2016 Explorer Sport - Audio System Build

[Lexingtonian]

This is for the conversion of the Ford Sync Stereo to Variable Line Out (RCA). This will work for Sync2 or Sync3 Systems. I used the settings here:
(Under the "Common" tab lines 77,78 and 79)
FORScan 2015-2018 F150s

I just installed the RCA's in the ACM Connector last night and they fit perfectly (a little snug as I was using 18ga wires and the wires in the factory harness are 22/24 ga I think).

My ACM connector top and bottom before removing the RF/LF RR/LR Connections

After installing the new connectors to RCA Jack -

The pins are removed from the front of the connector and require a VERY TINY screwdriver to trip the release. See my photo below where the perspective is staring straight on the connector. The light green guard has been removed. The release is right above the connector (for the top row and below for the bottom row). It's inset though thus the reason for the tiny screw driver.

You could use a set like this:

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4461-6-Pi...minal+pin+tool

But it's pricey.

I used these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and this Crimper

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I would use the large die to make the first crimp then use the small die (and not crimp all the way) to compress the fitting. Then do a little clean up with pliers so it would fit clean into the connector. Most of the them pushed clean straight in. A couple need just a little nudge to go in with needle nose pliers. I tried to feel how much resistance they had as if I wanted to return it to stock later I wanted them to come out easy. If they go in easy, they'll come out easy.

Hope this helps.


For clarity sake, this is the female terminal that fits the ACM Connector:
https://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...y571-2035334-1

This is the female terminal that fits the APIM Connector
https://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...y571-1924955-4

I used this wire for the APIM Connectors (22 ga)
https://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...4A0111-22-0-US

I used the white and black version of this wire for the ACM work I did in photos above:

https://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...4A0111-20-0-US

https://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...4A0111-20-9-US

Original Pins bent back and Wire Tied

 

[Lexingtonian]

I installed my Sub amp in the location of the Sony Amp and laid the JL Audio Stealthbox in the back to get a listen. Here are a few photos of the Amp install before and after I tied up the wires. I had to mount the amp upside down due to the length of my shielded RCA. I was able to use one of the SONY amp tapped screws as well on the upper right.

I hadn't connected the sub wires yet, but did that right after I took the Pic.

 

[Lexingtonian]

I installed my first MS8 a couple days ago in my 2016 Explorer Sport. I ran into this issue for turn on/off as well. Hope it helps someone -

The Infamous MS8 Pop and how to solve it -

Several documented examples of it here (and there are many more):
(dead links)

First, I'd like to thank DanMc85 for his excellent post below which was the ultimate solution:
Variable Line Level Preamp Outputs From ACM (Factory Radio) For Amplifier Upgrades

To quote from his post:
Quote:
Amp Remote Turn On: ACM (Harness B) - Violet/Red (Pin 18) OR ACM (Harness A) - Brown (Pin 7)
Note these remote turn on wires are NOT 12 volts (approx 6 volts)... some amplifiers may require a 12 volt remote input and may need to convert this output with a third party device or relay. While you have the dash apart, you could also tap the accessory power wire at the key ignition harness for a guaranteed 12 volt wire for remote turn on. Also some sound processors, such as the JBL MS-8, support 4 Volts and higher as a remote turn on voltage so this is not an issue if you are using one.

UPDATE:
Better remote turn on wire option for Push to Start Vehicles:
Connector C3501 - Pin 5 - Brown/Yellow (22 Gauge) - 12 Volt w/ Delayed Accessory Feature
- This wire is going into the 150 Watt AC/DC Power Inverter
I have bolded and enlarged the section relevant to the solution. First I used the ACM audio enable wire for remote trigger for the MS8 and that was what was causing the pop. The MS8 and subsequently all of my amps were staying on for minutes beyond the the car shutoff. Just before the internals of the APIM/ACM would go offline I'd get the pop then the AMP/MS8 would shutoff. Moving the remote turn-on to the C3501 connector worked like a charm and shuts down the MS8 as soon as I power off the car or system. Much better and thank you DanMc85!

