Stock Stereo Removal
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
From: Half Moon Bay, CA
Stock Stereo Removal
Hey fellas, I plan on changing out my factory stereo and replace it with a new deck and a cd changer, amp and speakers that I already own from my previous truck. The current truck is a 2000 F150 Supercab and it has the factory CD player with Premium sound. I took a look at it today and I did't even know where to start at removing it. Any advice here would help. Also do any of you know if this unit has auxilary inputs? If it does, I wont really need to change out factory deck. One more question... Do any of you use aux inputs? I was thinking it would be sweet to hook up my truck stereo to my laptop computer and play MP3s that way or play DVDs on the computer and have the sound run through the trucks speakers... Just an idea. All help would be helpful here, and guys, I know just about jack when it comes to stereos... Thanks
New User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
From: Santa Cruz, CA
Stock Stereo Removal
Hi, 1st time post for me 
Here's the supplies you'll need.
Wire cutters/crimpers.
Red, yellow, black wire.
Wire connectors (crimp style).
Go down to Radio Shack or Kragen Auto (any nationwide autostore) and get the "Car Stereo Removal Keys". They cost about 3 bucks. They look like a miniature horseshoe with sharp tips.
Go to a local auto stereo shop (Circuit City) and ask the installation shop for a Ford Stereo Adapter Harness. Tell them your make/model/year and they will sell it to you for about 17 bucks. You don't need this, but it makes color coding the stock wires easy..
While your at Circuit City, get a Dash Installation Kit. They are about 20 bucks. This will allow easy & clean looking installation of a new CD player into your dash.
********************************************
Look at your stereo. See the two holes on each side? Stick the keys into the holes. Press in firmly until you hear a click...don't worry if you don't hear one. With the keys fully inserted, use your thumbs and press out....(toward the doors of the vehicle). This will cause the lock tabs inside the stereo to release. Gently wiggle the stereo out of the dash.
Now that your stereo is out, unplug the antenna wire and harness plugs. You can now set the old stereo aside.
Plug in your new stereo Harness from Circuit City, into the stock Ford Harness'.
Now you can tell which wire is which......The stock wires are not the universal colors of aftermarket stereos. You can see what STOCK wire is hot, accessory, speakers etc etc. The ones you will be interested in are the Hot & Accessory.
The hot wire is constantly on, this wire is usually YELLOW. The accessory wire is only turned on when the ignition is on, this wire is usually RED. Use your new plug and find the STOCK hot and accessory wires, mark them appropriately. DO NOT LET THE YELLOW WIRE TOUCH METAL....otherwise you'll need to replace fuse somewhere.
Now that you know what wire is hot and accessory, unplug the new wiring harness. Put the new wiring harness back into it's packaging and return it to Circuit City later. (save 17 bucks).
*careful. Ford doesn't give you alot of extra wire so splice carefully.
Splice into the hot/constant STOCK wire and connect it to the new CD player hot/constant...it should be YELLOW.
Splice into the accessory/switched STOCK wire and connect it to the new CD player Accessory/switched...it should be RED.
Connect the new CD Player ground to a good metal source in the dash, this wire should be black.
Connect the new CD player REMOTE TURN ON to your blue wire. Make sure you have enough wire to run it under the carpet to the amplifier. Cap the end of the blue wire so it doesn't short out later.
Connect the RCA composite (red and white audio) wires to the stereo.
Run the RCA composite and blue remote wires under the carpet or along the trim to your amplifier. Connect them.
Run a 18 guage red power wire from your battery to your amplifier. Place a fuse in the line AT THE BATTERY. Normally a 20 amp fuse will do. Remove the fuse so the red wire is not hot.
Connect the red power wire to your amplifier.
Ground the amp to a good metal source. (black wire).
Now run your speaker wires from the amplifier to each speaker. Easier said than done.
DON'T USE THE STOCK SPEAKER WIRES. Why? Because there may be a stock amplifier connected to the stock wires and it will sound like crap later. Do it right the first time and run some good audio wires to your speakers.
Secure the amplifier to a chosen location.
If you want to use the new CD Player to power the front speakers, go ahead and run new wires to the speakers and connect them to the CD player wires...(They should be white and gray).
