Whats going on with this BOSE??

[RacerMike]

I have a 99 Catera Sport with the Bose stereo system. I love the car but the Bose stereo is driving me CRAZY. Anytime I change any of the settings on it they will almost instantly go back to the default settings. If I change the radio station, turn off the car, anything they go back to default. Does anyone have any idea how to fix this annoying little problem??

[guardian]

Originally Posted by RacerMike

I have a 99 Catera Sport with the Bose stereo system. I love the car but the Bose stereo is driving me CRAZY. Anytime I change any of the settings on it they will almost instantly go back to the default settings. If I change the radio station, turn off the car, anything they go back to default. Does anyone have any idea how to fix this annoying little problem??

Sorry to say it, but soundsl like you have lost the NV (non-volatile) memory in your Bose.

I do not know what kind of NV memory they use. If it's battery supported you likely just need a new battery (they are tiny). But if they are using an EEPROM, which I think is more likely, then you will need to dis-assemble the Bose and replace the EEPROM chip, or have the work done by an electronic tech. Regret to say it's unlikely the chip is socketed, so it probably will take a little talent and a good solder sucker to get the old one out.

It's not for sure the NV memory itself has gone south. You might have an open trace, for example, in a critical place that is killing your NV storage. Something like that would be an easy fix once located. Or you could have a cold solder joint or a plated through hole might have let loose (barrel crack). These things, once found, are also easy fixes. I would start in the vicinity of the NV chip and work outward, using a loupe and a continuity checker.

Good luck!

[RacerMike]

Originally Posted by guardian

Sorry to say it, but soundsl like you have lost the NV (non-volatile) memory in your Bose.

I do not know what kind of NV memory they use. If it's battery supported you likely just need a new battery (they are tiny). But if they are using an EEPROM, which I think is more likely, then you will need to dis-assemble the Bose and replace the EEPROM chip, or have the work done by an electronic tech. Regret to say it's unlikely the chip is socketed, so it probably will take a little talent and a good solder sucker to get the old one out.

It's not for sure the NV memory itself has gone south. You might have an open trace, for example, in a critical place that is killing your NV storage. Something like that would be an easy fix once located. Or you could have a cold solder joint or a plated through hole might have let loose (barrel crack). These things, once found, are also easy fixes. I would start in the vicinity of the NV chip and work outward, using a loupe and a continuity checker.

Good luck!

Thanks for your help but I figured it out. I looked in the book which is probably what I should have done in the first place and it said that whenever you change the settings its just for that one station and after you change them you have to hold the radio station button down and resave the station with the different settings. I guess they thought it would be a convience to be able to have different settings for different stations but its more of an annoyance to have to make the settings for every station.

[guardian]

Originally Posted by RacerMike

Thanks for your help but I figured it out. I looked in the book which is probably what I should have done in the first place and it said that whenever you change the settings its just for that one station and after you change them you have to hold the radio station button down and resave the station with the different settings. I guess they thought it would be a convience to be able to have different settings for different stations but its more of an annoyance to have to make the settings for every station.

Well you got me on that one! I never even considered the possibility you did not know how properly to program the Bose. I assumed you had programmed it with success in the past, and then suddenly it no longer was programmable.

Glad you got to the bottom of your "problem".

As the old saying goes: "When all else fails, read the instructions!"