great no problems at all.but unfortunately i have no time at all to build any to sell i have so much going on right now . so i will post all the info that i know about so all you guys can make a full harness or just cut wires and wire in your own system. here is a link to my other post
I DID IT! solved the bose system upgrade issues
please read the other post there is tons of great info i didn't want to repost.
ok this post is based on my 09 Silverado. i don't know if the wire colors change with different years. im not an expert but i did get the factory schematics and do know how to read them. im just sharing my knowledge of the bose system and if you do this upgrade you do it at your own risk.
im posting this for people who have the know how can do this. im not responsible for any things you might do to your truck.
ok first thing . your factory bose head unit feeds a low voltage rca signal straight to your factory amp under the center console . the signal is clean and great. better than my last alpine head unit i had in my other car.by keeping your stock head unit you keep every factory option working with no problems,on star,back up sensors,rear view cam,blue tooth,steering wheel controls,turn signal and seat belt chimes warning chimes.another bonus by keeping your stock head unit is the stealth of it in your dash. not many people want to break into a truck to steal a stock head unit .
once you remove the center console the stock amp sits right behind the stock subwoofer under a steal plate.there is a large harness that you can disconnect . that harness goes to the amp the subwoofer and the power outlets in the center console.
once you remove the steal plate over your amp you get a good view of the amp
here is a better view
so here it is pulled out of the truck. the top harness that is not plugged in is the RCA output from the head unit.the center harness is the output going out your amp to the speakers.the bottom harness is the power harness that supplies power , ground, to the amp also has the output to your factory bose subs.
this is what the harness looks like once you unplug it from your amp.its way easier to work on it if you remove it like i did. if you notice from the picture above the harness is just wraped in electrical tape.once you peel the electrical tapeyou will get a great look at the wires
once you peel the electrical tape you will see the factory RCA cables. the bare wires you see are for nosie cancelation dont worry about them they don't go connected to anything.do not ground them. also 2 other cables run along that harness. one is the accessory 12v . thats the one that turns on and off your stock bose amp. now this has a delay on it so when you hook up this to turn on and off an after market amp the amp stays on with the radio till you open the door. it will function just like the factory unit.
once again this color codes for the wires are for a 2009 silverado. i dont know if gm has the same color codes for all new body style
1. solid orange wire = 12v accessory
2. solid white wire = extra its for the bose amp function
Front RCA
1. Left Front (+) = Tan
2. Left Front (-) = dark green
3. Right Front (+) = light green/white
4. Right Front (-) = Orange/black
Rear RCA
1. Left Rear (+) = Brown/white
2. Left Rear (-) = Brown
3. Right Rear (+) = Dark Blue
4. Right Rear (-) = Tan
ok at this point anyone that can soldier can just cut the harness and soldier on some rca ends to this and go ahead and run your system from this point.
for those that dont want to cut your factory harness . like me.
you will need to buy a harness . it plugs in to your factory harness
after lots of researching i found a place that sells the parts with out you having to buy bulk. i dont get any kick backs from these places its just where i found them at the best price.
this connector is the best matching connector . i just wish the rear was enclosed but once i put all the plugs where they go i just poured epoxy over it so it stay as one unit.
the front that plugs into the factory harness
rear view .the area where you put your RCA's the connector is made by MOLEX The part number is 34690-0160. mouser electronics sells them with out you having to order bulk. you can buy just one.
you will need to order the MOLEX contact crimp sockets for the connector.22awg the wire gauge is very thin get the right size . if you dont they will come loose .
you will need to order this tool.must be this one cause the other tools dont crimp these little connectors correctly. too tight it cuts them too loose they fall off.
its made by MULTICOMP model number HT-225D
if you make your own harness this is what you will end up with .
then i plugged all the harnesses back in except for the bypass one i made.
i plugged the other harnesses back in and installed it all back together . the stock bose amp does not turn on cause there is no 12v accessory going to it . but the reason i installed it back in was i did not want to pick up engine noise or just have the hot wires hanging there.
