2011 Explorer amplifier power cable routing.

[Schrank17]

I am curious if anyone in this forum has installed an amplifier/powered sub in a 2011 Ford Explorer. If yes, where did you route the power cable for the amplifier?

I've removed the panel under the steering wheel, the frame behind that, and all of the trim around the drivers side entrance and I cannot find a sutable gromet or spot to drill for a gromet. There is absolutely no provisioning in the firewall for anything to pass through. To make matters worse, the firewall is kind of doubled up. The exposed firewall in the engine bay only leads into the cavity that houses the wipers and then beyond taht is the internal firewall. So, drilling from the engin bay will not work

Ultimately, the only spot I can think of is just left of the light switch in the door jam face where the weather striping/trim is. I am thinking of drilling a hole through the sheet metal and then another through the next wall. After that I would run fishing tape from the engine bay to fish the power cable through the holes and inner fender support and out the top of where the fender meets the support in the engine bay near the battery. The downside to this approach is that it will be very hard to gromet the second hole inside the shell of the vehicle.

This is not ideal but is the only way I can fathom completing this task.

All suggetions are welcome

Thanks!

 

[13Sport]

I am curious if anyone in this forum has installed an amplifier/powered sub in a 2011 Ford Explorer. If yes, where did you route the power cable for the amplifier?

I've removed the panel under the steering wheel, the frame behind that, and all of the trim around the drivers side entrance and I cannot find a sutable gromet or spot to drill for a gromet. There is absolutely no provisioning in the firewall for anything to pass through. To make matters worse, the firewall is kind of doubled up. The exposed firewall in the engine bay only leads into the cavity that houses the wipers and then beyond taht is the internal firewall. So, drilling from the engin bay will not work

Ultimately, the only spot I can think of is just left of the light switch in the door jam face where the weather striping/trim is. I am thinking of drilling a hole through the sheet metal and then another through the next wall. After that I would run fishing tape from the engine bay to fish the power cable through the holes and inner fender support and out the top of where the fender meets the support in the engine bay near the battery. The downside to this approach is that it will be very hard to gromet the second hole inside the shell of the vehicle.

This is not ideal but is the only way I can fathom completing this task.

All suggetions are welcome

Thanks!

There is a grommet on the passenger side behind the glove box. The hole passes through the firewall and is plenty big enough for 1/0 gauge power wire. I ran my amp that way. You won't need to drill at all.

 

[tryan1977]

How did you guys get the head unit removed to get at the wires?

 

[13Sport]

How did you guys get the head unit removed to get at the wires?

I didn't ... in the XLT, Limited, and Sport there is an amp in the rear passenger well. You can remove the plastic panel to gain access. All speaker channels run to the amp, I just tapped into the rear left and rear right outputs and used those as the input for the signal processor. If you are in a limited or sport you can probably use the sub output as the input for your signal processor. I was in an XLT at the time.

 

[JDraper]

There is a grommet on the passenger side behind the glove box. The hole passes through the firewall and is plenty big enough for 1/0 gauge power wire. I ran my amp that way. You won't need to drill at all.

I used the same grommet for my driving light wires. Probably the only place in the front of the cabin you can acutally go through without major effort.

 

[Schrank17]

Thanks, Everyone!

Unfortunately, I already drilled a small hole from the driver's side door jam into a channel near the inner fender. No biggie. Minimal work, clean hole, direct route.

I wrapped my power and remote wire in nylon tubing and electrical tape. I then routed the bundle under the trim and carpet to the powered sub. I located the sub on the floor, in the middle of the foot well, in the third row. This is a great spot because I can fold all seats down flat with no interference. I will be adding quick disconnects for all connections in case I have extra passengers. Or, I will just tell them not to Donkey Kong the sh*t out of my sub

13Sport, what side of the vehicle is that amp located?

I will be posting pics of the install soon.

Thanks, again!

 

[tryan1977]

I didn't ... in the XLT, Limited, and Sport there is an amp in the rear passenger well. You can remove the plastic panel to gain access. All speaker channels run to the amp, I just tapped into the rear left and rear right outputs and used those as the input for the signal processor. If you are in a limited or sport you can probably use the sub output as the input for your signal processor. I was in an XLT at the time.

Ok - I was considering a signal processor so I have a couple questions for you.

1) What brand/model did you go with?
2) Have you upgraded your speakers yet? If so, what brand/model?
3) Are you pleased with the upgrade?

Anything else you can add is greatly appreciated.

 

[JarHead1833]

Thanks, Everyone!

Unfortunately, I already drilled a small hole from the driver's side door jam into a channel near the inner fender. No biggie. Minimal work, clean hole, direct route.

I wrapped my power and remote wire in nylon tubing and electrical tape. I then routed the bundle under the trim and carpet to the powered sub. I located the sub on the floor, in the middle of the foot well, in the third row. This is a great spot because I can fold all seats down flat with no interference. I will be adding quick disconnects for all connections in case I have extra passengers. Or, I will just tell them not to Donkey Kong the sh*t out of my sub

13Sport, what side of the vehicle is that amp located?

I will be posting pics of the install soon.

Thanks, again!

Make sure you put a rubber grommet in that hole you drilled.. The edges may not look sharp but after some time of rubbing and bouncing in that hole you could have some major problems if it decides to ground itself out if the covering gets damaged.

