Best Replacement for Linear Series RV5090 RV Stereo

Updated 04/16/2025 | Published 09/26/2022

Question:

Before I purchase a replacement for RV5090 do you have a stereo that will work? I keep looking and coming back to JWM62 but the watts are not as much as the RV5090. Can you help me with this?

asked by: Elizabeth J

Helpful Expert Reply:

The best replacement option we offer for the Linear Series RV5090 RV Stereo is the Jensen RV Stereo part # JWM60A. These units both have about the same size cutout so there should be no additional trimming needed to install and there should be no gap left over once done. The specs of either unit are both also very similar, the main difference being the wattage as you pointed out. That said, you really don't need the higher wattage and your speakers will run just fine off the lower rated stereo.

expert reply by: Conner L

George

4/16/2025

Hi conner, I have a rv5090 rev E in my camper, the radio works ok but the c speaker doesn't work anymore I took the speaker off the trailer and everything looks good, the inside speakers work great. can you help me

Kate F.

4/16/2025

@George It sounds like your RV5090 Rev E stereo is working fine overall, but the outside (C zone) speaker isn’t playing anything even though your indoor ones sound great. Since you've already checked the speaker and it looks okay, that’s a great start. Still, sometimes a speaker can look fine but still be faulty. A quick way to test it is with a AA battery, just briefly touch the speaker wires to the battery terminals and listen for a little “pop” sound. If you don’t hear anything, the speaker might actually be dead. If the speaker does pop, the next step is to check if the stereo is even sending sound to Zone C. You can use a spare speaker or a multimeter and hook it up to the C-zone speaker wires at the back of the unit. Try playing music while Zone C is selected and see if there’s voltage (you might get a few volts AC depending on your volume) or any sound coming out of your test speaker. Also, make sure Zone C is actually turned on, many of these RV stereos let you toggle between Zone A, B, and C, and it’s easy to accidentally turn one off without realizing it. If everything checks out at the unit but still no sound outside, it's worth checking the wiring between the head unit and the speaker. Sometimes connections come loose behind the wall panels or corrode over time. If you have a multimeter, you can test for continuity between both ends of the speaker wire to make sure the wire hasn’t broken somewhere along the way. And here’s a quirky little trick that sometimes helps, try disconnecting your 12V power completely for about 30 seconds (both shore power and battery). That can reset the stereo and fix minor glitches that cause weird behavior like one speaker zone cutting out. Worst-case scenario, if the C-zone output from the stereo is actually toast, you could consider wiring your outside speakers to Zone B (if you don’t mind them playing the same thing as your indoor ones), or even adding a small external amplifier just for the outside area. That would give you more control and better sound out there, too. Let me know how it all plays out.

George

4/16/2025

@KateF, thanks Kate, i just tested the c wire from the back of the radio and the test light didn't light up, but when I tested both a, and b they light up so that i thinking it the radio .i ask my wife if it every work she said at first it did. the camper is a 2015

George

4/16/2025

@George do you recommend a unit