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Installing a non Nav Bose Amp and Speakers with a Pioneer HU?
I found mixed information about how to wire up a Pioneer HU to the factory Bose speakers on my 2001 ML320. I won't be connecting the CD player. Contacted PAC Audio and they said I only need the wiring harness: BHA-1784R and nothing else. Is this a true statement?
If your Bose amp is non fibre optic ( I assume it isnt) then it is fairly simple. All one needs to know is in the PDF. If it is FO then kiss goodbye to the Bose amp. Are you technical? Can you read/undestand electronic diagrams? Are you going to install it yourself?
I bought the ML320 last week with a Cylinder 4,5 and 6 misfire OBD2 codes with hardly any power from the engine. Had interface issues with Carsoft 7.4 using the OBD2 port with the multiplexer. Going to do a Compression test, cylinder Leak down test and a exhaust pressure test to diagnose the issue properly. Once that is sorted, I'll be tearing into the stereo. The truck is a one owner with 100k Arizona vehicle. Other HU option I was looking at was the Dynavin D99+ unit.
I have wired up a Pioneer HU with PAC steering controls on the W230.
I'm hoping the MCS unit I have only has Optical wiring to the CD player. My only concern was that I read somewhere that the Pre Amp outputs on the factory unit being too low and needing something to modulate the output from the Pioneer unit going to the Bose Amp to avoid distortion. Pac Audio folks insisted our units only need a wiring harness and nothing else. Looked at the PDF and it looks pretty straight forward; appreciate your help.
The Best option is to open up the Bose amp & solder cable with RCA female connectors. Then you can pull the signal from the line out of thr head unit. Any other way means you are doing this: Supplying high output signal from speaker outs of the head Unit into low level inputs of the Bose amp. At low volume levels it wont sound distorted but you will have a constant hissss. At higher volume levels it will distort.
If you know how to handle a soldering iron then its a DIY.
Cyl 4,5,6 that is bank 2. Coould be your Cats on the left side. Why dont you open a new thread & post the codes so you get help .
Ok, that was where my misunderstanding was; got the impression from various forums and threads that the "Pre out from the Pioneer Head units had to be modulated before going to the Bose Amp". I was never going to connect the speaker wires from the HU directly to the Bose amp. The wiring harness BHA-1784R is supposed to connect the Pre outs from the Pioneer HU to the Bose Amp Pre ins directly.
Need to identify the following pins/wires from your PDF going to the back of the Bose Amp from the HU's C1 connector:
B5 Blue
B6 Org
B7 Pink
B8 Red
B9 Wht
B10 Gry
B11 Org
B12 Grn
As for the firing issue; I'm going to do some testing tomorrow to narrow it down and will post my findings as a new thread before I start tearing down the heads or buy a new left Cat assembly. Thanks again for your comments.
These are pinouts on the Connector 2 (B section Line input on the bose amp). The connector has 2 rows. One row is A section the other row is B section. You cant miss it.
B 5 Left front Positive Line in
B 12 Left front negative Line in
B6 Right front Positive Line in
B9 Right front Negative line in
You will hear & maybe read a lot of BS about Bose amp....Like the signal has to be modulated or the amp has balanced in & one needs to balance the signal. That is not true.
The connector you are talking about stereo installers use to drop the gain from the head unit to the Bose amp because they are using speaker outs into pre amp in of the Bose. If you now how to solder then the pinout above is all you need. For best results use proper shielded cables. You can buy long RCA installation cables & cut one side & solder it to the board of the Bose amp. It will sound amazing. I know.....Iv'e done it. I am using a JVC head withe the bose amp for mid hi's + bose subwoofer + 12" pioneer shalow sub with a dedicated monoblock amp.
My bad, I should have known that there was a purpose to your color coding. You are right; there is a lot of misinformation in the forums. Pac Audio guys were saying the same thing and the harness BHA-1784R (I purchased it already) plugs straight in and I shouldn't have to solder any wires going to the Bose amp; I will double check the pin outs to make sure.
I'm leaning towards Pioneer's AppRadio 3 SPHDA210.
As for my engine issues, did a compression test today and got:
Left Bank:
4 - 155 psi
5 - 155 psi
6 - 155 psi
Right Bank
1 - 170 psi
2 - 165 psi
3 - 165 psi
I will do a leak down test tomorrow on the left bank and then do a pressure test on the Catalytic converter before the first cat. Once I have all the data, I will post it in another thread with the OBD2 codes (P0300, P0304, P0305 and P0306).
Dinesh were there no other codes present?? Was it only P0300/P0304/P0305/P0306??
Look at it this way misfires are only on bank 2 on all 4,5,6 cylinders. So it cant be your coils or plugs or injectors or cables on that bank. It is something that all cylinders have in common. As a simple test get under the car, under the left bank CATs & tap them & see if you can hear any rattling on both upper & lower Cats.It can be that the upper cat has desintegrated internaly & the particles have blocked the lower cat. You would have had codes if your O2 sensors have gone bad. Try to rescan the car properly again before doing other tests & post the codes.
Cheers
I did a compression test and a leak down test; they both came out good across the cylinders (all 6). My next test was to do a back pressure test; unfortunately I had trouble connecting the gauge and decided to start the car with the front LH O2 sensor out. For the first time I was able to move the car and the codes disappeared apart from the new one P0135 due to the missing O2 sensor. I went ahead and ordered the Left side Catalytic converter.
Dineshh the improvement to the way the car runs after removing the sensor proves that the CATs were blocked. You are saying you ordered the CAT. Have you determined 100% which CAT is clogged? It could be upper or lower CAT...... It wont be nice getting the wrong one.