 

[Schrank17]

I couldn't put a grommet in the hole but I plan on filling the small gap around the cable with great stuff or RTV to restrict movement and to re-seal the cabin.

Isn't that what fuses are for? ha ha

 

[JarHead1833]

I couldn't put a grommet in the hole but I plan on filling the small gap around the cable with great stuff or RTV to restrict movement and to re-seal the cabin.

Isn't that what fuses are for? ha ha

The fuse will pop but not before the wire has melted and sparks fly. I have seen major damage to audio parts and vehicles because of this very thing. What you plan on doing will work and help.

 

[Schrank17]

Doing it the right way

Well, just to do it right, I am going to re-route the power cable on the passenger side. I found the aforementioned grommet behind the glove box. This way there is no chance for it to ground out and I can check on it once in a while to be certain.

I found the wiring for the little speakers in the third row and tapped into them for my high level inputs. I only used the driver's side so I am only using one channel for the high level input. The sub kind of sounded weak and muddy. I will test the low level inputs tonight with an ipod and "y" RCA cable to see if that sounds better or the sub is "get what you pay for".

Should I bridge the high level connection from the single speaker source to gain two channel?

Or, should I tap into the passenger side speaker to gain true 2 channel?

Am I able to use the high level inputs as the remote to the powered sub? It has a switch to choose remote wire or high level input.

Lastly, do the third row speakers have a cross over upstream? If they do my sub will not receive the frequency range it should.

I know I am asking a lot of noob questions but it has been fifteen years since I have tinkered with car audio.

Thank you for your patience and expertise.

 

[JarHead1833]

Well, just to do it right, I am going to re-route the power cable on the passenger side. I found the aforementioned grommet behind the glove box. This way there is no chance for it to ground out and I can check on it once in a while to be certain.

I found the wiring for the little speakers in the third row and tapped into them for my high level inputs. I only used the driver's side so I am only using one channel for the high level input. The sub kind of sounded weak and muddy. I will test the low level inputs tonight with an ipod and "y" RCA cable to see if that sounds better or the sub is "get what you pay for".

Should I bridge the high level connection from the single speaker source to gain two channel?

Or, should I tap into the passenger side speaker to gain true 2 channel?

Am I able to use the high level inputs as the remote to the powered sub? It has a switch to choose remote wire or high level input.

Lastly, do the third row speakers have a cross over upstream? If they do my sub will not receive the frequency range it should.

I know I am asking a lot of noob questions but it has been fifteen years since I have tinkered with car audio.

Thank you for your patience and expertise.

The only thing I see wrong or would not do is use the high level input at the location you found it. Reason being it is coming from the factory amp not the head unit. Im not sure sending that signal from the factory amp into another amps high level input is a good idea.
Those tweeters in the rear might be crossovered to kill the low levels so they don't sound horrible or blow. So again you would be losing levels if they are and you went into another amp.
What I would do is find those tweeter wires before they go into the amp and run those high levels into a signal processor (high /low convertor). Then you can adjust the low levels as needed into another sub amp. Now my brain is fried and I'm going for a beer!

 

[deewan]

+1 for what Jarhead said. Don't use the output from the Ford Factory amp as the high level inputs for an aftermarket amp. Way to many problems can come into the mix there. I believ the wiring diagram on 12-volt's website will tell you which wires from the head unit belong to which channel. Convert those signals, feed the signal into an aftermarket amp, and enjoy!

 

[13Sport]

You can use the output from the factory amp, but you need to use the woofer output for the second row speakers (left and right, bridged to mono). The amp is filtering (high pass crossover) on all other channels. I used the output from the second row speakers as the input to my processor w/ no issue on the XLT.

 

[Schrank17]

I looked at the power distribution block in the engine bay and there is no fuse in the slot designated for the amp. I am assuming there is not an amp in my XLT. I will rip off the passenger side cargo panel to confirm. If there is, I will tap into the main input source or the appropriate channel. If there is not, I will tap into the second row speaker. I just didn't feel like trying to remove the door panel.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[13Sport]

I looked at the power distribution block in the engine bay and there is no fuse in the slot designated for the amp. I am assuming there is not an amp in my XLT. I will rip off the passenger side cargo panel to confirm. If there is, I will tap into the main input source or the appropriate channel. If there is not, I will tap into the second row speaker. I just didn't feel like trying to remove the door panel.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

XLT does have an amp, passenger side rear panel

 

[VinceL]

XLT does have an amp, passenger side rear panel

I would assume the optional premium audio on the XLT has an amp, but does the standard radio have one also?

 

[13Sport]

I would assume the optional premium audio on the XLT has an amp, but does the standard radio have one also?

I thought premium was standard in XLT, I am likely mistaken though ;$

 

[deewan]

I don't think the XLT comes standard with the premium stereo. I only say this because of the early threads asking about the number and location of all the speakers. I'm pretty sure the base XLT does not have a sub (or an amp with a signal output for the sub).

 

[13Sport]

I don't think the XLT comes standard with the premium stereo. I only say this because of the early threads asking about the number and location of all the speakers. I'm pretty sure the base XLT does not have a sub (or an amp with a signal output for the sub).

It does not have a sub you are correct, there are three stereo options for the explorer..

Base
Premium with 8 speakers (XLT) (no sub)
Sony with the sub (limited and sport)

I "thought" that the premium 8 speaker system was std on the XLT, but I definitely could be wrong there