The Pop IS NOT coming from the MS8. It was coming from the ACM as it was shutting down. I'm assuming ACM doesn't do a soft shutoff and line level amp capacitors were draining causing the pop before going offline. (what it sounds like to me anyway)

Hope this helps someone. If you dont have an ACM or aren't coming from the Ford Factory System, replace ACM with "Head Unit" and it will be relevant to you. Essentially the head unit is shutting down releasing energy into the RCA's before the MS8 is turning off the Amps. This is the problem you need to solve to eliminate the MS8 turn on/off Pop.

 

[Lexingtonian]

Been trying to figure out a Sub issue. It sounded boomy and unbalanced. I tried several things and in the end decided I needed to understand what curve I'm getting from the JL 10" Stealthbox for the Explorer. So I took a 20hz to 80hz sweep in REW. (80 because that's my 4th order x-over point on the MS8).

Well whatddaya know.. It's gonna a need at little EQ love to smooth it out..

Huge Milestone today!

I was able to put the carpet and the front seat back in. I'm real happy with how everything fits. It's hard to describe as I didn't take any photos of it but I had to cut the carpet a bit to get everything to fit the way I wanted. The back portion of the carpet, the part that drops down from the foot vent I cut all the way across level with the vent and bent the flaps down. then the back piece I cut so that I was split in two. I fed the portion next to the center console down under the MS8 and likewise fed the other carpet piece under the Soundstream amps. Looks great though and fits well.

I'm not terribly concerned about the amps being partially covered by carpet. They are Class D and run cool anyway. One of the main reasons I chose Class D was because of the compact size and efficiency. It's a huge benefit and very clean power.

Still working on rear of the truck. I haven't completely figured out how I want to run the D pillar speakers. Ford did something sneaky for the D Pillar 3 1/2" speakers. They ran both left and right in parallel off the same output. So they aren't in stereo. Pretty weak sauce. See the illustration below.

I bought 4" speakers to replace the anemic stock 3.5" D-Pillar speakers but I dont think I'm going to be able to use them (yet). The stockers mount to the D-Pillar Plastic so I'm going to take a closer look. I also still need to make the cuts in my rear plastic to fit the Stealthbox.

Tomorrow I'm going to hit the system from 20hz-20,000hz with REW and see what I have to work with. I'm _incredibly_ happy with the way the system sounds. Best system I've ever owned by a long shot -

Lex

 

[Lexingtonian]

D Pillar Speakers installed today! Took a bit more effort than I thought it might as the 4" NVX VSP4 Speakers were WAY more substantial than the stock 3.5" drivers. As illustrated here:

They really are nice drivers for under $50/pair. Hard to beat and absolutely perfect for this application. I chose the NVX's V Series because they were very high quality and had nice 1" smooth silk dome tweeters. I started down the road of mounting them behind the 3.5" grilles for the ultimate stock look but the space behind the D Pillar plastic panel has an odd shaped metal cutout with limited depth down low. I did a bunch of head scratching and tried everything I could think of short of getting my air nibbler out and cutting the steel. I didn't really want to cut as the seatbelt was right below and I didn't want to compromise the strength of the steel in any way incase I had an accident. Here's my head-scratching photos, you can see the 4" driver doesnt fit very well in the stock locations.

It became obvious that I was going to have to surface-mount them. So there's that process -

I put the VSP4 in the lowest point I could get the magnet to fit in the stock locations then put the dry-fit the panel back over top of the speaker to see if I surface mounted it how much I'd have to move the hole up to keep from hitting the steel. The photo above proves, I pretty much cant move the hole up far enough, I'm going to have to deal with the steel in some way, just not sure how much yet. I'll check when I get a speaker mounted. There was 1 and 7/8ths of depth between the back of the plastic d pillar cover and the steel pillar. The NVX speaker was a touch over 2"'s of depth. Definitely need to manipulate the steel. First lets remove the stock grille and cut the surface mount hole. I cut it a little off center of the original hole as I was trying to get the magnet to center up as best as possible over the steel behind it so I'd have as little work as possible. I marked the hole then used a razor to trace the hole. I used pliers to get the plastic to snap along the razor score line. I LOVE working with ABS plastic. It breaks so predictably and cleanly.

