Parking brake input wire?

[BrianW]

As @redoval mentioned, a lot of times you can just ground the "parking brake wire" input and it will do the same thing as hooking it up correctly. Not all stereos support this, though. Here's a video that might help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMVJVQxodtk

Also, here's the wiring chart that I had for my 1998 E250. Not sure if your 93 would be the same, but I'm guessing so. Note that some Ford vans had a six-speaker installation (front, middle, and rear), and in this case the middle and rears are actually wired together in parallel or series (I always get that mixed up). The OEM head units account for this in how they drive the speakers, but when you put in aftermarket units sound can get distorted back there at high volume power.

[N147JK]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

It's not a Bose, not anywhere near that quality, and Bose doesn't make head units. It's Boss, and it's junk.

Ahh OK I thought it was probably a typo. Car audio systems are strange animals. I bought a top-of-the-line Sony system and it's just kinda sorta OK. I regret buying it actually - it's not worth the price.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by N147JK

Ahh OK I thought it was probably a typo. Car audio systems are strange animals. I bought a top-of-the-line Sony system and it's just kinda sorta OK. I regret buying it actually - it's not worth the price.

I think the quality of all of them has come down quite a bit in the last decade or so. High end especially. And the low end ones that were junk then are really junk now.

Boss is getting pretty popular. I took a gamble on a good deal....and got exactly what I paid for.

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

It's not a Bose, not anywhere near that quality, and Bose doesn't make head units. It's Boss, and it's junk. Don't get mad at me for pointing this out @DBhost. I have one too and I hate it. It's the worst stereo I've ever owned. I strongly recommend that you return it before you install it and get something better.

I know my post probably sounds smart ass but I really don't mean it that way. No one should have to suffer the (lack of) quality of a Boss product. I'm surprised Crutchfield sold it to me. I plan to replace it ASAP.

What issues have you had with it? I am open to peoples opinions and mind you I have had people swear up and down pop top vans are junk so opinions are like a--holes, everyone has one... Unless you have had surgeries I guess...

I bought mine because a friend of mine got one installed in his 93 Bronco and has been happy with it. HOWEVER I have seen a couple of reviews of units that just, well died shortly after install. (that is what warranty is for). And the fact I was looking for a unit that supported Android Auto, GPS etc... AND had both AM and FM tuners, with very few exceptions almost everything in this category omits the AM receiver. AND while I may have had a case of mistaken Identity, I have had very good experiences with Boss guitar pedals and PA equipment. (I play electric bass...). Although I think Boss car audio and Boss Audio might be 2 different companies...

My preferences are very old school, and the MFGs I like to use didn't offer the features I wanted, which was JVC and Sony. Never been an Alpine or Kenwood guy...

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I think the quality of all of them has come down quite a bit in the last decade or so. High end especially. And the low end ones that were junk then are really junk now.

Boss is getting pretty popular. I took a gamble on a good deal....and got exactly what I paid for.

Ah, that kind of explains it. FWIW, the quality of danged near EVERYTHING including toilets has gone into the toilet over the past decade or so. I mean there has been a slow slide, but then a big acceleration, a LOT of it was the offshoring to China stuff...

As I mentioned the particular Boss head unit I went for I had seen in a friends rig, and is it as good of a head unit as say the 1990s JVC CD deck I had, or the Sony Casette deck I had in years past? Not even in my craziest dreams, but it did everything I want it to do, and with the same speakers I went for, and a small power amp, makes some nice sounds in the process. It does NOT pretend to be high end audio gear, nor am I at a stage in life where I care THAT much. I want to enjoy music without a ripping headache afterwards. Too many years of playing too loud left me with tinnitius anyway...

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by BrianW

As @redoval mentioned, a lot of times you can just ground the "parking brake wire" input and it will do the same thing as hooking it up correctly. Not all stereos support this, though. Here's a video that might help:

Also, here's the wiring chart that I had for my 1998 E250. Not sure if your 93 would be the same, but I'm guessing so. Note that some Ford vans had a six-speaker installation (front, middle, and rear), and in this case the middle and rears are actually wired together in parallel or series (I always get that mixed up). The OEM head units account for this in how they drive the speakers, but when you put in aftermarket units sound can get distorted back there at high volume power.

So my 93, and I seem to find this to be common on what I am reading with SMBs and other conversion vans, has 5 speakers. 2 in the front doors, 2 in the back doors, and 1 in the cargo door. The cargo door speaker is wired to the rear speakers somehow. No 6th speaker so not an even number, just a weird 5 speaker config...

I would LOVE to eliminate the sliding door speaker as it really doesn't add anything but complexity to the system.

[Orv]

I've seen mixed results with Boss gear. A friend put one in her Honda she's fairly happy with, other than the GPS navigation not being very good. (Personally I never use built-in nav in cars that have it, I only use carplay.) Hopefully yours will work out for you. I kinda wanted a floating screen unit but the dash overhang on my '90 made it impractical. I ended up with a Kenwood BT/USB-only stereo that's worked out pretty well for me.

[Orv]

Originally Posted by dbhosttexas

So my 93, and I seem to find this to be common on what I am reading with SMBs and other conversion vans, has 5 speakers. 2 in the front doors, 2 in the back doors, and 1 in the cargo door. The cargo door speaker is wired to the rear speakers somehow. No 6th speaker so not an even number, just a weird 5 speaker config...

I would LOVE to eliminate the sliding door speaker as it really doesn't add anything but complexity to the system.

On my '90 there was an amplifier module in the dash (silver box with a heat sink) that all the speaker wiring ran to. I cut it out and connected the speakers directly to the stereo. If you did that you could just not wire up the sliding door speaker.

I went with two small midrange speakers on the cabinets and an 8" subwoofer tube under the gaucho, driven by a small amp with a low-pass filter. The amp is running in bridged mode so it combines the left and right signals to drive the subwoofer. The results sound pretty good, with the subwoofer seamlessly filling in the low range that the smaller speakers can't do.

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by Orv

I've seen mixed results with Boss gear. A friend put one in her Honda she's fairly happy with, other than the GPS navigation not being very good. (Personally I never use built-in nav in cars that have it, I only use carplay.) Hopefully yours will work out for you. I kinda wanted a floating screen unit but the dash overhang on my '90 made it impractical. I ended up with a Kenwood BT/USB-only stereo that's worked out pretty well for me.

One of the selling features of this Boss is the GPS function, it allows use of the Wayze app and has a GPS antenna to pick up signal... Honestly I am perfectly happy with phone GPS aside from wanting a bigger display... The 93 allows use of the floating screen unit which was another selling point. If your 90 is a Dentside Econoline, if I remember right the head units on those were recessed in kinda deep... Nice vans though. I wasn't looking for a 4th gen when I found mine, I was looking for a straight 6... I would have been just as happy with a 3rd gen...

[tedujam]

I have 4 Atoto A6 units right now (E350, 4Runner, RAV4, Wrangler) and while they aren't top of the line, they are solid and reasonable well supported. I'd also suggest returning the BOSS unit, they are extremely cheap junk.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1