Finally started my 2-way radiio and emergency light install...

[moogvo]

So here's a console I bought from Joe Dirt here on the site. I painted it today and have started to install my 2 way radio and the switches for my strobes, grille lights and off road lights. I am mounting the actual radio in the back near the jack and remoting the control head to the dash. I also needed a place to put a speaker for the radio. After looking many times, I decided to integrate the speaker under the radio control head into the console. I also added LED cup holder lights so I can see them at night.

Here is a closer shot of the radio head and speaker.

In this shot, you can see the placement of the green LEDs in the cup holders.

Here is the back of the speaker housing where i put on a terminal strip to make hookup easy.

and a shot of the underside with the wiring. I have a few more things to do before installing, but I am close!

 

[BlkSquad]

Looks good.

 

[MuskegonBrian]

Very Nice. Clean install.

 

[joe doe]

i like what you did with the speaker . i have a couple like that here as well .

 

[jamesr301]

that awesome how i wont to do mine

 

[moogvo]

So I spent 6 hours today routing wiring and getting everything in place. I tapped into the wire for the dash lights to run my cup holder LEDs. I still have to run a cat5 cable, a 12 GA power cable and a speaker cable from the console to the jack area in the back to interface the radio head and speaker with the RF deck. I ran a 4 gauge cable and some smaller wiring for the front strobes thru the firewall. I had to take the under hood fuse panel out to have room to drill the holes and get the grommets in. I have a 4 position fuse panel that the 4GA wire will hook to under the passenger's seat. That is also where the strobe power supply will live. I have an LED light flasher that will probably get mounted under the hood. The idea with this install is that I want everything to look as factory as possible and at the same time, I don't want to see any wiring. I also have to drop the headliner to make a hole for the antenna on the roof. I will be going back under the under hood fuse panel again probably tomorrow, so I will take pics of what I did. My camera was dead today and I was too lazy to charge it... Kind of like the Dremel after cutting the hole for the speaker.

 

[joe doe]

dremel is a great tool to have ,cant tell you how many times it has come into use around here .

now on to that hole in the roof .

get yourself one of these

Shot at 2009-09-09

a good step drill bit .make sure it will cover the hole size you need .it makes a very nice hole .

Shot at 2009-09-09

i done all my wiring out of sight too. always do .
if you wind up needing a high power alt let me know .i know a place out of FLA. that builds nice drop in high amp 3g cases.

 

[moogvo]

I actually have a 200 amp 3G in my shed that has never been used. I built it for my Bronco project several years ago and forgot all about it. It has an under drive pulley on it too. All I would have to do is swap the case... Hmmmm...

I am not really hyped up about drilling a hole through the roof, but I suppose I will get over that. I actually have a punch for making antenna holes for NMO mounts... It's cool in that there are no metal shavings and it is a perfect hole without any burrs... Although those step bits are awesome too. I have a smaller one that I used to make the right size holes in the firewall for the cables. I do need the bigger one. Maybe I can find one at O'reilly auto parts. That is EXACTLY what I need to drill e holes in the tail lights and front lights for the strobes!

I want to take the grille out to mount lights behind it. I can't figure out how it comes off... Does the front bumper cover have to come off too? This looks like it will be difficult.

 

[joe doe]

you mean overdrive pulley dont you?wouldnt want to underdrive a alt .

the grill should come off by itself i am thinking .

i was never one to drill a hole thru the roof either ,but i got over it after i did it .i figure at the age of the vehicle it really doesnt matter . i will drive it to its death or trade it in for next to nothing anyway .more n likely i would private sale it in the event i ever got rid of it .

 

[moogvo]

I haven't ever had a problem drilling holes... But somehow this one is different. I hate to butcher a vehicle that has been so well kept. I have never been known to keep vehicles much over a year or so. Every time I show up with a new vehicle, my friends always ask "How long ya gonna keep this one? 6 months?". I do seem to be going to a LOT of trouble to avoid hacking this one up, so I will probably wind up keeping it.

So a hole it will be!

 

[moogvo]

On a side note, it is running GREAT with the Mustang engine in it, but the fuel economy rather sucks. I am getting 14 to 16 mpg. Something isn't right... I did better than that with my full size silverado...

That might cause me to put it on Craig's List...

 

[moogvo]

UPDATE!

I got everything installed into the Explorer. Here is a shot of the console after completion:

Here is a shot of the RF Deck that is connected to the remote head on the console up front. The light blue wire is a Cat5 cable that connects the two together. The dark blue wire is for the speaker up front and the black one is for the antenna.

Speaking of the antenna, here is where I ended up putting it. I wanted it to be closer to the front, but I didn't want to totally disassemble the interior to get it closer to the front. Besides, this is a good location in case I decide to put a light bar on later.

And finally, this is the strobe flasher for my hide away strobe LEDs. This is under the passenger's side front seat. there is also a fuse box that protects everything I just installed. I have 3 blank positions in the fuse box for future add-ons.

I have installed step boards on there as well, but this is the jist of it.

 

[joe doe]

looks great .nice ex too.

 

[Radioace318]

Excellent craftsmanship on that install. Congrats. Obviously took your time and did it right. I use to do work like that when I had time.

 

[koda2000]

wow, super nice job! very professional installation.

 

[moogvo]

Thanks gang. I have rushed through several installs in the past and something always fails when you least expect it to. I remember on an old Bronco I did, I had a wire chafed and decide to short during a fire call when I had the road blocked with it. All of the lights and radio went dark and that was that.

I decided after that night, I was going to be more careful when installing things in the future. I made sure I soldered everything together and used plenty of grommets, sealant and looming to make sure it is as dependable as if it came from the factory. All wiring was routed in factory locations along factory wiring harnesses. This is probably the neatest install I have ever done and I have to say that I am proud of it. It took me a week, but it is done and I don't have to worry about shorting.

Thanks for all of the kind words!