i did not use the factory speaker wires .i ran new wire from my amps to all my speakers. besides the front door speakers and tweeters are wires in parallel with resistor somewhere in the line.did not want to mess with that.
i did remove the factory sub. lots of room there to mount my speaker crossovers. im running a 4 channel amp for my mids and high and a 2 channel bridged for my 2 10" JL subs.
this is how i mounted my stuff
seats still fold up and dont hit the amps.to me its about having a stealth system . when passengers get in my truck it appears to be stock
with both seats installed and in the up position you cant see any of the system but i still have full access to the jack and accessories .i ended up building a small little box on the passenger side to keep my tool bag under the seat
you can also see my JL component speakers on the doors installed . i did mount the tweeters on the doors. but i think that it blends in
up front i have a 3way component system i really did not want to make any big holes on the door panels for the 4 inch mids. so i made some floor pods that dont stick out so much. but i did not make any holes on the door panels. i think over all the truck looks stock ,dash board and all
i stuck the tweeters up on the stock location. they sound amazing . bose did do some research on speaker placement. so i stuck them up there and used the stock bose factory grill to cover them
over all im very impressed by the factory bose head unit . i was hoping for it to be decent . but it has been excellent .clean clear no distortion.
i did not have to buy any over priced line converters. when you run a converter off the sub output the amp has a built in crossover .your not getting a full range signal. when you pic it up before the amp then you get a great full signal that your own after market amps crossover can take full advantage of.
i just wanted to add a little more bass to my system. i ended up with a great sound quality sound system in my truck while keeping all my stock chime and functions
i hope this helps out everyone who is looking to upgrade there system. weather you decide to cut the harness or make a plug and play kit. after running the stock head unit like this i wouldnt trade it. i have back up camera that shows up on m rear view. as far as navigation i have a smart phone . before you go out and spend your money on an after market head unit and all the adapters. try this out first .wish i had the time to make some harnesses but im in the middle of building my novas custom 4link airbagged suspension and getting my kid college enrollment together and work and side jobs and honey dos around the house.wow im sure there are lots of you in my shoes too.
well good luck luck to all . if you have any questions just post them on here i will check on this post from time to time.im sure others will have the same questions.
I DID IT! solved the bose system upgrade issues
please read the other post there is tons of great info i didn't want to repost.
ok this post is based on my 09 Silverado. i don't know if the wire colors change with different years. im not an expert but i did get the factory schematics and do know how to read them. im just sharing my knowledge of the bose system and if you do this upgrade you do it at your own risk.
im posting this for people who have the know how can do this. im not responsible for any things you might do to your truck.
ok first thing . your factory bose head unit feeds a low voltage rca signal straight to your factory amp under the center console . the signal is clean and great. better than my last alpine head unit i had in my other car.by keeping your stock head unit you keep every factory option working with no problems,on star,back up sensors,rear view cam,blue tooth,steering wheel controls,turn signal and seat belt chimes warning chimes.another bonus by keeping your stock head unit is the stealth of it in your dash. not many people want to break into a truck to steal a stock head unit .
once you remove the center console the stock amp sits right behind the stock subwoofer under a steal plate.there is a large harness that you can disconnect . that harness goes to the amp the subwoofer and the power outlets in the center console.
once you remove the steal plate over your amp you get a good view of the amp
here is a better view
so here it is pulled out of the truck. the top harness that is not plugged in is the RCA output from the head unit.the center harness is the output going out your amp to the speakers.the bottom harness is the power harness that supplies power , ground, to the amp also has the output to your factory bose subs.
this is what the harness looks like once you unplug it from your amp.its way easier to work on it if you remove it like i did. if you notice from the picture above the harness is just wraped in electrical tape.once you peel the electrical tapeyou will get a great look at the wires
once you peel the electrical tape you will see the factory RCA cables. the bare wires you see are for nosie cancelation dont worry about them they don't go connected to anything.do not ground them. also 2 other cables run along that harness. one is the accessory 12v . thats the one that turns on and off your stock bose amp. now this has a delay on it so when you hook up this to turn on and off an after market amp the amp stays on with the radio till you open the door. it will function just like the factory unit.