I bought these Grilles on Ebay for $9.99. Perfect for 4" Speakers. I wanted it to look as stock as possible. Most 4" speakers dont come with grilles and the ones that do look like total Dog-SH**. These were perfect.

I have the speakers mounted up and they look great.

 

[Lexingtonian]

Next I fit one the speakers up and found that the magnet was hitting the steel (as I suspected it would). I used a hammer and some well placed smacks to detent the steel to make up the difference. One of my neighbors came over as I was caving in the steel with my hammer wonder what in the heck I was doing to my truck. It was pretty loud. I took a photo of the passenger side I caved in and a photo of the driver side before I caved it in for comparison.

Once I got everything mounted up I was happy with the results.

I must say, now that I have a side channel on the MS8 I can hear, Logic 7 never sounded so good. I am running the rear door and d pillar speakers in parallel to the amp as I dont have more channels on the MS8, but this works very well and really does provide the rear passengers with some sound so the Sub doesn't drown them out. I'm very pleased. Need to re-run MS8 Calibration, perhaps tomorrow. ...or perhaps I'll take a few weeks off. This build has been a LOT of work - ;-)

 

[Lexingtonian]

I also wrapped up the stealth box install today. I removed the plastic welds from the stock speaker grille and cut the top and bottom lip from the panel so the Stealthbox will fit.

I had to drill a couple holes so the JL Audio suppled bolt and nut would fit. I primarily used a step-bit as they create a clean hole and say to control.

Finally got everything buttoned up. Looks good and the rear seats work perfectly.

 

[CommandPresence]

Excellent work! I've done about a dozen Forscan mods at this point. Don't remember them all frankly. Just added an Aux Jack which will be handy for running the REW tones through the system. Had to enable the jack with Forscan and ordered a wiring kit from FordPIMods.com. The guy there has been a pleasure to work with.

Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome!

Sent you a PM regarding the above!

 

[Sgt1411]

That's very impressive....I wish I had 1/10 of your stereo install skills. Well done!

 

[Lexingtonian]

Just wanted to post an apology to new viewers as Photobucket has decided to kill all free photo-linking. Hopefully sometime in the future I'll have time to relink all the photos on a new service. Apparently Photobucket isn't allowing downloads (as downloading appears to be broken).

 

[Sgt1411]

Just wanted to post an apology to new viewers as Photobucket has decided to kill all free photo-linking. Hopefully sometime in the future I'll have time to relink all the photos on a new service. Apparently Photobucket isn't allowing downloads (as downloading appears to be broken).

That's going to be a big deal because lots of members here use the direct links in Photobucket to show their Explorer mods.

 

[peterk9]

That's going to be a big deal because lots of members here use the direct links in Photobucket to show their Explorer mods.

Also many pictures here posted using 3rd party sites have disappeared over time which can be very frustrated. Not sure if Photobucket was one of those sites. Don't know why more members don't spend $20 for an Elite membership to making posting photos easier and then they are saved to the Forum servers. Plus it also helps to support this site.
Commercial ends.

Peter

 

[Zodiac]

Are there any recommendations on what speakers are a good upgrade for our EX?

I am looking for something a bit louder and with more "thump"...I tried looking on Crutchfield but they don't seem to have much information for the 2017 Sport. I have the sony system.

Thanks.

 

[DMG632]

Zodiac, you will not get "more thump" by just changing the speakers. To get "thump" you need more power to the system in the way of a amp or two, then start looking for new speakers.

 

[Lexingtonian]

Are there any recommendations on what speakers are a good upgrade for our EX?

