hawairish

A reference to one of the best movies ever?

Buddy of mine is trying to sell a 40" bar, though he says it's too wide for the roof rack on his 02 (he's got the newer style). I doubt it'd be a problem mounting it on yours with the lower rails... Or the roof per CNAM

I agree with jyeager. I don't think there's any reason the other switch wouldnt work. You should check all the other circuitry and troubleshoot with the FSM; it's very clear about diagnosing this. What exactly is the problem with your current switch? Not sure the markings are relevant. If it comes down to it, there are a few PF/QX4's at my nearby junkyard that I can pull you one from.

LOL, thanks! Years of taking tangible and intangible things apart...and less years of putting said things back together.

That, or try putting it into reverse to see if it disengages any quicker.

If you look closely behind that tree... Camera details are stored in images these days. On a hunch, thought I'd check if the details were still embedded after being uploaded, and they are. If you download/copy the images to your computer, you can view the properties (Windows) or info (Mac) and it'll tell you the camera and camera settings used. There's your daily IT tech/stalker tip.

Canon EOS 7D. If I told you how I know, I'd have to kill you.

Cham, we're kind of going in circles here, unfortunately. Regardless how you power the speakers, the amp's/headunit's RMS and max should be within the RMS range, and under the max spec'd by the speaker manufacturer. Same logic when pairing impedances; the amp needs to support the impedance of the speaker or the speaker configuration (i.e., series, parallel wiring, etc.). These specs are always listed for equipment. If you're not sure the RMS or impedance handling of something (in the case of the factory amp) for speakers, I suggest not using it. Most stereos range from about 15-25W RMS, and maybe 2-3 times that for max output. I doubt the factory amp is much different from those numbers. Hopefully this is just metaphorical wires getting crossed, but this seems directed at me since I'm the only person talking about these specific items, though I've not stated or suggested anything contradictory to this to warrant the "NOT" or "instead of guessing" comments. Please let me know if I'm reading into that incorrectly. I did not suggest 6 wires going to the speaker; that is what that FSM suggests...twice, actually. I paraphrased the front setup, and then also pasted exactly what the FSM says regarding the entire system. I speculated how it (the front amp) was connected to the speaker because the FSM does not indicate any wires. I see the leads in your pic; awesome—but it's irrelevant. What I implied was taking apart the front amp module to see what amp-like circuitry it has, if the tweeter and component are circuited in series or parallel, and if any resistors are embedded on the circuit that might filter frequencies before it goes to any speaker. The thing that's screwing up this discussion is that no one knows the specs of the amps, and no one can validate a reason to use, bypass, or replace the amp. The reality: there is no wrong way...this topic is entirely subjective! It's getting generic answers because it is a generic topic.

This thread has me almost wanting a stereo again. I stopped doing them after one particular system I made got jacked (custom fiberglass box to replace the jump seat in my Frontier, hidden amps, storage). I spent the insurance money on a lift and tires, and never really bothered since. In fact, any system I've done since has purposely incorporated stock components (more expensive to replace than anything aftermarket to the insurance company). But anyway...see one of my previous posts about the wire colors and polarity. New speakers normally have a connector that's wider than the other...wide is + and narrow is -. But you need to confirm that the + is connected to the + wire on the truck, regardless of the wire being used on the aftermarket harness (if used). I think I said black w/ pink is the - wire. Again, hard to predict sound quality until you have the ability to fully control the system. IMO, this is only possible with a new head unit, or new headunit and aftermarket amp(s). The sensitivity settings on amps are what guarantee you the ability to match front and rear levels. I don't see how impedance correlates with bass, but it's not something I've researched or heard about. The only thing that cares about impedance is the amp driving it. A 4-ohm speaker (or rather, its voice cool) is still a 4-ohm speaker when run in a 2-ohm configuration. I've also seen sub manufacturers produce identically spec'd subs, with the only difference being impedance.

