ZR-1 Bose Amp Repair(2)

by Scott Fabre

Last Update: 06/13/2008

Reworking the Bose

March 24, 2001

There are several ways the Bose amps commonly fail. The most common seems to be leaky caps. (capacitors)The usual symptom is a "popping" sound as music is playing. Localize the popping to which speaker it is coming from then dive in.

This "How To" covers.

Removing the rear amp
Replacing the electrolytic caps

DISCLAIMER. What you are about to do may not be described in the GM manual. In fact I know it isn't. If you attempt any of this it is at your own risk.

Six screws holding in the bezel.

Bezel off view.

Gently pull up the side carpet starting at the bottom.

Get your handy dandy 7mm socket.

Remove the six 7mm hex head screws holding in the speaker/amp cabinet.

I show detail here to stress the importance of finessing the carpet up.

And when doing the middle one don't let the damn socket slip down in there!

Disconnect Mr. Socket.

Remove the four phillips head plastic thread screws.

Notice handy place to store screws on magnet.

Not shown, remove the four screw holding in the speaker and disconnect the two wires attached to the speaker. Then place the board in a suitable holder for desoldering.

Use solder wick to remove the solder around the caps.

two 4.7uf 16V
two 1uf 16V
one 47uf 16V
two 1000uf 16V
two 10uf 16V

All are going to be either 85deg C or 105 deg C. The temperature rating is not what is killing these caps. It is the voltage rating margin. I used 25V rating on all replaced components.

Use hot air gun to melt the glue (it is hot glue gun glue) As you do this use a small flat blade screw driver and needle nose pliers to grab the slightly fluid glue.

Notice the chunks of glue to the bottom right in the photo above.

Fuzzy picture above sorry but you can see the empty space now between components where once there was massive quantities of glue.

Now just touch the back side lead of each cap with a soldering iron and they will just fall out. Do just one cap at a time so you can pay attention to both the value AND the polarity. Make sure you get the right value in and WATCH THE POLARITY!

Now just reassemble and test. This procedure has worked for me on two amps now.


	Disclaimer: Repairs and techniques are reported here by amateurs and professionals as an informational opinion service only and should not be attempted by other than factory trained and certified technicians. The ZR1 Net does not recommend anyone doing these procedures and is not responsible for any adverse outcome. Factory repair manuals should always be used and followed to the letter in conjunction with any repair or maintenance performed. All cautions and warnings that appear in the factory manuals apply here as well. As recommended in all service manuals, proper eye and body protection as well as proper tools must be used for any maintenance performed by individuals. Working on automobiles is dangerous and could result in personal and/or property injury. If you do not have the proper tools or know-how, you should not do any of these procedures, but have a qualified technician perform the work.

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