I am looking for something a bit louder and with more "thump"...I tried looking on Crutchfield but they don't seem to have much information for the 2017 Sport. I have the sony system.

Thanks.

Zodiac, for some dumb reason I am just seeing this. So sorry. I bought a JL Audio Stealthbox with single 10W3. I'm "fairly" happy with it. I suppose it depends on just how much thump you need. The 10 will shake the rearview mirror a bit and feels like roughly 4x what the factory 8' gives.

Over the next couple days I'll be fixing my photos in this build log. Hope perhaps you get some ideas that help you if you haven't moved on it already.

On speakers... Honestly, the speakers in the front doors are actually quite good. Not sure if I had it to do over if I would have changed them. The center channel, however, I am glad I changed to a 5 1/4". The 3.5" center speaker is utter crap. Rear Door speakers are fine left alone and I am glad I changed the D Pillar Speakers from measly 3.5" weak-sauce speakers to much stronger 4" speakers (with decent 1" soft dome tweeters).

.....The real trick to making the Ex sound amazing is audio processing. I'm using the JBL MS8 which is a brilliant piece of kit and very easy to make the Ex sound great. I'd add a processor before I'd change speakers (maybe change the Center and add a better sub). You would be amazed at how much better the Ex would sound.

Lex -

 

[Lexingtonian]

Update 12/24/17 - Many/most of the photos are back, but I still need to do a little work to them. I'm going add a more before I'm done. At the time of the original post, Ex Forum only allowed 10 photos per post. Now that I'm a member it allows for 20 per post. This really helps. Hopefully will wrap this up over the holiday..

 

[Zodiac]

Zodiac, for some dumb reason I am just seeing this. So sorry. I bought a JL Audio Stealthbox with single 10W3. I'm "fairly" happy with it. I suppose it depends on just how much thump you need. The 10 will shake the rearview mirror a bit and feels like roughly 4x what the factory 8' gives.

Over the next couple days I'll be fixing my photos in this build log. Hope perhaps you get some ideas that help you if you haven't moved on it already.

On speakers... Honestly, the speakers in the front doors are actually quite good. Not sure if I had it to do over if I would have changed them. The center channel, however, I am glad I changed to a 5 1/4". The 3.5" center speaker is utter crap. Rear Door speakers are fine left alone and I am glad I changed the D Pillar Speakers from measly 3.5" weak-sauce speakers to much stronger 4" speakers (with decent 1" soft dome tweeters).

.....The real trick to making the Ex sound amazing is audio processing. I'm using the JBL MS8 which is a brilliant piece of kit and very easy to make the Ex sound great. I'd add a processor before I'd change speakers (maybe change the Center and add a better sub). You would be amazed at how much better the Ex would sound.

Lex -

No problem, thanks for the reply.

I don't really need anything that special. I am just a bit underwhelmed by the "Premium" Sony sound system.

Ideally I'd like to keep as much stock as possible.

 

[Lexingtonian]

No problem, thanks for the reply.

...I am just a bit underwhelmed by the "Premium" Sony sound system.

Ideally I'd like to keep as much stock as possible.

Completely understand. Toss any other questions you may have my way.. happy to help. I would recommend the stealthbox if it’s within budget. Its pretty out of the way..

 

[nid]

Awesome guide @Lexingtonian! I do have a question. Where did you get the ACM pinout diagram (assuming you did) so that you know which wires feed which speaker(s)? I'm asking because I need one myself

 

[Lexingtonian]

Awesome guide @Lexingtonian! I do have a question. Where did you get the ACM pinout diagram (assuming you did) so that you know which wires feed which speaker(s)? I'm asking because I need one myself

I thank you very much! I apologize for the brevity sitting here having a scotch and a cigar and a Bourbon bar with a good friend. Look at the very first post under the section called Ford Audio related. Look at number one. Should have a link for you to download them. If that doesn’t work let me know and I’ll get them to you!