Parking brake input wire?

[BrianW]

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.

Is yours a SMB build? If so, from what I've seen they actually remove the mid-driver-side speaker during the build because it's usually covered up by cabinets. That's the way it was in my 98 (my 2011 SMB doesn't seem to have mid speakers at all). And yes, the mid speakers are wired with the rear (that was my point), which somehow messes with the ohms (doubling them or halving them or something like that), which the OEM headunit accounts for, but messes with aftermarket units.


See this thread for more info: https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...ker-12093.html

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by 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

Interesting, so you have 4 of these units you are happy with.

That's fantastic, but when I look at the verified purchaser reviews, well the reviews from verified purchasers on my Boss unit are better than this one, and I do not have a double DIN hole in my dash to mount that type of unit to boot... And yes the reviewers of the Atoto A6 often use the works cheap junk as well... I honestly do not expect the build quality of 1980s - 1990s Japanese manufactured equipment out of ANYTHING coming out of China.

Not saying the Boss unit is the absolute best thing ever, but I am willing to give it a shot. Reviews from people that actually own and use them, including long term reviews are showing good results, yes there are the obligatory DOA or died within a month of install reviews. You see that with Kenwood and Alpine as well... Electronics are funny things. The only real issues I have see are with the Microphone for using the phone handsfree, which in this van with this particular engine could be, interesting at best... The mic people complain tends to have a bit of an echo, and it may be a software issue that gets fixed with a firmware / software update. I had a Galaxy phone years ago that had an echo with an earbud mic no matter which earbuds I used until I got a firmware update...

I accept the fact that this head unit MIGHT actually end up being complete garbage, at the price point it goes for, it seemed to be the best offering that had the features I wanted.

And to boot, I bought it in September and have been sitting on it gathering other parts for install, pretty sure the return period is over.

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by BrianW

Is yours a SMB build? If so, from what I've seen they actually remove the mid-driver-side speaker during the build because it's usually covered up by cabinets. That's the way it was in my 98 (my 2011 SMB doesn't seem to have mid speakers at all). And yes, the mid speakers are wired with the rear (that was my point), which somehow messes with the ohms (doubling them or halving them or something like that), which the OEM headunit accounts for, but messes with aftermarket units.


See this thread for more info: https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...ker-12093.html

Yes it is, and it has a Motorcraft speaker mounted in the sliding door. I have no qualms whatsoever about removing it though. Lousy location. Although it isn't covered by the cabinet as it is at the very front of the sliding door in the walkway.

I have seen a lot of pics of other SMB builds where the speaker is there. I think they only removed it when the cabinet would cover it up.

Would it be a problem to simply disconnect the speaker connection to that speaker and leave it hanging? I would rather not have to go through tracing the wires all the way back to the dash...

[86Scotty]

My problems with the Boss are a lousy manual, first off. Secondly I bought it to run dual cameras and the reception is pretty lousy, even using cameras I've had great luck with before. In other words, it ain't the camera. Also, it pops and hisses loudly when I put the van in reverse because it triggers a mic in the backup camera I think and it is not suppressed properly at all. You cannot disable this feature. Next is that my front R speaker is shorted, comes and goes. These are aftermarket speakers, I know the problem and it is not the wiring or the speaker, it's the plug. I have fooled with it some but I need to completely cut it off and rewire everything, which I can do but shouldn't have to do. Next is the general loud hiss on every function. I haven't had to use an inline noise suppressor in a stereo in 20 years and if I were keeping this one I guess I need one. This one has awful interference and you can't tune it out. That's about all I can think of at the moment but I really think it's pretty awful. I completely agree with your opinion about opinions. Mine is not good on this particular head unit.

I've had the best luck with older Alpine units however I was a big JVC and Sony guy and even had some really nice Clarion head units back when I was heavy in to car audio.

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

My problems with the Boss are a lousy manual, first off. Secondly I bought it to run dual cameras and the reception is pretty lousy, even using cameras I've had great luck with before. In other words, it ain't the camera. Also, it pops and hisses loudly when I put the van in reverse because it triggers a mic in the backup camera I think and it is not suppressed properly at all. You cannot disable this feature. Next is that my front R speaker is shorted, comes and goes. These are aftermarket speakers, I know the problem and it is not the wiring or the speaker, it's the plug. I have fooled with it some but I need to completely cut it off and rewire everything, which I can do but shouldn't have to do. Next is the general loud hiss on every function. I haven't had to use an inline noise suppressor in a stereo in 20 years and if I were keeping this one I guess I need one. This one has awful interference and you can't tune it out. That's about all I can think of at the moment but I really think it's pretty awful. I completely agree with your opinion about opinions. Mine is not good on this particular head unit.

