1996 Explorer stock stereo + amp questions

[Brickie]

Hello all,

My friend got me a job with him recently, we're bricklayers, and drives me to work and back because I lost my license. So I told him I'd install a new stereo in his truck. The Explorer is a 4 door/4 wheel drive but is NOT an Eddie Baur or an XLT. It has the storage compartment in the right rear quarter trim so I know it's not the JBL or MACH stereo system.

What happened is he bought a new battery and installed it himself and when hooking up the cables, he switched them by mistake and now his radio doesn't work. I checked all the fuses and found that fuse number 29 was blown. I replaced it and the radio lights up and seems to work but there is no sound coming out of the speakers. The radio is a stock AM/FM Cassette with 6 speakers.

I hooked up a cheap old AM/FM CD - KDC-205 - I had to see what played and I didn't get any sound from it when hooked to the stock speaker wires on the stock stereo wire harness so I'm guessing the amp is blown. So now I'm installing a Kenwood AM/FM CD that I bought at a pawn shop and would like to find the amp in his truck but am not sure where it is. I bought the connectors from Best Buy to connect the other stereo to the stock plugs, so I didn't cut em, and the guy there said the amp is in the passenger side kick panel but the people here say it's in the back. Today I took off the passenger side kick panel and found a blue thing, roughly 4 in. wide and 6 in. tall surrounded by a metal bracket, that could be the amp. It has a grey plug and a black plug side by side attached to the bottom of it so I'm guessing this is the amp. One plug has like 9 wires attached to it and the other has like 12 wires attached to it. I'm hoping someone here can confirm that this is the amp.

What I'm wanting to do is replace the amp to use the stock speakers because he said they sounded good. So my questions are;

1, Is this the amp that I found?
2, Any suggestions on what amp to buy and where to buy it from?
3, Any ideas of what I should pay for the amp?
4, Is there anything else I need to know about replacing this amp with a new amp?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I'm also gonna call Best Buy again to see what they have and compare prices if they sell an amp for it.

Thank you,

John

 

[Joe Dirt]

No, that is not the amp.

Amp is in the back, behind the rear cargo trim panel on the passenger side next to the storage cubby.

Check my thread for some more pics if needed: CLICK

I'd suggest either a trip to a junkyard near you so you can easily return/exchange if you have issues with the new amp, one of our forum used parts vendors, or eBay. Stock amp shouldn't be worth more than $20 max. Or, you can always just run new speaker wires, and power/ground/remote turn on power and call it good while just bypassing the entire system. Could be issues since the cables were crossed.

 

[Brickie]

Thank you Joe. After reading many other posts here and seeing pictures, I was doubting that what I found was the amp. I did call Best Buy again to ask Adam there and he said his computer says the amp is in the kick panel but up higher than what I found and there isn't anything there that looks like an amp. I will look in the rear like you say to be sure but will most likely just run new wires to each speaker because the Kenwood I bought has a lot of power, 50 watts x4, so the stock speakers might sound good without the amp. If not, I'll look into replacing the amp then. Right now I have a pair of Pioneer 6x9 4 ways hooked to the Kenwood in a box but want to install them. I just don't know if they will fit anywhere in the truck.

Again, thank you for the reply and confirmation. Much appreciated. Also, thank you for the installation link. I just scanned thru it for now but will read it all when finished typing. Looks like a very good tutorial.

EDIT: Just read the tutorial and am thinking of doing the same now but will need the sub box and grill because we're bricklayers and have a bunch of tools back there that can puncture the sub, so it might not be a good thing.

Regards,

John

 

[therover1991]

Thank you Joe. After reading many other posts here and seeing pictures, I was doubting that what I found was the amp. I did call Best Buy again to ask Adam there and he said his computer says the amp is in the kick panel but up higher than what I found and there isn't anything there that looks like an amp. I will look in the rear like you say to be sure but will most likely just run new wires to each speaker because the Kenwood I bought has a lot of power, 50 watts x4, so the stock speakers might sound good without the amp. If not, I'll look into replacing the amp then. Right now I have a pair of Pioneer 6x9 4 ways hooked to the Kenwood in a box but want to install them. I just don't know if they will fit anywhere in the truck.

Again, thank you for the reply and confirmation. Much appreciated. Also, thank you for the installation link. I just scanned thru it for now but will read it all when finished typing. Looks like a very good tutorial.

EDIT: Just read the tutorial and am thinking of doing the same now but will need the sub box and grill because we're bricklayers and have a bunch of tools back there that can puncture the sub, so it might not be a good thing.

Regards,

John

the actual RMS for each channel is probably 17 or 18. the 50 watts is just peak power.

also I have a sub box for a 96-01 that I dont need if you want it.

 

[toypaseo]

EDIT: Just read the tutorial and am thinking of doing the same now but will need the sub box and grill because we're bricklayers and have a bunch of tools back there that can puncture the sub, so it might not be a good thing.

Regards,

John

One option is to use the OEM grill, or fab up some flat stock to fill the opening, and use an aftermarket speaker grill.

Here is mine. My sub is an 8". I used a 10" speaker grill so I could cover the entire opening where the OEM grill was metal.

For clean looks, I opted for a 2pc grill that uses a ring mount system. It was purchased from http://www.parts-express.com

Click on image for larger view.

 

[Brickie]

the actual RMS for each channel is probably 17 or 18. the 50 watts is just peak power.

Ok, thanks. I read something to that order when I googled the Kenwood KDC-205. It IS much louder than the Legacy am/fm/cd I used first. I just need to mount the 6x9's if I could in the doors somehow and connect the front speakers and see if the factory amp helps at all or not. I forgot to look to see if there are speakers in the rear door or not. He said he thinks there's 6 in it. If there is, they would most likely be muffled from all the tools and junk back there.

also I have a sub box for a 96-01 that I dont need if you want it.

Thanks for the offer but the back of his Ex looks like the bed of a work pick-up truck with how dirty it is from all the tools we carry around in it. It's basically just a work truck and a sub would most likely get damaged so I'll probably not do it. I asked him today about it too and he didn't sound interested in it either. He's also wanting a new vehicle too. He likes the explorers and if he buys another, I might do it then but not for this one. The tunes are good enough for now considering he basically just drives it back and forth to work. And when we take it to Baldwin Lake in Michigan on some weekends, the back is full with camping stuff and coolers full of beer.

@toypaseo - Thanks for the info. I'll check the link at a later date if he buys a new Ex and we decide to put a sub in it.

Regards,

John