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FW/RE: the Bose Towering Inferno--still simmering?
Hi there Phil!
Thanks for the update! I figured that the problem was something as you
described ... a faulty capacitor that catches fire. Whatever you do, be
sure to tell them that there are a number of Audi owners like me, who have a
serious concern about the Bose system installed in their cars even though I
have not had a problem with their particular car. I am forwarding a copy of
your message to the V8Q list just in case not everyone there is aware of
what is going on. Are you actively a part of the effort or just reporting
status?
While the information that you gave is far and away better than anything I'd
heard to date, I still have a few questions. It would be great if we could
have them answered by someone at Bose since Audi seems to be uninterested.
1) Is there anything different about the Bose system installed in the Audi
V8Q as compared to the 200Q? While it may be that I'm not plugged into the
proper data, it sure seems to me that the problem is much less severe on the
V8s. I would expect that there would be as many or more V8s produced with
the Bose system as 200qs.
2) Is there anything that we could use to identify hazardous units like a
date code or part number on the speaker housing?
3) Is this problem only likely to occur on the units mounted in the rear
deck, or can the door mounted speakers have the same problem?
4) When Bose rebuilds a speaker unit are these capacitors replaced as a
matter of course? Does Bose take responsibility for having the units
rebuilt or does Audi do this themselves?
5) Is there anything that an owner can do to minimize the chance of
capacitor failure causing a larger problem? Could the rating on a fuse be
changed or fuses added to the wiring?
Thanks again Phil ... and let me know if any sort of writing campaign is put
together. My wife is the primary driver of our Bose-equipped car, while I
know that she is aware of the possibility of a fire, I wouldn't mind having
one less worry.
Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phil Rose [mailto:pjrose@frontiernet.net]
> Sent: Monday, December 20, 1999 2:07 PM
> To: 200q20V mailing list
> Cc: quattro@audifans.com
> Subject: the Bose Towering Inferno--still simmering?
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Things seem (to me) to have quieted down with respect to exerting pressure
> on Audi about the Bose amplified speaker hazard. So, time to stir things
> up a bit??? Here's my contribution:
>
> Recently I sent Brett Dikeman (for his Bose database) the VIN of a '91
200q
> that I saw some time ago-- one which had been auctioned as an Audi
> "buy-back" because of it's rear speaker fire damage. I also recently
> learned that my local Audi wrench (independent shop) had been in contact
> with Bose about the rear-speaker "issue". This dealer/mechanic has sold
and
> serviced at least a dozen (probably many more) of the '91 200q, and he
had
> finally gotten fed up with seeing the burned (or just defective) rear
> speaker amps. He decided the statistics were not "normal" so he contacted
> Bose about it, and they sent one of their engineers (Boston to Salisbury
> NY, about 300 miles) to discuss it (this was early last month).
>
> What he learned was that Bose (if not Audi also) is well aware of "the
> problem". The Bose rep stated that for their 1990 production they received
> a batch of defective capacitors from a supplier. These were used for Audi
> Bose rear amps and _also_ in similar Bose systems installed in certain
1990
> and '91 Japanese luxo cars (I don't recall if it was Lexus, Acura,
or...?).
> The Bose guy reportedly said that in the case of the Jap. cars, the
> amplifier boards were mounted horizontally, while in the Audis, the boards
> are vertical. The latter (Audi) orientation was judged to have a low(er)
> probability of fire hazard when a capacitor failed-- so they decided to
> institute a recall _only_ on the Japanese (horizontal amp) cars, which
they
> thought would have the higher fire-risk. I don't know _when_ the Japanese
> car recall was issued. That's something that should be easy to discover,
> unless it was a "silent" recall.
>
> Obviously, the Bose/Audi estimate of lower fire-hazard probability for the
> Audi amplifiers didn't translate into "zero" probability. In fact the
> subsequent incidence seems to be what I would consider a pretty alarming
> percentage (as safety hazards go), considering the low number of _total_
> cars in the '91 200 population. I don't know of anything that might have
> been said by the Bose rep concerning Audi's role in the recall decision or
> in subsequent incidents of fire/smoke damage. All that Bose would offer my
> mechanic was to send him a free replacement speaker for one of his
> customers who currently was having a problem.
>
> Bose evidently seems to take this situation more seriously than does Audi.
> Or at least they're willing to acknowledge some concern. Hence, although
> Audi needs to be prodded (to put it mildly), it could be that exerting
> pressure on Bose could be more productive--in the short term--for those
> presently with malfunctioning rear speakers or with concerns about driving
> around with an incipient incendiary device in their trunk.
>
> Phil Rose Rochester, NY
> '91 200q mailto:pjrose@frontiernet.net
> '89 100