Hello all. 2003 G35 sedan owner since March 2003. Desert Platinum with Premium/Nav/Winter/Wood packages. Had about 13,000 miles on the odometer when I bought her, at 96,000 and change today.

Ran into my first problem in a looooong time a few days ago. I am hoping for some help/suggestions.

Went out and started the car Wed. and heard static/crackling type noise (volume varies) from the driver side rear speaker even though the radio unit was not powered on. Powered unit up, same noise but now with radio station (or CD when selected) playing at a lower level. All heating controls seem to be working fine. Turned entire car off/on several times, no change. Powered radio unit up/down several times. No change. Still had the static/crackling type noise from driver rear speaker at all times - even with radio unit turned off. Sounds very much like when a radio station is poorly tuned, just with no music/speech at all while unit is "powered down".

More info. Car/radio did same thing on the way to the gym Thurs. Same thing on the way home. When I put the Fader full front and cranked volume, front speakers sounded perfect, still had crackling from rear. But just when I got home, the crackling went away, set Fader to "0", now it was playing just like it always did - perfect!

However - went back outside a bit later, cranked car again - radio OFF and crackling from rear speakers was back. Turned radio on and sat there for a while messing with Fader - after a bit crackling from rear went away, reset Fader to "0" and music was perfect again.

Friday, cranked the car and the crackling/static is back, even with radio unit turned off. It did not clear up during the limited time I messed with it today. Still the front speakers play perfectly if I move the fader all the way to the front, and crackling is lower but still there in the back door speakers.

I had the early model "radio unit fix" done by Infiniti while my car was still under warranty around 2004/05. Zero problems 'til Wed. night

It has been abnormally cold for our area with lots of days well below freezing, and several nights down in the low teens. My car is kept in a metal car shed, but open to the weather

Does this seem like the dreaded "main board failure" I have read about, or more of a connection/rear amp type problem?

Hello again, and Thanks for any help - 'shred

 

Not sure the best way to try and determine if it's the amp or the headunit now. Can you get our hands on a replacement of either to swap?

 

Thank you for your reply!

I could call local junkyards and see if I could turn up an amp from a wreck. Might have similar problems due to age. I have a buddy who could help me with swapping it out If I do find one.

Where is the amp located in a 2003 Sedan anyway? I figure the trunk, but where?
Main aggravation is that the sound/crackling/static is there, even with the radio unit switched off. Weird.

 

 

Thank You Wrathernaut!! A Picture is indeed worth a thousand words. : )

 

Thanks again very much for the picture. It was a great help. Took the car to a pal's house who knows more about car audio than I do. He felt it was most likely the amp. We pulled the amp and Nav/Heat still works fine and now the static sound is gone. He suggests I source one from a local salvage yard if possible and we can plug it right back in and see what happens.

On another note, typical Bose, they claim this thing is 200 watts and it has 2 thumb sized capacitors and a some considerably smaller and then a lot of tiny ones and weighs about 2 lbs. total. Obviously a very cheap amp. On the positive side, I will give Bose credit in that they make this cheap stuff sound way better than it should. For a factory car stereo from 2003 it was above average. But the price they charge for these cheap components should still be criminal. : )

I tried everything I could from the start to get a G35 sedan with leather and power seats but no Bose. That was a 100% no go. I learned to live with it. : )

 

Yeah, maybe 200 peak watts. 80 watts RMS *maybe*


If you think the amp is crap, have you seen the actual speakers yet?
They get a fair amount of sound by having small speakers that don't resist motion very much.
Bose on the right, non-bose (panasonic) on the left:

 

Thanks for the new pictures. Yep, I always knew Bose was cheap stuff that sold for waaaaaay too much. I went ahead and ordered an amp off ebay. I guess I will find likely out soon enough if that is the problem or not. Nice looking pulled amp cost me the same as a "diagnostic" at the local car audio place. If it turns out it isn't the amp, then I will see what's next.

 

UPDATE: Got the amp today in the mail. Plugged it in. Exact same problem. Now I did see my mailman drop it right on the concrete sidewalk from 3 feet up, but it was boxed and in bubble wrap so I sort of doubt that hurt it.

Most likely is that I have another problem. Less likely is that this guys amp was fried and that is why he replaced it. He has 100% ebay rating so I doubt that is it. Of course he did insure it for $50, so there is always that.

 

I don't know if you have noticed my posts above or not BlkCoupe but I am having the exact same problem after a remanufactured radio install. When you turn the radio off you hear the exact sound as if you had the radio on and no station tuned in. If you find a solution please post it...I will do the same if I can solve the problem. I've got an 03 with a little over 24,000 miles on it so very light use of Bose amp, etc. My problem started with the CD player CD Error F0.

 

Just an update...I have decided to stop trying to fix this problem myself. Within the next week I'm going to find the best audio shop with the best reputation (never an easy task) in my area and have this problem fixed. Will immediately let you know the outcome. Just a quick question out of curiosity. In my coupe most of the static sound is coming from the rear panel speakers not the rear shelf speakers. I'm assuming that your sedan rear panel speakers may be in the doors, if true is this where you hear the most static. Would like to be able to tell the audio shop. I even talked to Infiniti Parts USA today...the Bose (Clarion) head units are discontinued and you cannot purchase a new one. If you have made any progress please post and let me know...in turn I will do the same. I wish us both luck. May the force be with you. Hell...this has me so frustrated I'm quoting Star Wars. I'm sure you get my drift. BC

 

There is no separate channel for the rear shelf coming from the headunit. They share their signal with the rear sides. If the noise is *only* coming from the rear shelf speakers the problem would be in the amplifier.

Try unplugging the rear shelf 6x9's and see if there's definitely still static.

 

Thank you for your replies. I get the pretty much all the static noise through my rear door speakers. Fronts seem clear as a bell. Only thing in the package shelf in the sedan is the sub, and it seems quiet.

An admin on another forum seems to think it is electrical interference possibly from a "bad" ignition coil, and has recommended I disconnect power from those one at a time and see if the crackling goes away. Weather here is poor right now, so it may be several days before I can even see if I can find those coils, and do what he has suggested.

I will be sure to post any headway I make here for all to see, and I appreciate your willingness to do the same.

Best wishes and luck to you, and to me too! : )

 

Boy...that sure seems like a stretch to me!!! An ignition coil connection or bad coil interfering with the radio. The coils as I understand it just fire the spark plugs. If your engine runs strong...I don't see how it could be affecting your radio. But hey....If I had a fix I would gladly share it. Glad your aboard we will solve this problem some how. What do you think about Porsche Caymans. Just kidding if you have read any of my fixes I keep going back to selling the car and getting a Cayman. Earlier today I talked to a 30 year experienced now retired Volvo mechanic friend. He suggested that we just try unplugging the Amp and see what happens. It could possibly solve the is it a coil, ignition issue. Please keep in touch...there has to be a solution to this problem short of selling the car!!!

 

Well, when I unplugged my amp, ALL the noise went away. But so did my music. So there ya go. I did think about buying a new car, any recent Porsche is gonna be out of my price range though. : )

I kinda want to buy a new car and keep the G35 as my 2nd car though. Right now that 2nd car spot is held by my 20 year old Ford Taurus. Stereo still works fine in that one btw.