I considered it being an active crossover, but I wouldn't see the benefit of that. It doesn't have any adjustability, and a passive one would be beyond sufficient if so. Any time I've seen an active crossover in place, it's been before an amp (no point in sending a full signal to the amp if you're just going to cut it later). I'd have to take apart the door modules to know what it's doing. Maybe one day. If I were to bypass the amps, it'd be with a single 4-channel. The quality of the speakers I'd use would dictate amp size and whether I'd re-wire things or just run leads back to behind the headunit and use stock wiring from there. I'd keep everything 4-ohm mainly because it opens up more speaker options. But many amps can handle different impedance on different channels, and each channel (or at least fronts vs rears) can have sensitivity set, so keeping those JBLs probably wouldn't be problem. I asked about the wiring polarity earlier, too. Not sure I saw a response. I always check pinouts on harnesses/adapters...I don't usually trust them. But the polarity would make a difference.

That's the setup I would have expected. Oh Bose.

This possibly best explains any differences. I didn't know that some models in between only had the rear amp and no front amps. The schematic I've been looking at is for a 2004, so we may both be right depending on MY.

Here's why I'm certain it's an amp (of sorts, or is at least active in some way): Pin #4 on both front speakers is coming from a relay, which has a turn-on signal from the headunit (pin #12), bringing power from the battery (also supplies power to the headunit #6 and rear speaker amp #11; the same turn-on signal goes to the rear amp #9). Pin #5 on the front speakers is the ground. Pins #2 and #6 on the front speakers are the audio signals (#2 is + and #6 is — on the detailed schematics in the FSM). This is all described in the FSM: BOSE SYSTEM Power is supplied at all times through 15A fuse [No. 4, located in the fuse block (J/B)] to audio unit terminal 6, to audio amp. relay terminal 3, to rear speaker amp. terminal 11 and to AUX box terminal 7 (with rear TV). With the ignition switch in the ACC or ON position, power is supplied through 10A fuse [No. 10, located in the fuse block (J/B)] to audio unit terminal 10, to AUX box terminal 6 (with rear TV). Ground is supplied through the case of the audio unit. Ground is supplied to audio amp. relay terminal 2, to front door speaker LH terminal 5 and to front door speaker RH terminal 5 through body grounds M4, M66, M111, M147 and M157 to rear speaker amp. terminal 24 and to AUX box terminal 8 (with rear TV) through body grounds B11, B22 and D210 to rear TV switch terminal 3 through body grounds M4, M66, M111, M147 and M157. When the audio unit POWER button is pressed, power is supplied to rear speaker amp. terminal 9 and audio amp. relay terminal 1 from audio unit terminal 12. Then audio amp. relay is energized and power is supplied to front door speaker LH terminal 4 and to front door speaker RH terminal 4. Audio signals are supplied through audio unit terminals 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to terminals 2 and 6 of the LH and RH front speakers and terminals 5, 7, 18 and 20 of the rear speaker amp. to LH and RH tweeters through terminals 1 and 3 of the front door speakers to rear LH and RH speakers through terminals 1, 2, 25 and 26 of the rear speaker amp. As I mentioned before, I don't see any reason why you couldn't tap into those signals to feed aftermarket speakers directly from an unplugged harness on the front speakers. If we knew its specs, pins #1 and #3 could be reused to drive the tweeter. It doesn't indicate any pins/wiring for the speaker, so I assume there is a very short set of wires going to the speaker (negligible for the diagrams), or it's some sort of integrated circuit that's soldered directly to the speaker. I can't tell from the pictures I've seen.

Hard to say. I've seen some of their other promotions last for months, but this one in particular they said would be for a short period. I'd say try to jump on it when you can if you're really interested.

