Audio Systems: CAR STEREO, pontiac gran prix, car stereo car

Question
car is 2000 pontiac gran prix , equip with BOSE premium sound system [ amp mounted in trunk ] radio plays perfectly , however when i try to play CD [ single disc delco unit ] the cd will either not launch , or plays a few moments , then skips real bad until it finally stops playing .. added JL 10 " subwoofers a while back , has been working great up until about 2 weeks ago , NOTE : no high pass output or subwoofer amp has been added , they are just tied to the 6x9 on rr. deck

Answer
I don't think, in this case, adding the subwoofer has any connection with the cd player function.  However, it is likely to cause amplifier problems as you seem to have put the JL subs in parallel with the speakers on the deck.  Doing so has lowered the impedance on the amplifier and, over time, depending on how hard you drive them, could cause burnout of the amplifier.

Back to the cd playing.  CD players operate by shining the output of a laser diode through an lense mounted in an optical pickup assembly.  The reflected laser beam is read by a beam splitter and the data is processed and converted from digital information back to analog.  The optical pickup is aligned so that the very, very small beam is properly centered on the digital track.  If the lens, pickup assembly or laser diode goes out of alignment even the smallest amount it can no longer produce a pure signal for the converter.  So, a weak laser diode, dirty lens or badly aligned pickup can cause the problem you are facing.

The big problem is the cost of diagnosis and repair is likely to be more expensive than replacing the cd/head unit.  What many people do when the cd player portion poops out is add an auxiliary audio input so that an MP3 or iPod player can be connected into the system.  This is nice because the MP3 player can carry with you and use in the car, office or at home - and they are so tiny and easy to move around.  No theft problem as you take it with you, etc.  Just a thought.

Further, since your car is 8 years old the cd player is many generations obsolete.  So, it wouldn't hur to get a modern player in the car.  Also, I might add, most car cd players don't last any longer than this; you are lucky it has kept on going so long.  The environment in the car with heat, cold, vibration, etc. is very hard on these electro-mechanical-optical-electronic devices is very severe and they just don't last as long as pure electronics like the radio and amplifier portion of the entertainment system.

Hope this helps you .   Feel free to ask further questions if you are unclear on anything I have reported to you.

C