jetblk30

Hey folks. Long time reader, first time poster. And oh man i have a lot to say...
I've had my 97 CL 3.0 since August and i've had no unusual problems... until now. Driving down the road a few weeks ago, the BOSE stero just went silent. I thought it might be the radio station, but even CD's didn't make any noise. The display lights up and you can hear the disc spinning, but nothing out of the speakers.
I figured it would be pretty easy to diagnose... fuse, wire, melted cap, etc, but everything seemed fine. I have an amp and sub wired off the back speakers so I disconnected that and checked all the wires connected to the bose amp in the trunk... all fine. I have a degreen in Electrical Engineering so I figured I'd take the stereo apart to look for any burned out componenets... nothing. So with a multimeter I test all the inputs and outputs from the head unit...found a problem. Even though the head unit gets all its power, the switch-on line that turns on the bose amp in the trunk was reading half of what it should be. I forced this to +12V to force the amp on, but still no sound.
"OK", I say. "Being certified pre-owned, my car is under warranty so I'll get the dealer to give me new radio." I take out my sub and ANY sign that it was ever there so they wouldn't give me crap, then I take it in.
They determine that the inards of the radio are malfunctioning (ok, that's good news... they at least have a clue) and that its covered by my warranty (also good news), but (here it comes) we have to send it out to Honda Repair and the turnaround it 10-12 weeks!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!! I've got to drive around in silence for over 2 months with a car that is under warrenty!! Thats when I got the stab to the chest. "Sir, your certified pre-owned extended warranty does not cover replacement of defective electrical equipment that can possibly be repaired." What? My extended warranty is different from the original warranty? Isn't that the whole point of a "certified" car? Aslo, my manufactures warrenty just ran out April 1st, but they insisted they couldn't cut me a break because it wasn't up to them. I argued that "if it was my airbag that was malfunctioning, wouldn't they replace that right away". He said "blah blah blah blah" (it doesn't matter beacuse it doesn't help my argument).
Anyway, they said the repair was covered so they sent it off to Honda. So I'm driving around with a hole in my dash and a boom box on the pasenger seat. My what a classy acura I have!
So, I want to install a new head unit and here's where my questions begin. I've done many stereo installations before so I'm very comfortable rewiring, speakers, amps, etc. With the bose system, I'm planning to disconnect the bose amp in the trunk and patching the plug so the wires run direct from the headunit to the speakers. Then I can just wire everything up at the headunit. This stereo has a weird bracket that supports it from the back instead of the sides. What stereos fit in there well? Do you know of anyone who has crammed a DoubleDIN receiver in there? I think that would look cool. I know crutchfield is great because I've used them many times before, but they said they can't really help me out because of the weirdness of the bose system and they were not that familiar with that car.
So...
1. anyone else had this problem?
2. Any ideas what to do on the warranty thing?
3. Please post headunit installations on this car and any tips you might have for good brands of installation kits to use.
4. If you want to feel my pain, next time you're in your car, turn the radio off for 5 minutes. If you can stand it, you're more of a man than me.
Looking forward to your responses!!

jetblk30

Oh yeah. I figured while it was in the shop to ask them to look at the rubber seal around the sunroof that is sticking up and letting wather in. I found a Tech Service Bulletin on nhtsa.gov about it so I was sure they would fix it. Nope, not covered by my stinkin warranty... $400 please. What!!! Once again, I'm under 50,000 miles and just 15 days out of manufactures warranty. If I had brought my car in last month with this stuff I would have been fine. Damnit.

1StGenCL

I know how you feel about not having a stereo. The CD player stopped playing in mine shorty after i bought it from the dealer new so it was still under warranty and they still took a month and a half to fix it. Then I got it back and it worked for like a week and then broke again so they replaced it. Then around March of 2000 the new one they put it stopped playing CD's and it wasnt under warranty anymore so i just put a single din Pioneer in there from Crutchfield. The install kit they send is UGLY. I thought of trying a double din so i talked to the people at Best Buy and they said it wasnt too hard for them to put one in so it is possiable

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'97 CL with custom scratches thanks to my mom's "wonderful" cats

Nugs3

I recently wanted to upgrade my head unit and while shopping for one Best Buy told me yeah you can add one on the the Bose system but it will cost you X amounts of dollars for parts and other good shit for it.....so after he told me the total for eveything which well over my intended budget of like $300 i said fuk it i'll try ciruct city. i went in told them I was looking for a head unit the guy says what kinda car do u have i said and Acura CL 3.0 with a Bose system.....He shook his head and said no can do. If u want a new head unit u have to ripp the whole thing out. So can we add one on it or not??? and how do i add subs and an amp to it?

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jhowell

I added one in, it was cake. The only thing I had to do was to make a bracket that houses the new head unit because like every one else says, aftermarket kits are ugly. Pics of the unit in my car is on my site, link listed below. I used a wiring harness so when I sell my car I can just pop the original CD player back. Good Luck peeps, and post pics.

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'97 2.2CL (5 spd)cleared bumbers, pedals, superwhite gauges, stock chromed rims (wanted to keep the original CL feel)Sony ES CDX-M750 head unit,Nokia hands free kit,35% on the windows..
My CL Page

eric2001

You guys can try AutoToys.com on the web. They sell the double DIN install kits, Alpine CD-changer adapters, and all sorts of BOSE adapters. I would like to upgrade the head unit to the Pioneer 8800, but I don't have the spare $$$. Let me know what anyone has done to the factory systems as an upgrade.

I currently have a 200 watt amp & 3 way cabinet in the trunk in place of the rear 6X9's, but I would eventually like to replace everything, money permitting.

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1997 3.0 Premium
Waiting for the V6/6-speed

amembrane

Jay, did you have the Bose system, or not? I know mine doesn't say Bose on it anywhere, and someone here had posted that there were no Bose systems in 2.2's



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97 2.2CL Premium - Black
Cleared bumpers, int / ext lights
'87 CRX Si Shift Knob =>

jhowell

No, the 2.2s never came with Bose, I don't even know who makes the system. All I know is the rear 6X9s in our car are 15Watt rated at 4 Ohm. You remember how mine sounded, and that was just the head unit, no amp, no tube. I think the speakers are positioned well for the CL, the acoutics are great. Let me know if you want to replace that head unit, I'll take a ride up by you and help out.

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'97 2.2CL (5 spd)cleared bumbers, pedals, superwhite gauges, stock chromed rims (wanted to keep the original CL feel)Sony ES CDX-M750 head unit,Nokia hands free kit,35% on the windows..
My CL Page

1StGenCL

I have to agree with the acoutics thing. I replaced the headunit and it sounds pretty good. Nice bass and great treble. Not pounding like my friend with 2 15s in his explorer but not bad.



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'97 CL with custom scratches thanks to my mom's "wonderful" cats

amembrane

Cool, I'm trying to decide if running the 6x9's off my Kicker SI amp will blow em or not. I have some Alpine 6x9's too, but I want to run new wiring if I'm gonna put those in, so I can switch back to stock if I need to.


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97 2.2CL Premium - Black
Cleared bumpers, int / ext lights
'87 CRX Si Shift Knob =>