im putting in an aftermarket pioneer head unit and i have the scosche gm035 wiring harness connector already. the factory unit is a bose system. in the wiring harness package it says you need the fai-3a convertor but isnt that to hook an amp up to a factory head unit? it also has the steering wheel controls for the radio but im not worried about those working im sure theres a connector for it probably.

also are there any problems that anyone knows about for sure with theft prevention disabling anything when i take the factory unit out? i didnt have any problems on my 2k s10 but it had a plain cd player head unit i swapped out and it had keyless entry also.

ive done plenty of head units for myself with no trouble im just wanting to double check this before i have unexpected problems with theft prevention bs

Some factory Bose systems have amplifiers that are located in odd places that power the speakers...which is maybe why you need an extra connector.

You should also be aware that Bose speakers are commonly wired at unconventional resistances...most car speakers are 4 ohm...whereas Bose speakers can be anywhere from 1-2 ohms...even weird in between ratings like 1.5 ohms and such. Almost all after market decks, including Pioneers, are designed to output speaker levels at 4 ohms. Running Bose speakers off a aftermarket deck can damage the deck.

To be honest, you're best off just ripping the entire Bose system out...the speakers are garbage, usually no better than any common after market paper cone/small magnet factory speaker.

The theft protection thing is another issue. I know in some GM's...IIRC the Pontiac Grand Prix with specific stock systems had an integrated theft system where if the head unit was removed, the car would be immobilized. This led a lot of people to keep their factory head units wired in in a remote location (usually under a front seat). Not sure about the Buick...you'll have to google it. I know I had no problem removing the stock system from my 2001 Intrigue. But the Buick will be closer to the Grand Prix than the Intrigue...as the Intrigue was the W body black sheep.

damn thats what i was afraid of. so if i use the converter that should take care of the problem of the head unit putting out too much ohms then right? also i may just take it to the local car audio place and just have them install it they would know for sure about the theft system.

heres the link to the converter that it says to use for bose systems: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p%5F10153%5F12605%5FSP100A3672S2160054202P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci%5Fsrc=14110944&ci%5Fsku=05702580000

also thanks for the great and informative answer it helped alot

This post was edited by JDH on Dec 25 2011 06:40am