The part I ordered comes in a direct fit section that includes both Cats and the muffler following the rear Cat. Hopefully, this would be it. I tried knocking on the Cats to see if I can hear anything, unfortunately the section is rock solid with no movement. The car lived in Arizona all it's life and it has a pretty new looking undercarriage. If I get a chance I will take the section out over the weekend. The new Cats should be here next week. Once I have the car moving, then I will be able to concentrate on more fun stuff like replacing the Stereo. Did notice another issue where the ignition key was stuck till I wiggle the gear selector in Park. Do you know if our cars have an adjustable cable for the Park selector and ignition key? I read somewhere that there is an adjuster near the brake peddle. Haven't had a chance to take a look.
You are referring to the brake light switch. If the switch is faulty the ETC module doesn't get signal from it, hence the ETC doesn't know that you have pressed the brake pedal & the shifter can get stuck in park position....It is a cheap part $25-00. But I don't think that was the culprit....FYI I have posted a PDF about BLS. https://mbworld.org/forums/6006370-post2.html
The key not coming out........are you sure the shifter was properly in park? Was the steering locked?
I have no issues with shifter being stuck; it moves freely. The stuck ignition key issue only happened to me once last week. I read a paragraph from the workshop manual that indicates the break pedal needs to be pressed to remove it out of Park and that the same logic dictates that that pedal needs to be disengaged for the key to come out of the ignition lock.
Catalytic converters in and the car runs great. No CELs on the dash. Nice driving it for the first time when you by a car that is not drivable. Little nigly bits; may need front shocks *little wobbly*. Checked all suspension parts no noticeable play on any of them.
As for the Cat, the rear one was completely blocked. I put my Air gun through the O2 sensor hole and no air came through the rear.
Only other noticeable problem I have is the driver's side rear door lock actuator doesn't work.
Checked the ignition key removal issue again and the shifter in park as about 1/2" of forward play; this is enough to not release the ignition key. Will work on adjusting the cable.
I was having second thought as the Bose speakers with the MCS unit sounds pretty good. I came close to rigging up an Aux jack via a Universal FM antenna adapter like this *which I bought to mate an Avic to the Range Rover's stock radio*:
Thanks Art, no doubt will have more questions keeping to the topic in hand when the gear arrives. Only part I'm yet to order is the box to mount the DD Pioneer unit. I was going to leave that till I have a better understanding of the spacing. Various topics talk about trimming the existing mount/box and attaching a Pioneer DD mount to it.
Art, got a question regarding the A5 connection that is used to turn the Bose Amp on and off; on the HU side this is a relay 300ma max input connection, is that sufficient to turn the Bose Amp on?
As for cutting, all I had to do was to Dramel off the two guide pins for the MCS unit from the back of it's mounting enclosure. I had a Double Din trim piece laying around I used for the front to cover the 2mm gap left by the old MCS unit which is slightly larger. Instead of a a DD cage, I used a loop of friction tape around the back of the front lip to slide and hold the the unit. This is easily removable and does not offer any theft protection.
For that, I use this:
Once, I have the rest of the install completed, I will posts some photos.
Haven't had a chance to install the reversing Camera, Microphne and iPod connection. Currently running Pandora with my Galaxy S4 and the sound quality is very good.
Love to hear from someone using the Galaxy S4 with the Mirror link. I have heard that it can be done using the ARLiberator App and a Samsung cable.
Art, thanks for your help and assurance that the gear I bought for the install was all I needed.
The Best option is to open up the Bose amp & solder cable with RCA female connectors. Then you can pull the signal from the line out of thr head unit. Any other way means you are doing this: Supplying high output signal from speaker outs of the head Unit into low level inputs of the Bose amp. At low volume levels it wont sound distorted but you will have a constant hissss. At higher volume levels it will distort.
If you know how to handle a soldering iron then its a DIY.
Cyl 4,5,6 that is bank 2. Coould be your Cats on the left side. Why dont you open a new thread & post the codes so you get help .
Wouldn't another option be to connect RCA wires to the outputs from the new head unit, and then just strip the wires there to wire in to the Metra 70-1784 wiring adapter to get the low level input to go to the Bose AMP, instead of soldering on to the circuit board?
I just picked up a 2001 ML320 with a broken radio, and I have a Kenwood DPX500BT that I was going to put in and without doing any prior homework I just connected the head unit wires to the Metra wiring harness, which obviously isn't working as I don't think the non-fiber Bose AMP is turning on. I'm glad this is a recent post, as I can post pictures of what I have going on later and would definitely appreciate some help on what wire to put where, the attached PDF with the color codes is helpful, but I have to admit it's still a bit confusing what exactly I need to do to make the amp turn on, or is that just part of the wiring harness that should make it turn on?
Last edited by adamiano86; Jul 11, 2014 at 01:00 PM.
adamian jan hayes?. The metra is used to drop high output signal from the SPEAKER outs of the head to low input. It will work but its a compromise.
Connecting direct from RCA outs to the RCA ins (directly to the board) you get the best quality possible.
Your amp is not switching on most probably you have left out the amp out/antenna/wire from the head to the amp. It usually is blue/white in colour.
Yeah, you were definitely right, I forgot to put that extra blue wire that came with the harness in to spot A5 to turn the amp on, here's a before and after:
Before:
After:
So now the radio works, and I just have the wires from the new head unit wired in to my adapter, the sound is coming out of the speakers and sounds fine, I was expecting a bunch of fuzz from the other posts I read, thoughts? I do have RCA wire and am comfortable pulling out the amp to solder on to the board, but at this point, do I even need to?
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