The speaker may be rated up to 60W RMS, but that doesn't mean that's what necessary to make them happy. There's no issue running them at a lower RMS, but it would be helpful to know what the Bose (or even stock amps) are putting out. I found a 2002 brochure indicating the base system was 100W and the Bose was 150W. Treating those as cumulative maxes for all amps, I'd say <20W RMS sounds reasonable for the Bose. I don't know if the Scosche unit is stepping things up or down, but it's not very relevant because the system will need to be 'tuned', much like any amp-inclusive aftermarket system. Settings are dependent on the headunit, and there's no magic number; it's about what sounds optimal with the components in the system. I'll add I've never needed anything like the Scosche for any other install any speaker-level OE amp setups I've done. I bought it based on several complaints of low volume across Bose-based Nissans where the headunit was replaced, as well as Crutchfield's assessment of its need. I have no complaints, but I also never baselined it without it. I do think they the fronts are amps because there is a power and ground lead going to them, per the FSM. No other function seems to make sense. I agree there is probably a resistor on the tweeter and that the speaker is full range (it's how my Frontier's stock speakers were). Bottom line is that for cham, the reason for recommending the Scosche unit and aftermarket headunit is because it's the foot in the door and should solve his immediate problem. I totally agree the system could be greatly improved by replacing/bypassing all the OE amps, or even using an aftermarket headunit without amps. But given all the questions, sounds like he still has a lot to learn about system design overall.

Oh, but it is! You just need to grab the third member from an LSD axle (Pathfinder or Hardbody). It's easier if you get it with the same gears; just pull your diff, swap in the new diff. That's it! No setting up gears, but you should do due diligence on the replacement diff to make sure it's in spec. If you pull a diff with different gears, just need to pull both carriers out, and put your ring gear on the LSD carrier. You will need to set backlash (pretty easy). However, depending on your OE gears, you may be able to improve gear ratios, but will need the front diff of course to match. I sent microfiz some instructions and pics on what to remove and how. Pretty straightforward.

I think even the lower rails are a slightly different length, but otherwise looked identical. I assumed they fit because I put the newer lower rail against the older lower rail, and the bolt holes were in the same location. To be clear about "upper" vs "lower" rail...the newer style has the upper rail with the Pathfinder logo where the oval crossbars attach and span the roof. Below them is the lower rail that sits flush on the roof, where nothing seems to attach on the newer style. The older style racks only have the lower rail, and the cross bars attach to that lower rail. That said, you need to remove all the rails to expose six anchors (they're about 1" by 5" IIRC with a few holes in them). That's the only thing that I believe would stay on the roof. Even the plastic trim that is recessed into the roof between the windshield and front of the lower rail needs to be swapped (it just slides forward then lifts up). I'd suggest that you two each get some pics and compare them, perhaps even measure the lower rails (without any covers or trim on them) to see if they're the same length.

I shipped one last week. Used two 48" x 12" x 12" boxes from the UPS Store, took off the front mounting pieces to get the overall height to 72" (anything above caused the price to jump considerably) with padding at both ends. I used NEX Shipping (shipnex.com) to ship it and fender flares (separate box)...total shipment was $100 (AZ to WA)...$60 cheaper than UPS. It was actually picked up and shipped by UPS. I used a cheap moving blanket from Harbor Freight to roll all the long pieces up (wrap one piece, roll a little, wrap the next piece, roll a little, next piece, roll, next piece, until each pieces had a layer between them), then tightly taped the roll. The thicker crossbars and air dam tucked in other parts of the box. Kyle (ferrariowner123) will have to vouch if this setup worked ok (hope so!). Removing the rails is easy; just 12 Torx head bolts. They mount to anchors installed on the roof, and they are the same anchors despite different rack styles. Don't remove those anchors...the nuts that secure them will fall onto the headliner, and it's the foam insulation on those anchors that keeps water out. Oh, and Kyle said he read it was a direct swap...when I was at the junkyard pulling the parts, it definitely looked to be a direct swap. Just remember to keep the anchors in place on the roof after removing the rails...there are six of them.

