Car Stereos: Bose system for 2003 yukno danali, rear pillar, gm dealer

Question
the system worked except for the sound. It started draining my battery overnight, i took fuses out.  I bought an amp from replcement radio, after GM dealer diagnosed it as bad- had Gm install and they said the new one was bad- after about $500, some of which i got back from replacement radio for the amp- (they said they finally pulled an amp out of another yukon and system worked) However now that they tore into every thing rear seat warmer do not work any more. I have no radio and just wanted to know if you have any ideas or if there is an aftermarket product i could replace this old system with?

Answer
Hi Dennis,

I can't give you any good information on getting the stock system working again (still less the seat warmers) but I can advise you on installing after-market equipment.

It wouldn't be too tough to install a new head unit (the factory radio won't work without the factory amp) and use it to drive some of the existing speakers.  You'd need to do some re-wiring; specifically, you'd need to identify the speaker output wires in the factory amp harness and extend them up to the new head unit.  In this way, you could connect the front speakers (door speakers and dash tweeters), along with the rear door speakers, fairly easily.  The rear pillar tweeters could be connected as well, but it would be a little more difficult, and require some in-line crossovers.  You wouldn't be able to keep the small center console subwoofer, however, unless you added a separate amplifier to drive it.  

It might not be possible to retain all the different factory options that worked with your stock head unit.  The factory radio generates all the vehicle warning chimes; you can keep these working with an after-market head unit, using a special adapter module.  The steering wheel controls can also be retained, but it will require a different module, and you'd need to pick a new head unit with a wired remote control input--not all have this feature.  You'd probably lose the rear seat audio control features, as well as any separate components that work with the factory radio--XM Radio, separate CD changer, or overhead DVD player.

If you decide to switch over to an after-market head unit, then I can advise you on the required parts, as well as how to do the wiring.  Feel free to send a follow-up question if you'd like more details.

Hope this helps!

Brian