Porsche Bose PCM 3.0 – PCM 3.1 Amplifier Repair
International postal repair service for Bose car amplifiers
This 10 channel DSP amplifier can be found in many Porsche variants from 2009 onwards. It’s easily identifiable as being fitted to the car as the speaker grilles have the ‘Bose’ emblem on them. Each channel has a max 40 watt output, the sub-woofer output rated at 80 watts (4 ohm). The total max output is 420 watts.
There may be coding issues with different models of car
Usual failure with these models is down to water ingress – the mounting bracket has a drain plug / pipe , which usually ends up getting blocked. On return , this issue must be corrected otherwise the module will suffer from the same problem – although we coat the unit with protective layer , this doesn’t make it waterproof.
A water damaged unit usually shows signs of discolouration on the outer metal casing.
Other common issues are –
First of all the unit is disassembled and inspected and also electrically tested on our jig. The board is then cleaned of all corrosion and the factory applied protective coating is removed. The board is inspected in closer detail.
We use factory sourced production line components to ensure the sound quality is as precise as a Bose should be.
Finally, once assembled – the unit is fully tested and run on a MOST test bench
Lastly we coat the unit with a hard plastic sealer – we do this to protect the circuit board and modules , this won’t make the unit completely waterproof but it does give the delicate parts excellent protection against water / salt.
Occasionally we see units that are beyond repair , this happens when one or more output modules fails to a dead short across the supply rail . As there are no fuses in the unit , the circuit tracks superheat causing the board to burn out – sometimes even catch fire.
It is not possible to repair or safe to attempt a repair when this happens – the fibreglass circuit board becomes conductive potentially causing a fire.