Do I Need?

Today I went to get my head unit, amp, and subs installed into my 01 Tahoe.

I came back to the shop to see what was up and they told me that everything was installed fine except the head unit.

Well my truck has Bose & onStar, but I NEVER used onStar and I don't need it at all.

They told me I need to buy a "Bose Interface Harness" to make the aftermarket radio work. Do I really need it? Or is it just to make the onStar work?

Fill me in on why I need it please!

You need it to integrate the Bose. The OnStar will be there at least just for the pin count on the harness I believe. Whether or not you use it is up to you.

You need it for Bose definitely.

Thank you.

But it shouldn't cost me $190 right? Cause that's what the dude said.

190 is about the going rate for the Onstar/Bose module. Its absolutely required for the bose system, and the Onstar needs it as well in order to continue to shut off the head unit in order to transmit. you might not used it now but i could come in real handy some day, spend the 190. For info, I bought mine (Bay Area CA) for 186.00 with tax so its not really over-priced. Goodluck!

So rather than spending $190 for that harness, couldn't I just buy aftermarket speakers instead? Then I would have better speakers rather than $190 on some wires?

Jesters. said:

Thank you.

But it shouldn't cost me $190 right? Cause that's what the dude said.

Click to expand...

Yet another reason I hate integrating.

Is there a way to actually bypass this integrating bull ****?

Instead of buying a harness for my Bose system, couldn't I just buy aftermarket speakers instead? And just spend $190.00 on something I know will be better?

i dont have bose and dont know the going rate but in the future if you go swap out the door speakers and put in a seperate amp for them then just sell that harness on ebay.

just look at what you can find on ebay?

Jesters. said:

So rather than spending $190 for that harness, couldn't I just buy aftermarket speakers instead? Then I would have better speakers rather than $190 on some wires?

Click to expand...

You have two options. You can buy the interface module and install it with the head unit, and then you will have sound garaunteed. By using this module, you are integrating your stock amplifier (and yes even tahoes without bose have one) and your onstar to your aftermarket head unit, pushing sound through the stock speakers as well as restoring the onstar function. This module also helps to shut off the head-unit automatically so that on-star can be heard.

Your other option is buy new speakers( you can use your stock speakers but they have a low RMS wattage rating and arent designed for aftermarket, higher-powered amps) and re-wire your speakers to a new speaker amp much like you would your subwoofers, if you have them. By doing this, you no longer need the integration module.
*Someone please correct me if im wrong, but if you do this, you lose on-star capability? The reason i say this is because when i bought my tahoe the old owner had done a rinky-dink stereo setup, but wired the speakers through a new amp, without the module, and on-star wasnt functional. It was restored when i installed my new system using the integrator module.

Hope this helps

Alright thank you.

I also have a question my friend wanted me to ask this forum :

After installing subs, amps, and head units. Is it possible to mess up your dash board functions? Such as cruise control, messing with your SUV idle speed, etc?

$190 is high. Way too high. Pre-03 Bose models w/o Class II serial systems use a different part than 03-up. The 03-up systems are the expensive ones. 99-02 GM fullsize trucks/SUVs w/Bose and On-star can be integrated with the proper harness for less than $75.

Thank you!

$75 is very reasonable. I might have to look into that as I have a 02 Yukon. I bought a regular harness and hooked up the pink wire (I believe that is the factory amp turn on) to the 12V switch and have sound as well as all of my warning chimes. I don’t have OnStar, but I don’t care about it anyway. I thought I read on here that you would need to change OnStar to digital in the near future anyway.

Harnesses are way too overpriced, another reason for me deleting the bose and running dedicated amps for all the speakers. Never sounded that good anyway.