Hello,

So I have an '11 gasser. It came with just the stock/non-nav/non-premium cd playing stereo.

Is there a way to add the subwoofer and tweeters to the system? I like my sync, and steering wheel controls and I really don't want to give them up. I've looked at all the wiring diagrams to. It seems like it should be prewired for it given that I have added upfitters and automatic climate control to it. Thanks in advance!

 

Do you have any details on adding the automatic climate control? As for the sub and tweeters, I am assuming you would have to change the radio because the bare bones radio probably wouldn't have the provisions to run the sub. But I might be wrong on that. I am about to buy a 12 that is a basic xlt and want to add some of these things too.

 

The climate control is super easy. You need to pull off the two plates (12v plug on the left side, and he USB port on the right side. They pop off with a small straight screwdriver.) Behind those plates are two screws. Remove screws, then gently pull the 'center stack' away from the rest of your dash. You'll have to disconnect as you pull, some of the harness isn't long enough. Once you get the center portion completely away from the rest of the truck, flip it over. On the back of your manual a/c control you'll find 4 screws holding it in. Remove and replace manual unit with auto unit. Plug everything back in. Re-install everything in the reverse order. Now, do you have heated mirrors and such? Also, the passenger side temp regulator works, but doesn't. I mean when the trucks are built without auto climate control, the blending doors on the air delivery assembly are left out. So if you adjust the passenger side and the driver side, it will just mix the temps and you'll get an 'in-between' temp. Also the buttons are different. Some of the functions are now linked. But rest assured, everything will work fine.

 

Regarding adding the factory sub / tweeters to a basic XLT:

Keep in mind the standard CD head unit is also the standard radio in Lariat trucks w/o navi. I do believe those trucks came with a subwoofer. The factory subwoofer unit includes a subwoofer in a plastic enclosure, along with an amplifier; this all mounts behind the right-rear seat section in a crew cab (probably the same for an extended cab). I don't believe there is any prewiring for the sub (it requires a harness which brings +12v power and ground, along with the low-level audio input.) The factory sub units complete with amps can be found online for sale used; I believe the 2007-2010 units are the same and would work as well. The harness can be sourced from 4D Tech out of Kentucky for about $99 with factory plugs. (Great guys to work with, BTW) However, my XLT radio did not come with the sub-out jack. On my truck, I ended up buying the navigation unit, which is very nice and comes with the sub output connection, but is $$. There may be other ways around this problem, or maybe some radios come with the sub connection while others don't. As for the tweeters, they are mounted in the front door 'sail' panels, which you can buy. However, there is no factory wiring (as far as I know) so you would need a "high pass filter" in order to tap sound off from the front door speakers (which would work). There are also tweeters in the rear door panels, but these are part of the door panel itself. Maybe you could cut the holes out if you could buy that piece separately, but there are no other speakers in the rear doors, so you'd have to tap into speaker wiring from somewhere else if you wanted those.

So as you can see, you could end up spending hundreds of dollars to try and replicate the factory Premium system, or thousands if you go with the navi. I love keeping things stock, and that is the route I went. But, in retrospect, I would do this:

-Replace the four standard speakers with two-way aftermarket speakers (get a good-quality speaker in which the built-in tweeter can be aimed upwards and at the front passengers; also make sure the speaker has a high sensitivity rating as the factory amp in the head unit is not robust). I also put 10" squares of DynaMat behind each speaker for better sound.

-Install a low-profile, aftermarket powered subwoofer in the same basic factory location. Wiring would have to be tapped from the rear speakers (easy), but these subs need no special inputs and filter down to low frequency on their own. Kenwood makes a great unit fairly cheaply; there are others.

Bottom line, better than factory sound, at less than factory money, and all hidden to where everything looks stock and all factory controls work fine.


As for the auto climate control, yes, you can upgrade to the auto climate head with digital controls. Looks very nice, and mostly works. Two features are missing if you do this: The passenger-side door blend motors, and the cabin air temperature sensor. If you just want to looks, and basic, single zone functionality, just buy the climate head unit. However, those who are enterprising can indeed buy the blend motors and the climate sensor and gain "full" functionality. You will notice the "auto" climate control is not very sensitive without the cabin sensor (goes behind the grilled just to the right of the steering wheel) but still works.

Good luck!

 

Any info on installing the blend door motors?

 

Well, I never did. I lived with the system by just installing the climate head. However, I'm pretty certain the info exists on this forum to do so. You will need to take apart your dash some, but I've found its quite easy to do with these trucks. Search for a user named Tofan, he may have added the blend doors or at the very least I think there is linked info on some of his posts about the subject.

Also, keep in mind there are like 3 or 4 versions of the auto climate control head...one with heated / cooled seat switches, one without, one with "just" heated mirrors, one with heated mirrors & rear window, etc. At the time, I had cloth seats, heated mirrors, and no heated rear window...so that's what I tried to order, but they sent me the wrong one with heated rear window. The mirrors still heated, so I guess it doesn't matter, but keep this in mind.

Switching back to the blend motors, IIRC, the XLT heater box in the dash as a "rod" which links the blend doors on the left and right sides together, and only has temperature blend door motors on one side. Essentially, this linking rod needs to be removed or replaced, and the passenger side blend door motors need to be added. I believe its pretty plug and play once you have the heater box accessed.

The interior air temp sensor is a much easier install, and would make the system function perfectly in single-zone mode. But, if you really want the dual zones, then you need to add the motors.