Grab your new CD Player and secure it to your new Dash Installation Kit. Plug the kit into your dash...ahh...doesn't it look nice? almost there.
Double check all connections by using the Summary below. Make sure none of your wires are good and won't be smashed by seats etc.
Secure the dash kit and CD player to your dash.
Go to the battery and plug in the fuse.
Turn on your stereo and enjoy
IN SUMMARY
1. Remove old stereo using Ford stereo keys.
2. Find the Hot/Constant and Accessory/Switched STOCK wires.
3. Connec the new stereo Hot & Accessory to the stock wires.
4. Ground the new stereo. black wire.
5. Connect the blue remote turn on.
6. Connect the RCA composite audio wires.
7. Run the remote turn on and RCA's to your Amp.
8. Run a power wire from the battery to your amp.
9. Place an inline fuse at the battery, take out the fuse.
10.Run stereo wires from your amp to the speakers
11.Run stereo wires from your CD player to speakers.
12.Insert the CD player into your dash kit.
13.Secure the CD player to your dash.
14.Secure Amp, secure all wires.
How's that for a first post! lol
Mark
99 Expy EB 4x4, 5.4 Triton. First time owning a Ford, I got it 1 week ago and I love it.
Here's the supplies you'll need.
Wire cutters/crimpers.
Red, yellow, black wire.
Wire connectors (crimp style).
Go down to Radio Shack or Kragen Auto (any nationwide autostore) and get the "Car Stereo Removal Keys". They cost about 3 bucks. They look like a miniature horseshoe with sharp tips.
Go to a local auto stereo shop (Circuit City) and ask the installation shop for a Ford Stereo Adapter Harness. Tell them your make/model/year and they will sell it to you for about 17 bucks. You don't need this, but it makes color coding the stock wires easy..
While your at Circuit City, get a Dash Installation Kit. They are about 20 bucks. This will allow easy & clean looking installation of a new CD player into your dash.
********************************************
Look at your stereo. See the two holes on each side? Stick the keys into the holes. Press in firmly until you hear a click...don't worry if you don't hear one. With the keys fully inserted, use your thumbs and press out....(toward the doors of the vehicle). This will cause the lock tabs inside the stereo to release. Gently wiggle the stereo out of the dash.
Now that your stereo is out, unplug the antenna wire and harness plugs. You can now set the old stereo aside.
Plug in your new stereo Harness from Circuit City, into the stock Ford Harness'.
Now you can tell which wire is which......The stock wires are not the universal colors of aftermarket stereos. You can see what STOCK wire is hot, accessory, speakers etc etc. The ones you will be interested in are the Hot & Accessory.
The hot wire is constantly on, this wire is usually YELLOW. The accessory wire is only turned on when the ignition is on, this wire is usually RED. Use your new plug and find the STOCK hot and accessory wires, mark them appropriately. DO NOT LET THE YELLOW WIRE TOUCH METAL....otherwise you'll need to replace fuse somewhere.
Now that you know what wire is hot and accessory, unplug the new wiring harness. Put the new wiring harness back into it's packaging and return it to Circuit City later. (save 17 bucks).
*careful. Ford doesn't give you alot of extra wire so splice carefully.
Splice into the hot/constant STOCK wire and connect it to the new CD player hot/constant...it should be YELLOW.
Splice into the accessory/switched STOCK wire and connect it to the new CD player Accessory/switched...it should be RED.
Connect the new CD Player ground to a good metal source in the dash, this wire should be black.
Connect the new CD player REMOTE TURN ON to your blue wire. Make sure you have enough wire to run it under the carpet to the amplifier. Cap the end of the blue wire so it doesn't short out later.
Connect the RCA composite (red and white audio) wires to the stereo.
Run the RCA composite and blue remote wires under the carpet or along the trim to your amplifier. Connect them.
Run a 18 guage red power wire from your battery to your amplifier. Place a fuse in the line AT THE BATTERY. Normally a 20 amp fuse will do. Remove the fuse so the red wire is not hot.
Connect the red power wire to your amplifier.
Ground the amp to a good metal source. (black wire).
Now run your speaker wires from the amplifier to each speaker. Easier said than done.
