I decided to upgrade my stereo to include Bluetooth hands-free access, along with Sirius satellite radio, better speakers and a subwoofer. The project vehicle is my 1982 E350 based Born Free Motorhome. I first searched Crutchfield and found that any DIN sized radio would not fit! Looking further on their site I found a note saying cutting modification of the dash bezel was required. I decided on a JVC KD-R985BTS receiver, Pioneer TS-D1602R 6.5" speakers for the front, a Sirius SXV300V1 satellite tuner and a BOSS 10" powered subwoofer for under the passenger seat. I studied the available mounting kits and found that Metra kit placed the radio face about 1/8" behind the plane of the dash bezel surface. The Scosche FCJ1270AB kit brought the installed radio face out an additional 3/8" for a much better look (IMHO). I used a Dremel tool to remove 0.100 inches of material from the top, bottom and right side of the stock radio opening in the dash bezel as you look at it facing head on. I had to take 0.155" of material off the left side of the opening. The Scosche mount places the radio in a fixed position in the left to right plane but allows movement of about 3/8" up and down. After cutting the dash bezel I fitted the DIN plastic trim cover into the finished opening, then adjusted up/down location by test fitting the bezel mounted in its normal position.

If your stock radio is the mono or stereo you will have existing speaker wires with a common ground. If so, to use a modern receiver you will have to get a Floating Ground Adapter (Scosche FGAB). I had the premium stereo with worthless amp so I could access the full speaker wire pairs. Threw away the stock amp. I'm attaching a few pictures to show the final result. The mini stereo plug/cable in the pictures going into the receiver's aux port is coming from my CB radio so I could control the noise and volume better when needed. The WeBoost is a cell phone range extender. At the base of the WeBoost mount you can see the lightening cable to connect to my iPhone for nav and audiobooks. The iPhone connects through the lightening cable to the rear USB port on the receiver. The whole thing came to just under $350 with the powered subwoofer, cables and wiring. Hope this helps, I could find nothing to help me in my internet search. Good Luck!




Overall View of receiver install showing the full dash bezel.



Close-up showing the DIN receiver fit in modified bezel.



View of the radio in the bezel inset area.

 

I'm trying to do something very similar to my 1990 E250 Club Wagon van, and after

I wired it up and discovered that it worked, except that the volume was so low that at max volume I wouldn't be able to hear it over the engine(!). I then got the common ground adapter....and discovered that this didn't help that problem at all!

So I'm wondering if I've got the same worse-than-useless amp, and how to bypass it. I took a blurry picture, and I'm wondering if the thing mounted to the bottom of the dashboard (upper right) with aluminum heatsink fins is that amp....and if there is any sort of wiring diagram for the wires to the amp.

I've not followed the wires too far, but the ford speaker wires do not take the direct path to this thing, and I'm reluctant to yank out random items that I can't identify from my van.....

FrankGRUN or anybody else know how this works?

 

For these cases, there is nothing better than a wiring diagram! I'm very familiar with the mechanical and electrical details of my 82 E350 as I have the full printed shop manual and the CD version. The wiring color codes have, in all likelihood changed from 1982 to 1990. In any case, with the premium sound system the wires from the speakers pass through the area of the fader on/off switch, then on to the amp with final connections to the radio output. If you are feeding the amplifier directly from your stereo, you will have to be inputing low level signal lines, not speaker level output lines. I would check and make sure the amp is powered via the on/off-fader control. If powered and the problem remains, get a copy of your proper wiring diagram on eBay or elsewhere. Then cut, splice and insulate.

I ditched the factory amp because of the quality of the sound and because I had no specs to determine the proper input matching requirements. Your image is consistent with the factory amp, but mine was mounted against the cowl on the right hand side.

 

I've been able to remove the amp and am at least certain that it is the amp. I've also identified the 8-pin connector on the amp that is the output lines to the speakers. Looking inside the amp, I've found 4 components that are mounted to the heatsinks, and pick the two wires leaving each one to the same connector, so I'm pretty sure I've identified the 4 +/- speaker pairs. Now all I need to do is a continuity check to confirm which speaker is which.

That bit about the fader on/off switch doesn't seem to exist in my van, but thanks for telling me what to look for!

So far, my efforts to find a wiring diagram for my vehicle on the internet have been giving me dubious/inconsistent results, and I think I'll muddle along without the proper shop manual a bit longer--once these wires are connected I'm hoping to go another few years without needing to do any more rewiring.....wish me luck!