Does anyone know what wiring exists behind the storage compartment where the factory subwoofer goes (on Expy's that came with the cargo cubby instead of the sub)? I am wondering if the power cable take off exists there so I can add the powered sub to my Expy without having to run power to it. I am also looking for a unit if anyone is interested in parting with one. The units I see online are just enclosures, and it seems as though there is no integrated amp. I would prefer an all in one unit like the factory one.

Thanks,

Greg Blakeney
'98 4x4 Expy.
Las Vegas

 

Greg-
I went through the same thing with my 99 Expy. I did a lot of research (I even called and talked to an Engineer at Visteon, the company that manufactures the Ford head units) and made several changes with my audio system, and I now have a very nice sounding truck. The expedition design basically requires you to keep the factory radio if you want to keep speed sensitive volume, rear seat controls, and the factory 6-disc changer if it has one. I would also like to point out that the factory head unit appears to have a very "clean" amplifier, and it has enough power to get a fair amount of volume - especially with a subwoofer.

Here's the skinny on subs:

The Expy's are separated into two categories: With and without Mach audio. The radios themselves are very different, along with the speakers that come with them. The "premium" radio is an 80-watt unit that drives four 5X7 (Ford calls them 6X8's) speakers in the doors. The first thing you should do is carefully remove the stock door speakers and burn them - they are junk, and they do not have tweeters. Buy two pairs of good 5X7 speakers and put them in the doors. I went through Crutchfield, and I was absolutely amazed by their quality of service. They may not have the cheapest prices in the world, but their value is great - my speakers came with wiring harnesses that allowed me to plug the new speakers into the factory speaker plugs (no wiring and no guessing which wires are which). I also used their tech line several times to figure out other issues, so I found that being a Crutchfield customer is a wonderful thing. Trust me on this one. Sorry about the diversion. Once you get new speakers (if you haven't already done this) you should be able to detect a major improvement in sound quality.

Mach audio systems incorporate a subwoofer into the speaker system, and I am told it sounds pretty good. However, the "normal" and the Mach system do not have interchangeable parts. The Mach unit sends a differential preamp level signal (not compatible with the more common "single-ended" signals found in most aftermarket equipment) to it's sub, and the internal amplifier pulls power from a plug on the factory harness. If your truck did not come with Mach Audio, you do not have any factory wiring for the sub. Even if you did, your radio does not have sub outputs on it. This makes a Mach sub from another vehicle completely useless in your non-Mach Expy.

I looked into replacing my factory radio with a Mach radio, and this is also not a viable option. The Mach head unit has an internal crossover that takes the bass out of the door speakers and sends it to the sub. It only works as part of the whole Mach system, so you would have to replace the entire wiring harness in your truck, and then you would be forced to only use the Ford subwoofer. Not a lot of bang for the buck here.

The bottom line is this - scrap the idea of using a sub from a Mach Audio expedition or explorer - It just won't work. Instead, I would recommend that you fork over the cash and get yourself a nice aftermarket sub enclosure, subwoofer, and amplifier. JL audio, Q-Logic, and MTX all make enclosures that are custom designed to fit into the factory compartment. JL Audio systems are available with a great sub in the box, and MTX has the box, sub, and amp in their package. Quality-wise, I think JL audio probably has the best product.

To hook up the sub you will have to pull speaker level inputs into the amp - I recommend using the rear speaker wires so that you can use your fade control to adjust bass levels. I am not a big fan of speaker level inputs in general, but you don't lose much when you are only running a subwoofer - the distortion problems are more pronounced in the higher frequencies when you are driving full range speakers. Be careful where you take your speaker level inputs from - you want to pull them off before they go to the rear seat controls. You can get at these wires if you remove the cupholder section of the front seat center console - there are only 2 or 3 screws to remove.

One more thing - the factory head unit runs a line check on the speakers when it first turns on to make sure there are no shorts in the wiring. The radio basically looks for a certain resistance across the speakers, and the internal amplifier won't power up if the ohms are out of spec. I originally hooked my sub amplifier inputs with both the positive and negative speaker wires, but then my radio would not function due to the problem I just described. The guys at Crutchfield told me to only hook up my positive speaker wires to the amp, and hook up the negative amplifier input to ground. This took care of my problem, and it works and sounds great.

Hope this gets you on your way, and post again if you have any more questions.

Jerm

P.S. I am assuming there is no difference in the radios between 1998 and 1999, but I do know that some models before 1999 did have an extermal amplifier for the speakers. This changes things a little bit in the wiring department, but I still do not advise trying to hook up an aftermarket amp to the factory preamp feed signals due to the different signal types (differential vs single-ended).

 

WOW . . what great feedback! I am definitely going to follow the speaker upgrade first. Thanks for the great information, and I am sure I will be asking more from your 'information base' !!

Thanks !

Greg Blakeney
'98 5.4 4x4 Expy.
Las Vegas

 

I read your post regarding the Subwoofer on the Expedition. I have a 2000 Eddie Bauer and a 2002 Eddie Bauer "Premier Package" Expedition that I just bought. Both have the Mach Audio system and both are severely lacking..... I just traded in my Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Infinity sound system that was AWESOME.

Help. How can I easily upgrade my system? Besides the new 5x&'s what can I do?

Thanks,

Peter

 

 

Depends on what kind of sound your looking for and the $$ you want to spend. Ive built my truck up to a competition level now, but no matter what kind of music your listenin too it sounds great. If your looking for more treble, ((Jazz, Acoustic, Classical)) Kicker makes a Beautiful Tweeter, About the size of a Oreo Cookie...wiring is pretty easy too. I have them attached on the dashboard in the corners opposite the side mirrors. If your Looking for a little more "Thud" look into the Xplod's. Ive been running 1000 watts thru 6 10's for about 6 months now...its very impressive equiptment. There are alot of options out there just depends on your preferences.