I have my bluetooth mic mounted in my dash just above the center vent and I get complaints about people not being able to hear me very well. I think the pioneer mics are not that great.

 

I don't think that she has a problem hearing me. It's just that she always hears the engine noise. For example today I was driving down the interstate and she said that it was so annoying that I had to hang up and disconnect the bluetooth and then call her back. I was thinking that if I moved the mic down to the dash that it might block out some of that noise.

 

nice clean install

 

Hey Jeff,

There is a setting within the phone settings that adjusts for the background noise, I can't remember what it's called...and I'm separated from my truck by 2,000 miles at the moment so I can't go look. Maybe it is off on yours. My wife tells me that the sound on her end is better than if I am using the actual phone to talk to her...of course maybe she just doesn't want to hear me at all.

Hopefully you'll figure it out because the bluetooth is awesome.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into this more. I love the bluetooth as well. When I had to talk "regular style" today after I was told the engine noise was annoying, I didn't like it at all.

I would rep you again if I could.

 

Thanks for the great post!

I'm half way through my install, and all the tough stuff is done (I hope).

Mounting the Satellite antennas on the screw caps was brilliant! I've done the same for my AVIC-F900BT and Sirius receiver. I popped off the covers, and noticed there were holes big enough for the wires to feed through under the caps.

I fed the wires through, straightened out a coat hanger, and was able to fish the wires above the heater/air con ducts to bring them right to the back of the HU.

The Pioneer shipped with a somewhat flexible metal plate with adhesive on one side for mounting the GPS antenna on the back dash. In the instructions, it says "Do not cut!" Since this would be perfect for mounting both antennas onto the pop out covers, I cut the piece in half, and trimmed with scissors so it fits nicely over the cover. I then fed the wire through the little slot on the cover that is used to pry it off.

I'll try to post photos.

Both antennas were threaded and mounted in about 20 minutes!


Other notes...

I tried to pull the factory stereo with a tool made from coat hanger. Without knowing how far to feed the tool into the unit, nor how hard to push out, I got nowhere.

I was buying the wiring harness at the local Future Shop (Canadian equiv to Best Buy), and asked the guy. He popped it out with the proper tool. Looks like the little nubs on the ends help hold the unit while pulling.

If anyone is trying with a coat hanger, make sure you push in both the top and bottom segments at least 2 cm, then push the wires out (to push the ends of the wire, and the clasp in). You have to push quite firmly, and hopefully you will be able to pull the wires out with the HU attached.

I do have one question. The Double Din mounting kit that I picked up has a triangle shaped piece for the back of the new stereo. It should sit with the opening below the new stereo, and will slide over a metal bracket. The one that I received isn't long enough, as the Pioneer unit I'm installing has the mounting screw for it at the top of the unit. What are others doing? Just ignoring the rear mount?

Now off to find a Dremel to trim the dash opening.

 

Is this all pretty much the same on a 2004?

 

Mine was a 2003 Excursion, so shouldn't be too different.

With the dash off, I could see daylight above the ductwork. Especially when I popped off the plastic fitting with the little black bubble - possibly the light sensor to figure out when to turn on the automatic headlights.

The unit is pretty much wired in now. The fix that lets you use the Nav and other settings while the vehicle is moving is in - thank goodness. It was very frustrating when I couldn't change the nav volume or enter a destination unless you stop and put on the parking brake.

Backup camera arrived today. However the microphone for the voice control/phone blue tooth isn't working, and neither is the steering wheel interface.

 

The 2005 factory radio is larger than 2004 and earlier so yours will be a little different than mine. You'll just have to make the opening large enough to fit a double DIN HU. Spin2Win can probably help you with that. There is also a thread on here somewhere with pictures that show how to enlarge the opening, although I think that was on an Expedition.

Good luck.

 

You need to shave about 1/8" from the top and bottom of the opening for the radio in the dash. I used a Dremel, and got it sorted out in about an hour. There are some structural splines that needed to be shaved down, but it is obvious what to do when you hold the unit up to the opening. I just kept shaving down the bits that were getting in the way. Be careful that you don't scratch the front of the dash (don't ask)!

Installed the back up camera yesterday. That took a few hours. I ran the wire down the right side, under the door kick plates, following the hose for the rear washer fluid. The glove box pulls out easily (squeeze it together at the back), and that lets you pull the video cable from behind the right passenger kick plate to the stereo opening. I used a coat hanger to push the wire along the route, so I just had to pop off the step plates under each door.

I pulled the rubber weather seal around the rear door and the 3rd row seat's cup holder to pull the wire behind the big rear bulk-head.

I drilled a hole above the license plate, under the tailgate weather stripping, and added a grommet, then fed the wire under the black plastic strip, through the grommet, and under the rear door step plate over to the access panel for the jack.

I wired the positive wire to the black & pink reverse light wire, and ground to the black lighter wire - both in the same harness, and easy to reach in that opening.

I found the problem in the SWI-PS. I'd misread the diagram, and didn't realize that the picture was reversed. You are supposed to connect the white wire to the lt. blue & red (or pink?) wire. I used a socket that came with the car kit, and connected the white wire to the opposite corner. After moving that over, the PAC unit started responding when I pushed the buttons.

Now I have a problem sorting out the programming. Volume Up works fine, Volume Down lowers the volume by 12, and the unit displays "Att" - more like a mute function.

The Next button changes the Band. It moves from FM1 to FM2 to FM3, then back to FM1. Same thing on the Sirius. I didn't realize that I also had Sirius bands until I was testing.

The Mode button doesn't seem to do anything.

I saw a note on the PAC website saying that the Pioneer AVIC-Fxxx units don't support Next/Prev presets. Too bad. I'm now looking for recommendations on the best way to config the buttons, so over to avic411.com.

 

Mike is now working. I'd pinched the wire when I screwed in the handles on the A pillar. I was able to repair, and remount the mike in the dash beside the lighter/power outlet. Used a big grommet in a half inch hole, and it looks very professional.

Did a final reprogramming of the PAC unit, and it's as good as it is going to get. Next changes source (Sirius/FM/AM/CD/etc), and Mode changes bands (FM1/FM2/FM3) or Sirius 1, Sirius 2, etc.

Wires are tiestrapped, and tucked away. All is well, and it looks great!

 

What installation kit did you use for the AVIC-F90BT

 

It was just a generic kit. They don't make one specifically for the 99 expy, because a double din deck isn't meant to fit in it. To get it to fit took some constructive trimming here and there.

 

Does anyone know, on the wiring on a 2004 F250, are all of the necessary wires there in the factory radio harness or do you how to go find wires in other places? I seem to recall something being said about the fact that it was a real pain to locate the Vehicle Speed Sensor wire.

 

I had to pull the dash, speedo, and fuse panel to get at all the wires I needed.

I found the wire colours to use at avic411.com, and confirmed in a Ford Truck manual.

One of the wires going to the speedo was the speed sensor (gray/black). The reverse wire is black/pink, and I tapped into that at the relay on the fuse panel. It was clearly marked in the owner's manual (the relay - not the wire).