DON'T USE THE STOCK SPEAKER WIRES. Why? Because there may be a stock amplifier connected to the stock wires and it will sound like crap later. Do it right the first time and run some good audio wires to your speakers.
Secure the amplifier to a chosen location.
If you want to use the new CD Player to power the front speakers, go ahead and run new wires to the speakers and connect them to the CD player wires...(They should be white and gray).
Grab your new CD Player and secure it to your new Dash Installation Kit. Plug the kit into your dash...ahh...doesn't it look nice? almost there.
Double check all connections by using the Summary below. Make sure none of your wires are good and won't be smashed by seats etc.
Secure the dash kit and CD player to your dash.
Go to the battery and plug in the fuse.
Turn on your stereo and enjoy
IN SUMMARY
1. Remove old stereo using Ford stereo keys.
2. Find the Hot/Constant and Accessory/Switched STOCK wires.
3. Connec the new stereo Hot & Accessory to the stock wires.
4. Ground the new stereo. black wire.
5. Connect the blue remote turn on.
6. Connect the RCA composite audio wires.
7. Run the remote turn on and RCA's to your Amp.
8. Run a power wire from the battery to your amp.
9. Place an inline fuse at the battery, take out the fuse.
10.Run stereo wires from your amp to the speakers
11.Run stereo wires from your CD player to speakers.
12.Insert the CD player into your dash kit.
13.Secure the CD player to your dash.
14.Secure Amp, secure all wires.
How's that for a first post! lol
Mark
99 Expy EB 4x4, 5.4 Triton. First time owning a Ford, I got it 1 week ago and I love it.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
From: Good ole U S of A
Stock Stereo Removal
Mark99Exply, welcome to the forum!!! Although your post is rather informative and took a great deal of time for you to compose, I would rather suggest that mcdev simply purchase an aftermarket wiring harness to connect the aftermarket head unit to the stock wiring. You originally suggest buying one, but then you go into detail as how to connec the h/u to the stock wiring by splicing. Maybe I simply misunderstood. Here are the items that I would suggest purchasing:
18 Guage?
I would NOT run 18 guage power wire under any circumstances for a power amplifier. mcdev, please specifiy which amplifier(s) you are running. This will be very important to determine the guage of power wire to be used for your installation.
Additionally, fuse size is highly dependant on the amplifier installed. You generally want to use the same size (or slightly smaller) fuse as the built-in fuse on the amplifier. If there is not one, the owner's manual should specify what size fuse to use. You always want to use as small of a fuse as possible. At the same time, an amp that will easily draw 60 amps would most likely constantly pop those 20 amp fuses...
This is VERY important in the installation of an amplifier. Use a dmm to check the voltage to ensure that you have a solid ground point.
Hope this reply helps
Tempe
- METRA 70-1771 FORD/LINCOLN/MAZDA INTO CAR HARNESS $9.95
- METRA 99-5802 FORD F SERIES/EXPEDITION 1995-UP DASH KIT $11.25
Originally posted by Mark99Expy
Run a 18 guage red power wire from your battery to your amplifier. Place a fuse in the line AT THE BATTERY. Normally a 20 amp fuse will do.
Run a 18 guage red power wire from your battery to your amplifier. Place a fuse in the line AT THE BATTERY. Normally a 20 amp fuse will do.
I would NOT run 18 guage power wire under any circumstances for a power amplifier. mcdev, please specifiy which amplifier(s) you are running. This will be very important to determine the guage of power wire to be used for your installation.
Additionally, fuse size is highly dependant on the amplifier installed. You generally want to use the same size (or slightly smaller) fuse as the built-in fuse on the amplifier. If there is not one, the owner's manual should specify what size fuse to use. You always want to use as small of a fuse as possible. At the same time, an amp that will easily draw 60 amps would most likely constantly pop those 20 amp fuses...
Originally posted by Mark99Expy
Ground the amp to a good metal source. (black wire).
Ground the amp to a good metal source. (black wire).
Hope this reply helps
Tempe
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 136
Likes: 0
From: Good ole U S of A
Stock Stereo Removal
http://www.precisionpower.com/amps/pcx2200.asp
Yeah, you definitley need a 4 guage power wire.
Tempe
Yeah, you definitley need a 4 guage power wire.
Tempe
