Add Factory Bose sub to non-Bose system

What vehicle was this bose assembly taken from?  Cuz with some GM cars with bose systems, the fade and volume information is all sent from the head unit to the bose amplifier via data signals and can only work with a class II radio.

it's weird cuz I think it was 03 but for some reason I thought I remembered some of the trucks/SUVs had it in 02 as well.

As long as the bose amplifier is still present in the vehicle, all you have to do is hook it back up (all wiring except for speaker output to main speakers) and it should power the subwoofer correctly.  You may need to get an adapter to adjust the signal output but since you're only going to be powering the subwoofer with the bose amp it will probably be okay with a direct hookup.

I'm not familiar with the setup, but i am very familiar with the old nissan bose setups, so use the info with discretion. On those systems, all you would have needed was to figure out which leads are the power, ground, turn-on and signal. Then just feed the power appropriatly (the nissan ones needed a relay for turn on because they used that to actually power the amp), and feed the signal. PIE makes their pdc-loc or something like that, which will take any input and convert it into virtually any output, or you might be able to feed directly in.

Personally, I'd go with an aftermarket amp.  All you should have to do is meter the sub directly and figure out the ohms/resistance. Then you should be able to find an aftermarket amp that can handle the load, and rewire the enclosure and bypass the bose amp. Keep in mind the one sub will require bridging the amp and the amp should be able to support the load while bridged. ONE MORE THING:  A reasonable aftermarket amp should give you a crossover, and gain adjustment, so you can fine tune the system, while the bose amp does not. You will also be able to drive a bit more power (so long as the end user is careful) and have a more familiar setup to work with.

I dunno what I was smoking when I wrote my previous reply cuz I can't believe I didn't think of this before....all you have to do is get one of these Vendetta 2.5 adapters, and it will let you hook up any type of stereo component to a bose amplifier.  All it does really is change the high-level speaker outputs from the head unit, into a low-level differential type signal compatible with bose amps.

And then it's really just a matter of using a multimeter to test the wires going into the bose amp, for the proper connections.  Now the only thing I am not 100% sure about is whether the bose sub amp uses 2 channels of signal input, or 4 channels.  My guess would be two, but if it does end up needing four, then just use the Vendetta 4.5 instead.

Oh and just make sure when you use the adapter, that you tap in to the head unit's speaker wires rather than disconnecting and crimping/soldering onto the ends.  This way, you'll be sure to not lose the sound going to all of your speakers.