once again this color codes for the wires are for a 2009 silverado. i dont know if gm has the same color codes for all new body style
1. solid orange wire = 12v accessory
2. solid white wire = extra its for the bose amp function
Front RCA
1. Left Front (+) = Tan
2. Left Front (-) = dark green
3. Right Front (+) = light green/white
4. Right Front (-) = Orange/black
Rear RCA
1. Left Rear (+) = Brown/white
2. Left Rear (-) = Brown
3. Right Rear (+) = Dark Blue
4. Right Rear (-) = Tan
ok at this point anyone that can soldier can just cut the harness and soldier on some rca ends to this and go ahead and run your system from this point.
for those that dont want to cut your factory harness . like me.
you will need to buy a harness . it plugs in to your factory harness
after lots of researching i found a place that sells the parts with out you having to buy bulk. i dont get any kick backs from these places its just where i found them at the best price.
this connector is the best matching connector . i just wish the rear was enclosed but once i put all the plugs where they go i just poured epoxy over it so it stay as one unit.
the front that plugs into the factory harness
rear view .the area where you put your RCA's the connector is made by MOLEX The part number is 34690-0160. mouser electronics sells them with out you having to order bulk. you can buy just one.
you will need to order the MOLEX contact crimp sockets for the connector.22awg the wire gauge is very thin get the right size . if you dont they will come loose .
you will need to order this tool.must be this one cause the other tools dont crimp these little connectors correctly. too tight it cuts them too loose they fall off.
its made by MULTICOMP model number HT-225D
if you make your own harness this is what you will end up with .
then i plugged all the harnesses back in except for the bypass one i made.
i plugged the other harnesses back in and installed it all back together . the stock bose amp does not turn on cause there is no 12v accessory going to it . but the reason i installed it back in was i did not want to pick up engine noise or just have the hot wires hanging there.
i did not use the factory speaker wires .i ran new wire from my amps to all my speakers. besides the front door speakers and tweeters are wires in parallel with resistor somewhere in the line.did not want to mess with that.
i did remove the factory sub. lots of room there to mount my speaker crossovers. im running a 4 channel amp for my mids and high and a 2 channel bridged for my 2 10" JL subs.
this is how i mounted my stuff
seats still fold up and dont hit the amps.to me its about having a stealth system . when passengers get in my truck it appears to be stock
with both seats installed and in the up position you cant see any of the system but i still have full access to the jack and accessories .i ended up building a small little box on the passenger side to keep my tool bag under the seat
you can also see my JL component speakers on the doors installed . i did mount the tweeters on the doors. but i think that it blends in
up front i have a 3way component system i really did not want to make any big holes on the door panels for the 4 inch mids. so i made some floor pods that dont stick out so much. but i did not make any holes on the door panels. i think over all the truck looks stock ,dash board and all
i stuck the tweeters up on the stock location. they sound amazing . bose did do some research on speaker placement. so i stuck them up there and used the stock bose factory grill to cover them
over all im very impressed by the factory bose head unit . i was hoping for it to be decent . but it has been excellent .clean clear no distortion.
i did not have to buy any over priced line converters. when you run a converter off the sub output the amp has a built in crossover .your not getting a full range signal. when you pic it up before the amp then you get a great full signal that your own after market amps crossover can take full advantage of.
i just wanted to add a little more bass to my system. i ended up with a great sound quality sound system in my truck while keeping all my stock chime and functions
i hope this helps out everyone who is looking to upgrade there system. weather you decide to cut the harness or make a plug and play kit. after running the stock head unit like this i wouldnt trade it. i have back up camera that shows up on m rear view. as far as navigation i have a smart phone . before you go out and spend your money on an after market head unit and all the adapters. try this out first .wish i had the time to make some harnesses but im in the middle of building my novas custom 4link airbagged suspension and getting my kid college enrollment together and work and side jobs and honey dos around the house.wow im sure there are lots of you in my shoes too.
well good luck luck to all . if you have any questions just post them on here i will check on this post from time to time.im sure others will have the same questions.
