Bose Wave Radio/CD – quick repair

In July 2014 a power surge incapacitated a bunch of electronic equipment – see my tale of 2 destroyed desktops.    One of the affected items was our Bose Wave Radio – a small package with good sound, for which Bose is well known.

the Bose radio/CD player
the Bose radio/CD player

I stored the radio in the basement until I was ready to work on it.  Caution – if you are not competent working with electricity, leave well alone.  I was prepared for the worst – having to test and replace defective components but was hoping for the best – a shorted fuse.  I removed the 3 top screws and carefully lifted the cover taking care not to pull on the ribbon which, if damaged, would substantially increase repair costs.

with the cover lifted the inside is revealed
with the cover lifted the inside is revealed

 

But where is the fuse.  I found it front left.  I tested it and it was defective. It was soldered to the board.  Some dismantling of components was required to access it.  I snipped one end of the fuse and rotated it out of the way and soldered a short piece of wire (22AWG) to connect the 2 points which the fuse had bridged.

bose fuse a
you can see the old fuse and the new wire shunt

I reassembled the Bose and it played fine.  But I was bothered – it no longer had a fuse and would be damaged if there was another power surge.  So I ordered a fuse holder and a box of replacement fuses.

a fuse holder and replacement fuses
a fuse holder and replacement fuses

And I again opened the Bose, disconnected the shunt wire and soldered the fuse holder in place together with an appropriately sized fuse.  And it still works fine  and is now protected from power fluctuations.

 

 

 

11 thoughts on “Bose Wave Radio/CD – quick repair”

  1. what were the symptoms of the power surge?
    was there any display on the screen?
    did any of the buttons/keys work?
    my bose just had 99E on the screen
    I unplugged it and now it has a set up screen but none of the keys will work
    a call to bose said it cannot be repaired but they have promotions on new ones
    thanks

    1. My Bose was completely dead, no sign of life, so I guessed it was the fuse. Seems like yours is still kicking and may be displaying an error code. So it is not the fuse.

      1. Thank you for this post. Mine also completely quit working after a power surge, and stupidly no surge protector. As I am clueless, will look around for an electronics repair shop in my area and hope for a blown fuse.

  2. My 2003 Bose will only make loud buzzing sound. I have not contact a repairman but was told to ditch it as it would cost more than its worth.

  3. My Bose with multi cd changer won’t work anymore after a power outage. Its about 10 yrs old the Clock works but it also reads wait for radio but then goes out. When I unplug it then replug it in , the cd player lights up ejecting the cds then after nothing happens. I would like to get it repaired if possible because a new one is too expensive for me right now.
    Do you think it can it can be repaired?

    1. I think it will be expensive and probably not worth it since something else may fail later. Try getting a free repair quote.

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