Hey guys,

Finally decided to have Ye Ode CD ERR F0 problem fixed on by Bose HU by taking it out and sending it off to one of the repair services on fleabay. Takes a bit of work but not too bad to get it out. ** I did disconnect the negative battery cable for the removal.

After I got the stereo out and put everything back together (as I will have to wait a couple weeks for it to be sent out/repaired/sent back) I noticed the lights on AC panel are not functioning and the temp is stuck at 75. Cannot select inside/outside air, cannot manually change fan speed, etc. The AC works and the fan blows, I just cannot adjust it any way.

I know this is a common problem, but I am not sure if somehow the AC controller got fried even though I had the battery disconnected. I did double-check the connection for the vent under the driver right knee area and that is connected. I'm just not sure if this is just how it works when you have no stereo installed, or if there is another problem now.

Appreciate ideas, thanks. This is on an 03.5 sedan, 6-disc Bose unit.

 

Did you just fail to plug in the a/c controller harness?

If it is plugged in right, the power circuit repair (what is usually fixed by the repair shops) may not have been done correctly and you're still not getting power to the climate control circuits.

Check that it's hooked up right and then contact the repair shop and you're probably going to have to send it back in again for a proper repair.

Or just demand your money back and do what you should have done in the first place - aftermarket radio.

 

I haven't sent it out for repair yet, all I did was remove the unit from my car. There was only one harness to plug back in, pretty sure it was the a/c controller harness.

The reason I am asking is if the a/c controller is indeed damaged, then it would make sense to go double DIN instead of having this repaired. As for you comment 'that's what I should have done in the first place', the car is 10 years old so it's not so clear a choice.

 

Without the radio, the a/c controls have no power, so you're not going to get anything from just the control portion plugged in.

The radios on these cars are terribly prone to failure, so the comment on "what to do in the first place" is so you don't dump $100+ repairing a part that will fail again. Even with the power circuit repaired, there's also common mechanical failure of the CD changer and disc read failures that are completely unrelated to the failing power circuit, so it's not recommended to throw money at something so failure-prone.

 

Oh I hear you. My choice is either to spend around $180 to get it fixed, knowing it could well go out again or drop around $600 to get a JDM double DIN kit and a new head unit. No doubt I would be happier with an MP3 CD player. The part that makes it difficult is the car is 10 years old and I don't know how much longer I will have it. I do my own maintenance and the car is in great shape, so I have no timetable for replacing it. At 158k I also know things happen - if I knew I'd have it 3 more years then it would a much easier decision.

In any event, that is for me to decide but you have given me the information I need, which is the AC is behaving as it should without the HU installed. I have not committed to getting the Bose fixed yet, I was just wondering if there was something else wrong that would tip me towards the double DIN route.

So thank you for the information, I've got a decision to make.

 

Well, there's also sound quality and the whole safety of bluetooth handsfree to think of. Going with cheap parts (metra kit and a non-touchscreen double-din unit) you can do the upgrade for under $300.

The bose amp itself is also a bit failure prone, but nowhere near what the headunit is, if you're looking for another excuse to upgrade.

 

Ok. The Metra kit on ebay is $170 but I see it does not include a different AC controller. Can you use the stock AC controller with that kit? If so, then to do the upgrade for $300 I'd be buying a HU that costs $130. If I need to also buy an AC controller, no way could all that be done for $300.

This makes me wonder if you have a specific recommendation - do you? I do appreciate the comments. I know the Bose HU is not the world's best but for like $130 I wouldn't think that would allow very good options.

Edit: I expect you are considering the Crutchfield deal where the Metra kit + antenna adapter run $115 if you buy a stereo from them. That seems like a great option vs. fixing the Bose HU, again assuming I don't have to buy a different AC controller.

 

The metra kit includes an a/c controller.

If you're going for budget, go through crutchfield for the combo deal. If you're going with a more expensive unit, the cheaper cost of going through another place for the headunit may offset the lack of a combo deal for the metra kit.

If you're going for a budget upgrade, the Pioneer Pioneer FH-X700BT is a great way to get bluetooth calling and streaming without going with a touchscreen unit. It's a fair upgrade from stock and doesn't have the huge failure rate of the factory radio.

 

I've proceeded with this upgrade option, thank you for the recommendation. Total cost with free 2-day shipping came to $250 with the Metra kit included. A no-brainer option vs. $180 to send the Bose unit out and have it repaired.

 

If you need help with the install and feel like a little drive, come on down to Savannah

 

$250 from Crutchfield for the metra kit and that Pioneer stereo combo ?

I guess I need to do this my a/c panel / controls just crapped out !! Stereo still seems to work but the lights on the a/c panel are flickering and the controls don't work.

 

Yes. I just did the install today, a nice upgrade.

I was back-and-forth with getting the steering wheel integration package. I decided to also order the Axxess ASWC-1 steering wheel interface. The install went well, but that steering wheel interface added some time to it. In the end, it all works except the Mode and Power buttons on the steering wheel. The power button does nothing and the Mode button invokes an 'attenuate' function instead of switching inputs. Called Crutchfield and the most they could do was verify I did everything correctly.

Kinda funny, one guy I talked to said the Volume up/down used one pin and the seek up/down button used a different pin, and the Mode/Power buttons both used one of those pins - thereby likely eliminating a wiring problem. I tried multiple times to reprogram the steering wheel buttons but I just could not get the Mode/Power buttons to work correctly

Not the end of the world, but the steering wheel interface should work for all buttons. I'm sure the problem is solvable but I could not solve it.

But the good news - I now have modern functions for audio on a 10-year-old car and I am loving it! The bluetooth ipod interface is very nice, containing features like powering on/starting the ipod touch when the input source is selected as bluetooth, and it even pauses the ipod when the ignition is turned off and the input source was ipod.

 

Actually the vol up, seek up and mode button are on the same pin, while vol down, seek down and pwr are on the other. If vol up and down both work, both pins are working correctly and it's just a matter of programming the ASWC-1 manually to do what you want. Check http://contentdocs.installernet.com/...duct/34201.pdf for the manual programming guide and you can have it act exactly as you wish.

 

Yeah I have the programming guide, there is something else that is amiss. Today for the first time, the Mode button on the steering wheel actually did start changing the input source on the stereo. Worked a bunch of times, but on the way home from work today it started doing attenuate instead of mode switch. Not much to explain that other than some kind of defect somewhere. I suspect a bug in the interface, it is updateable via mini USB port.

The power button remains nonfunctional for me, but that does not matter to me as I always have the stereo on in my car.

 

Was it soldered into position or were crimps used?

If it is soldered, you may have a defective unit.