My 08 Expy, and my 09 Mustang are wired so the CanBus supplies activation power to the radio via the Inst. Cluster.

This causes a problem when you put an aftermarket radio in. There are no easily accessible "Key On" hot wires to be found. The closest I can find is at the fuse box itself.

I just want my headunit to operate like the factory radio did. Come on when the key is in "ON" or "Accessory", and keep playing until the door is opened.

I found this...but at $100...there has to be an easier, aka CHEAPER method.Thanks guys. I am pulling my JVC AVX820 in the Expy to put into my Mustang and installing a Kenwood DDX616 in the Expy. Figure I'd try to wire them a little better this time around.

 

A lot of data gets routed through the buss, bypassing a unit can cause some other side effects. I once saw one where the bass from the radio was the only thing that made the speedo rise. It's not pretty.

For $100 you'll not have to worry about or track down oddities and it'll be mostly plug and play. It would be worth $100 to me in grief and time, but everyone differs.

 

for the Expy and Mustang the canbus only supplies the trigger power for the radio. nothing else accessory wise on the dash. Luckily Ford is smart enough to not do that crap.

you don't really lose any functions otherwise. I have the expy wired off the auto A/C currently, but it only works when key is in "On" position.hoping someone knows a cheap easy way to keep from paying $100 for a module that does nothing else in my Mustang or Expy.