I've had the best luck with older Alpine units however I was a big JVC and Sony guy and even had some really nice Clarion head units back when I was heavy in to car audio.

Generally speaking Alpine and Kenwood are out of my price range, and yeah, if they offered a unit with all the features I wanted, I would have gone with JVC, even though their quality isn't what it once was, or Sony, and again same issue. All the noise / video issues it sounds to me like ground traces on the board / bad unit...

Which begs the question, did you pursue a warranty claim on the head unit?

I expect one of two possible results with this head unit.

The most likely and hoped for result is that it will work properly and provide good solid service for years to come.

The second and least likely or desireable result is it is a complete pile of crap that I will need to yank back out of the dash and get a warranty replacement. Pain in the butt but accounted for.

Now there is an OFF chance, but not a non zero chance that a replacement head unit could end up being an unworkable steaming pile o sh*t. I have had some electronics that were like that. Samsung Galaxy S4 leaps to mind, horrible phone, but my Note 9 has been fabulous... So if unit #2 assuming 1 is bad, and 2 is bad, I lean on Boss for a refund and shop for a different unit...

Mind you, shopping at Crutchfield at least, for Touchscreen stereo head units they show Boss, Jensen, Pioneer and Alpine.

The Pioneer head units listed lack the features I want, although I have used their stuff in the past with good results, but that was a VERY long time ago... I dislike Jensen as much or possibly more than you dislike Boss. Won't even consider them at all. and Alpine is literally 5x the cost...

[Orv]

Originally Posted by dbhosttexas

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...

Yeah, the dentsides have a roughly single-DIN space with a very deep dashboard visor just above, which makes any kind of floating screen pretty difficult to accommodate. A lot fewer options than the later vans that have 1.5-DIN openings. I'm happy with the unit I have, though, I just use a phone or tablet for GPS.

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by Orv

Yeah, the dentsides have a roughly single-DIN space with a very deep dashboard visor just above, which makes any kind of floating screen pretty difficult to accommodate. A lot fewer options than the later vans that have 1.5-DIN openings. I'm happy with the unit I have, though, I just use a phone or tablet for GPS.

My ex mother in law had an 83 Econoline 250 Mark 3 Conversion van, so yeah a Dentside, seriously smog choked 351c but otherwise a pretty nice rig. Given its age the smog junk could come off of it and it could be opened up to be an actual reasonable performing vehicle nowadays... I actually remember when she took my ex, and my ex brother in law on a trip to the Oregon coast with it and got stopped for impeding traffic with that van... LOL, First time I ever heard the term... Yeah she was a slowpoke driving 20mph under the speed limit on the coast highway in clear conditions...

On adding / updating the stereo, the mount IN the dash on the 92-96 is single DIN, the hole through the dash trim itself is about 1/16" overlap, meaning I spend a bit of quality time with a dremel clearancing the plastic so a single DIN unit can fit, no matter the unit... OEMs got funny about stereos a long time ago...

[Steve Hunt]

Originally Posted by dbhosttexas

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...

Isn't that the dam truth...I had a nice (but mid range) Yamaha home receiver for 25-30 years....The last 8 years I've had like 6 home receivers (2-yamahas, JVC, Onkio, 2-Sony) it's ridiculous. Sony repaired 2 under warranty by me sending it to a 3rd party repair place, they both crapped out in short order too. Bring it back to the US, screw China, I don't care what it cost...you're not saving any money when you replace something 6 times. As we speak I have no receiver, listening to the TV thru the TV speakers...thats painful but not as painful as the inevitable marital stress that comes with 12-hours of "setup" on yet another replacement receiver. Why can't you just plug them in and turn them on any more? Rant complete.

[Orv]

Mine has the 302 Windsor. By 1990 they were using multiport fuel injection so power was starting to come back up a bit over the worst of the early smog era, and overall drivability was a lot better. It's still a bit overmatched by 3.5 tons of van but it's adequate most of the time. What it lacks in power it makes up for in durability and a willingness to run under heavy throttle for long periods of time without overheating.