If I was home, I could get you the exact measurements. I'm certain they're 14mm x 1.5mm, though. You should be able to put a ruler on yours while still installed to get the final length. Per my post below, you can see that one set of bolts gets cut/sheared off, but the length to the thread end is the same. http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/39956-my-first-r50/?p=751089 Paid $1.62 for the cheaper bolts from Courtesy Parts (I use "nis10" to save on shipping). Rob Lacy here can surely get them as cheap. The "more expensive" (short) bolts were $2.54. Far cry from your rip-off dealer. Also, keep in mind the OE nuts are PTLN's flange nuts. I'd stick with those.

The roof racks will swap fine. I believe one is for sale still in the classifieds section.

Honestly, each radio brand has its own way to provide both simple and advanced ways to shape sound. Because sound quality is completely subjective and variable, it would be difficult to say how to best achieve the right sound. But, let's put it this way: nearly all brands offer some sort of Presets setting. These are EQ settings based on "your" type of music, like Pop, Rock, Jazz, Country, Bass, Dynamic, Vocals, Acoustic, etc. At the most basic level, you could just toggle between the presets and see which sounds best to you. You'll definitely notice a difference between them. If none seem to be great, then you can usually start with one, and tweak the high/mid/low settings from there and make your own custom profile. Not only is this probably the fastest and easiest way to shape the sound, but it's also really the basis of any other settings you might use. What the Scosche adapter does exactly...well, it adjusts the gain of the speaker output of the radio before it hits the amp. The OE amp does not have an adjustable gain setting; the Scosche unit adds this function. You would not need it with an aftermarket amp because practically all of them already have it built in. Adjusting gain is a fundamental step when configuring any custom system. You don't need it if using the OE amps, but if the output from the radio is low, the volume will be low without it. That said, if you get it, there are also some additional steps to properly configure it, much like configuring an aftermarket amp.

Have you pulled off the a-pillar plastic to see if you have enough clearance behind the plastic and metal to see if the tweeter will fit? That'll tell you whether keeping it stock is an option. Component sets usually come with brackets to surface mount and flush mount the tweeter. The surface mount brackets are what you want (it's usually just a flat thin piece of metal or plastic). You usually screw the bracket to a surface and the tweeter just snaps onto it. The flush mount bracket is for drilling a larger hole into plastic and popping the tweeter into it; the brackets are usually just plastic cup-looking things, but this varies by design. If I had to guess, judging by the picture, the surface mount brackets are in the bottom row, 4th pocket, and the flush mount brackets are in the middle row, 1st pocket left of the component speakers.

DVCs add flexibility to getting the impedance to a particular level, among other things. For instance, a 4Ω DVC sub can run as 1x 2Ω, 2x 4Ω, or 1x 8Ω depending on how you wire it, and what the amp is capable of powering. The Crutchfield advisor is right in the sense that everything downstream of the radio is essentially unchanged, but is grossly neglecting what I've mentioned previously: the ability to shape the sound image (the function of an equalizer) can play a big role, even on basic components. If you install a component set, you should use the crossover that is supplied. It is specifically designed to cut frequencies that the component speaker or tweeter should not play. Lower frequencies require more power to reproduce, and tweeters in particular should not attempt to play them. As before, we really don't know what the front amps are spec'd out, so if changing the speakers, I would recommended to not use the front amps. Not using (or removing) the amps should have no impact on the rest of the system, according to the FSM. I previously mentioned that you could use them, but that's really only if you know what they're spec'd at, and that's the problem. If you decide to play your music (via phone, iPod, USB stick, etc.), it will most certainly sound better even if no qualifier settings are enabled. Using the cassette introduces noise because it has a lower signal-to-noise ratio. Those other means have higher SNR's, which is what you want. As such, you're already making a difference.

Exactly. Auto AC is too fancy for me. I liked it in my Frontier: want AC? Just press the AC button.

Honestly, I don't get it either, and I've done it that way before too without issue. The only reason I knew it from the manual is because I couldn't figure out what "Econ" has to do with climate controls. Still don't know!