Car Stereos: GM Bose radio amplifier problem, rear cargo area, gm bose

Question
I have a 2004 Buick Rainier with the Bose premium sound system. I have seen this same system in many other GM products. When the outside temp dips below about 15F I get no volume on any of the speakers. The display reacts to all inputs: XM,AM,FM,CD changer, etc but I get no sound until it warms up. When the temp is below zero it may not come on at all by the time I get to work (20 min), but it will usually come on after about ten minutes. Obviously something is affected by the cold but I don't know where the amplifier is.  The dealer just wants to change out the whole radio but that is very expensive for this unit. I love the radio but would like it to also work on cold mornings. Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Jon,

I've actually had similar questions a couple times, although the vehicles in question were Trailblazers.  The Trailblazer, Envoy and Ranier are all quite similar, and electrical problems that are common in one will often be found in the others.  Researching the earlier questions, I came across a Technical Service Bulletin for the Envoy, Trailblazer and Ranier regarding problems with the audio system in low temperatures.  Here's a link to the earlier question:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Car-Stereos-3638/2009/4/Trailblazer-Speaker-Problem.h...

I'd note that the other vehicles with this problem were not equipped with a Bose system.  That suggests that the issues is related to the head unit, not the amplifier, given that it's affecting vehicles that aren't equipped with amplifiers.  Unfortunately, I don't have any detailed information on the TSB for these vehicles.  Your dealer should have more resources than I do in figuring this problem out.

The Bose amplifier is located behind the side panel in the rear cargo area.  The XL and EXT models should have the amplifier on the driver's side of the cargo area; other models will have the amplifier on the passenger side.

Hope this helps!

Brian