ENCO B146 (WinCe) Support/Mods/Hacks INFO!!!!

Originally Posted by breiwa1

The best way to deal with the random boot is the power down the unit before you turn your car off.

Oh okay! Thanks for the tip! It's bee 3 days since my inquiry to Jolly. Still waiting on that reply...

So, I have this unit, and I'd like to chip in my two cents.

I bought this head unit in November from Szenco directly from Charles. Prior to paying, communication was EXCELLENT (minus the language barrier). I paid through paypal and paid a small fee to use it. Shipping was a bit of a pain... it took three weeks to get here despite the company saying they ship immediately. My unit didn't ship until two weeks later, but came promptly after that.

Installation was a breeze for the most part. I used a metal pry tool (blasphemy) with no issues. I watched a BSW video on youtube for the stepsThe radio antenna was too big and only fits after you smoosh it a bit. A standard USB connector DOES NOT FIT, and I ended up breaking the female USB port in the back. It sucked because I had the center console USB mod all done up, but I thought I could get by without using a right-angle USB connector. My advice: Get the right angle... it's tight enough in there as it is. There was another issue that I came across with the sound fading in and out due to really poor fitting connectors. I remedied it and describe it below. I also did not opt for the HVAC relocation kit. As other members have described, the HVAC will sit snuggly below, but with a small gap. Honestly, this doesn't bug me. If my vehicle were newer and nicer, I'd probably do it though.

Anyway... there are lots of people who have discussed the pluses to death so I'll keep it short:

Good stuff:
Great sound quality, price, excellent Nav (I use iGo Primo instead of the stock garbage), decent looking screen and colour scheme, looks great


The bad and the Issues:
1) Connectors - So, my sound was crackling at any speed. It turns out the harness that adapts the ENCO unit to the stock harness did not fit properly. It had all of the right connectors in the right spots, but the holes were too big so that the pins was just floating around inside the holes, causing the sound to be hit and miss whenever I went over a bump or crack. I fixed it by taking some needle nose pliers and expanded the clamshell-shaped pins. The pins thus were bigger, fit more snuggley, and have not caused be a problem. I emailed Charles about this but no reply.
2) Too loud - yep I have the too-loud problem on my HK system. It doesn't really bother me too much. My CD, USB, and SD slots have normal volume, but my radio is hella loud. I just have to remember to turn it out. I haven't played around with my stock HK amp yet but that's definitely a possibility. I'll also invest in a LOC some time when it becomes too irritating.
3) The AM radio only goes in increments of 9! This is VERY annoying as I listen to 680 news a lot (Toronto new station), but can only tune in to 675 or 684 haha. I live a half hour away so having a strong signal is a must. I emailed Charles about this but no reply.
4) Takes forever to load a class 10 USB stick
5) Random Boot! This is the most annoying part of the unit. I have scoured the internet and have come up with a bunch of ideas to fix this, but with no confirmed evidence. One poster from Eonon (identical unit) suggested unplugging the unit, and plugging it back in BEFORE plugging the CANBUS in. This was confirmed to work by one person and confirmed not to by another. There is also talk of replacing it with a new CAN BUS unit from Eonon which apparently fixes the problem. ANother solution is to disconnect the CANBUS all together and put up with no steering mounted controls. I have not come across a software fix for this yet. I'll consider a new CANBUS from Eonon in the near future. I don't feel like taking my dash apart again (already had to to fix GPS Antenna), but perhaps somebody else can try these out. Turning the unit off before shutting the car down, as breiwa1 suggested, does work, but I found it also caused all sorts of other Gremlins, such as causing the time to change erratically.
6) The unit tends to reset itself from time to time (happened twice last week). Basically, it goes to stock... stock sound, weird time/date, etc etc. I can't figure out why it does this but is annoying.
7) CANBUS tends to go wonky every now and then and the steering wheel controls will not work. It's happened to me maybe three times since I've owned the unit. It just requires a system reset.
8) Bluetooth microphone is crap at highway speeds (people complain on the other end...)
9) The unit seems to time travel... the time speeds up about five minutes per week. It is not gradual, but moreso just changes suddenly.

Overall, this unit is a huge pile of garbage, but does the basics well. My car is getting old and beginning to show it's age, so I don't regret having installed this unit for under $500 all in. What does annoy me is having NO support from the manufacturer, and having a unit that quite honestly is not ready for the market. Would I do it again? Probably... I'm completing my M.D. in a couple of months and money has been tight, especially for an old car. Furthermore, it does a good job of playing music, videos, and Nav. Would I buy one for my upcoming 328/335, even if all the bugs are "fixed" according to the manufacturer (Eonon..check out a similar thread at a british forum by googling it ) Absolutely not... this unit is a disgrace so far. I'd stick with Dynavin despite being that much more expensive, or do something like GROM.