I bought a '97 Aero as a donor vehicle for another project. The Ford radio is missing from it. Since the radio is not there I have no idea what it was like. I do not know if it was a cassette or CD player type. I don't even know if the CD was available in the '97 but I assume it was.

My question is, was there a CD radio available that worked with the back seat control panel and if so was it very common? Also, was this type radio that would accomodate rear control used in any other Ford vehicles. I have a '95 Explorer that has rear control but the radio is physically different. Finally, was there or is there an after-market radio that would work?

 

I would just get a new stereo, I recommend Kenwood. For rear controls, many new stereos have a remote. The Aerostar used a common ground speaker system, which generally resulted in very poor sound quality. So I would run new wires to all the speakers, and use new speakers while you are at it. Don't worry about the rear radio controls, they are not all they are cracked up to be. A remote will work just as well. Bypass the rear controls with your new wiring.

 

I have two vans with the rear radio controls, and to tell the truth, the only time I have ever used them is to check to see if they worked when I bought each van used.

Usually, if my daughter (now 20) rides in the back, she has an MP3 and headphones, and I just turn the balance all the way to the fromt speakers. If it's just me, I balance front and back to give a nice effect with my XM on the jazz channel.

I don't think I would give the rear control another thought.

 

Another reason to bypass the rear controls is that they tend to get corroded, making the system sound poorly, and sometimes even cutting out.

 

Not a problem... One vehicle I have with rear control is like new and works perfectly. The other stuff is all restorabel. I have a pretty well equipped electronics shop as I am also into designing and buildin a lot of my Audio, video and Han radio equipment. I also restore antique car radios from time to time so making the rear controls work right is no problem. Electronics is another one of my passions.

Later Man...

 

Hi Bear,
Sorry I missed this one earlier... I know what you are saying but this is just a me thing... Besides, remotes take batteries and they get lost easily. I guess you could put a chain on it but that is not what I want.

I am familiar with the common ground speaker wiring thing as I had to convert my '93 E-350 van back when it was new. It was a big pain in the butt and even with a better system and better speakers it wasn't worth the cost and the effort. Of course it is hard to do much with the acoustics of a cargo van which was the intended and utilized purpose. I just wanted the radio with the remote 6 disc CD deck as I was doing 150K miles a year. As far as I know, Ford still uses the common speaker ground system and the radios in our Taurus's and my '03 F-350 suit me just fine.

As for Kenwood, I'm not all that impressed with the resultant bang for the buck you get. A few years ago I went big for a 400 disc combo DVD, CD and MP3 deck for the home system. Big bucks and problems to go with it... I also have several peices of Kenwood Ham Gear and they are good equipment but they lack in features that are available as standard in cheaper competitor's gear which perform as good or better. If you want the same features in Kenwood, they will beat you to death with options and big prices. Based on those experiences I would probably not buy any more Kenwood gear. It just so happens that electronics is one of my passions too. I have built an entire audio/video post production studio with four computers and about every digital and analog source you can imagine so this audio stuff is no stranger to me.

Later Man...

 

Dave,

You don't happen to be the secret alias of Robert Rodriguez, are you?

I think all the rear control needs is a good spritz with an electronic contact cleaner, lube, and preservative. If you're careful, sometimes you can pry up that panel from above and get to all the controls to do this. If uses a couple of plastic spring tabs that locks it into the hole, kind of like the register doors for the AC vents, except they are on the bottom side.

On mine, the previous owner (or his kids) spilled some sticky drinks on it, and it got all the way into the electrical connectors. So I had to take it all apart to clean it.

 

No, but I knew a Rapheal Rodriguez that lived in New Laxington, Ohio. Who's this other guy???

As for the kids, they should be kept in starightjackets with Muzzles on.

I have two dogs, a Rottweiler and a long haired Dachshund that we take with us on trips and they are much better behaved than kids. Aside from dog slobber on the windows there is no problem.

Later Man...

 

Robert Rodriguez is a movie maker; he made the Mexican Trilogy "El Mariachi", "Desparado", and "Once Upon a Time In Mexico", some recent movies like "Sin City", "Grindhouse", as well as some children's movies like the "Spy Kids" series. He built his audio/video studio in his garage, which then expanded into parts of his house in San Antonio. I think with the exception of his earliest movies like "El Mariachi", he shot everything on HD video.

 

That's way outa my league. I just did it for my own amusement and it was ten tears ago before HD. I gueaa my attention span is too short because I got bored with it. However the story of this Rodriguez is inspiring and interesting. I did spend a year in San Antonio around the time President Kennedy was shot.

Later Man...