Stock Boss BV6658B Radio Problems

[TWms]

Hello all,

I had a problem with the factory installed radio and made it worse. It started when I noticed it was getting power but wouldn’t turn on. Tried the rest, according to the manual, and nothing changed.

I then pulled it out of the mounting sleeve and found the antenna plug wasn’t plugged in and there were several loose wires from the wiring harness. I tried to plug in the antenna but it’s too short to reach once I pull the unit out far enough to reach my fingers to plug it in.

Anyway, I figured I could just reinsert the radio all the way in and try to manuever the plug from the back. Had issues getting it to sit back into the harness, could get anything plugged back in and now have jammed to radio so I can’t get it out. I know I’ll find a way - brute force or removing the entire housing is probably my andswer at this point.

But the funamental questions I have are:

1) are these loose wires important? From trying to decipher the manual, I think they’re for speakers I don’t have (I have 2, those wires seem to be for an additional two). They don’t seem to be coming from the factory installed wiring harness from the speakers

2) would the unplugged antanna cord be the original culprit for why the radio wouldn’t turn on despite having power? I know it was getting power because “PM 113” was showing on the display screen.

Thanks for any insight!

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by TWms

Hello all,

I had a problem with the factory installed radio and made it worse. It started when I noticed it was getting power but wouldn’t turn on. Tried the rest, according to the manual, and nothing changed.

I then pulled it out of the mounting sleeve and found the antenna plug wasn’t plugged in and there were several loose wires from the wiring harness. I tried to plug in the antenna but it’s too short to reach once I pull the unit out far enough to reach my fingers to plug it in.

Anyway, I figured I could just reinsert the radio all the way in and try to manuever the plug from the back. Had issues getting it to sit back into the harness, could get anything plugged back in and now have jammed to radio so I can’t get it out. I know I’ll find a way - brute force or removing the entire housing is probably my andswer at this point.

But the funamental questions I have are:

1) are these loose wires important? From trying to decipher the manual, I think they’re for speakers I don’t have (I have 2, those wires seem to be for an additional two). They don’t seem to be coming from the factory installed wiring harness from the speakers

2) would the unplugged antanna cord be the original culprit for why the radio wouldn’t turn on despite having power? I know it was getting power because “PM 113” was showing on the display screen.

Thanks for any insight!

It is often said that patience is a virtue. I would recommend that you remove the housing and try to free it up. I do not have the Boss as Escape was using a Jenson when my trailer was built, but I had the same problem when I was trying to free up the auxiliary wires, specifically audio inputs, and then reinstall the unit. It can be stated that the unit and wiring is shoe-horned into the small-sized enclosure. I doubt lack of antenna would keep it from turning on but might result in lack of sound output. I would recommend pulling the entire assembly and bench testing it with a 12 vdc power supply with some form of antenna. It could be the Boss is defective; bench testing will make diagnosis easier. And again, be patient. I struggled for a long time to get everything back in place. At the same time, I added a switch to the power input because my spouse complained about the bright blue display on the front of the unit disturbing her at night.

[brroberts]

Likely extra wires go to extra speakers, but I don’t have one, so can’t verify. You can buy short M/F antenna extensions, but given the description of the space they may not fit. You can also get them at 90 degree angles if that helps. I would also recommend pulling the housing to help figure out how to free things up and look at the wiring and space and see if you can make it more future serviceable.

[NCopp]

If your TV is mounted near your Boss radio the other thing I would recommend if you want to watch DVDs played thru the TV is to plug a composite cable, the one with 3 colored RCA jacks (red, yellow, white) in the radio. It will be easy with your radio out, but I just loosened the cover for the radio, lowered it a little and was able to push them in the correct video out jacks. Then it's not too hard to push each of the three plugs up through the hole for the cables into the above cupboard. With a 3' or longer cable you should be able to plug it into the back of the TV. Nice when there is no TV reception. Yes, we like to watch TV and movies sometimes...

[NCopp]

One thing to note is there are 3 sets of jacks on the back of the Boss radio. The website shows them in the picture, make sure you get the correct 3. https://bossaudio.com/products/791489126007

[TWms]

Thank you! You are correct - it just took a few hours of good sleep and enlisting the help of my brother in law and we were able to get everything hooked up and re-installed. I think the amplifier is bad, but at least the unit works and I can get signal again. Tracking down the volume issue will wait until I can dedicate time to trouble shooting - but it’s good enough.

[TWms]

Thank you! We got it all hooked up/reinstalled this morning. Will work on improving the access when I can dedicate more time to it.

[TWms]

Thank you! I haven’t installed a TV yet but will keep this in mind when I do.

[TWms]

Love the idea of adding a switch - I’m not a fan of that blue light either.

[bborzell]

It could be worse. Our Boss radio comes on when it wants to.

A week ago, I thought I heard music being played on the next ridge over. I thought, “That’s a Richard Elliot CD that we have”. Turned out it was the radio in the 23. I had played the CD a few days earlier and turned it off. So far, I have had three phantom turn ons.

The Boss is pretty low end.