How to: 2020 Explorer ST Aftermarket Amp & Sub Install

[mcglsr2]

Hey everyone! I have a 2020 Explorer ST. Love it. I have the Tech package option which, among other things, adds two extra speakers to the B&O sound system. Overall, I find the B&O system to be quite good for an OEM system. However, as it always seems to be the case for me, the lows are never quite strong enough.

Backstory
I know there's an 8" sub in the back (it's a paper cone, if you happen to be wondering), but it doesn't really hit low enough for what I am used to. I decided to add on some extra grunt. My experience has been mostly with older vehicles that have a discrete radio (which I would replace, thus giving me pre-amp outputs). The only exception being my wife's DD, a '12 Audi A4 - but we had an audio shop install that sub and amp. Anyway, I decided to do this install my self.

Strategy
I did some research, bought a FSM, talked to the great folks at Crutchfield, and ultimately decided that the best place to grab the high level speaker input signal was from the wires feeding the OEM 8" sub. As it turns out, this sub has a dual voice coil, so the "Subwoofer 1" set of wires became my left channel, and the "Subwoofer 2" set of wires my right channel.

I would tap into those wires and run the signal to the amp nestled under the passenger seat. The power for the amp would come from the battery under/behind the passenger cowl, and the ground would come from a chassis connection near the amp.

The Equipment
It doesn't really matter for this "How To", but I selected a JL Audio 10" shallow sub (300W RMS @ 2 Ohm) in just about the smallest sealed box I could find. We use the Explorer as our family hauler so the cargo space in the rear is very precious to me. I don't want a massive sub box taking up all the space. So I found the smallest 10" box I could that would still sound great. For those wondering: it sounds great. For the amp, I selected a Rockford Fosgate T500X1br mono amp, it puts out 500W RMS @ 1 Ohm / 300W RMS @ 2 Ohm. The main reason I selected this amp (other than I love RF stuff) is its tiny size. It is really, really small. And the space under the passenger seat has an air duct taking up most of middle of that area, so I needed something small enough to fit along the side of the duct (which this does). The power and ground is a 8 gauge RF cable set with sting speaker wires blah blah blah. Enough words. Pictures. Here they are installed:

 

[mcglsr2]

Well, nothing like tearing into a brand new vehicle. :-/ So let's get to it.

First, getting the high level speaker inputs

As I mentioned, I decided to grab the signal from the wires feeding the sub. I was worried the B&O system processors might have filtered out the lows from the other speakers, and I want the lows, and I know it's sending the lows to the OEM sub, so... You are welcome to grab your signal from some other place if you don't like this one. Obviously, my steps will demonstrate what I did. Feel free to do something different. Which brings me to...

THE DISCLAIMER. I am not responsible for what you decide to do to your vehicle. I provide these instructions as an example of what *I* did. You operate on your vehicle at your own risk.

Tools
You will need various tools, the most frequently used for me were an assortment of plastic trim panel removal tools and my hands...and patience. Ratchets, sockets, screw drivers, wire strippers, etc. will be needed for various bits but if you don't have trim panel removal tools...go get them now.

With that out of the way, there are two sets of wires that feed the OEM sub (it's a DVC sub), these are the colors of those wires:

• "SUBWOOFER 1" (I used as Left channel)
  • positive (+) = Green/Violet wire
  • negative (-) = Gray wire
• "SUBWOOFER 2" (I used as Right channel)
  • positive (+) = White/Blue wire
  • negative (-) = Blue/Green wire

Once you expose the sub, this is where these wires are located (the blue circle are the wires I just listed, the purple outlines the connector that plugs into the sub):

So, now that we know where these wires are located, how do we get at them? Like this...

Panel Removal Steps

There's quite a bit involved here, but it's nothing too difficult. The hardest part is popping trim panels off a brand new vehicle trying not to break anything. So good luck with that. I managed to not break anything (almost, more on this later), so it worked for me. I sure would hate to do this again in 10 years after the plastic has had a chance to age and get brittle...

1) Rear scuff plate trim panel (Drvr. side) removal

Fastener locations:

Steps

1. Just pop up with a trim panel removal tool
2. Push the rubber weatherstrip aside to allow the panel to come free

2) Liftgate scuff plate removal

Fastener locations:

Steps

1. Remove the luggage compartment floor cover, the rubber liner below that, and the bin thing that hides the spare tire - all need to come out. Basically, expose the spare tire.
2. Pop the two ORANGE circle fasteners FIRST. These must be loose in order to lift up on the trim panel.
3. Pop the blue circle fasteners next. Push the weatherstrip aside to let it come free
4. Be sure to disconnect the antenna connector (GREEN ARROW) - the wire might be attached to the body with tape, so be careful and don't just yank the panel up. Just press the tab on the connector to get it to release.

3) 3rd Row loadspace arm rest trim panel removal

The orange outline:

Fastener locations:

Steps

1. Start by pulling up at the cup side, it should release from the loadspace trim panel (blue outline in picture above) without too much trouble
2. Keep working toward the back
3. The 3 fasteners in the ORANGE circles were very, very tight for me. Say a prayer to favorite god(s) and give it a couple really hard yanks in an upwards direction.
4. Once the panel is out, this will expose the 3rd row seat belt anchor bolt. 15mm I think it was. Unbolt it. Torque Specs for re-install: 35 lb. ft.
5. There is a spot that looks like a fastener is missing, next to the yellow fastener. It's not missing, there isn't one there (which is why it isn't circled in the image). So don't sweat it.

4) D-Pillar trim panel removal

Fastener locations:

Steps

1. Pop all the lower fasteners free, and the one at the top that does NOT have blue arrows as part of the circle.
2. Once all of them are free (EXCEPT the blue arrow circles), slide the whole trim down in the direction of the arrows - there's slots in the body that allow these top two fasteners to just come free
3. Be sure to disconnect the speaker connector (GREEN ARROW) - just press on the tab to release
4. Slide the loose seat belt bracket/bolt through the opening to completely remove the trim panel

5) Loadspace trim panel removal

The blue outline:

Fastener locations:

Steps

1. The cargo hook located at the rear, about halfway up is a SCREW. Do not pull on this (like I did). You will break the little plastic hook (like I did - this is the ONLY thing I broke, which pissed me off; the FSM was vague about how this comes out). Use a pair of pliers, put a shop towel or something around the square base of the cargo hood, and UNSCREW it (to the left). It will come out just like a screw. Ignore the other two little black hooks.
2. There are two silver cargo hooks located at the bottom of the panel (ORANGE arrows). Flip up the plastic cover from the bottom to expose the bolt that hold these in. Unbolt them. 8 or 10mm I think they were. Torque specs for re-install: 44 lb. in. (NOTE that is "lb. INCH", not lb. ft.). There are little captive washer things on the backs of these bolts, which makes it hard to tell if they are completely unbolted. Also, the captive washer might come off and fall down into the depths of the body seams. If this happens, no big deal. They aren't necessary.
3. On my panel, all the fasteners were at the top edge of the panel. There is a spot that looks like a fastener goes there (RED circle) however there was no fastener on my panel, nor did I see a mating hole for it; rather there's a stud coming out the wheel well insulation which is where I think this goes. So don't freak out if you don't have a fastener in the red circle area either.
4. Just go slow, popping the panel out. I started at the edges and worked towards the middle.

All done!

This is what you should be left with:

And a pile of trim parts, and in my case, a 3rd row seat cushion, more on this in the next post!

 

[mcglsr2]

Speaker Signal Routing

Here are some pictures of the direction I chose to route the speaker wires that connect the OEM sub wires to the high level input on the amp under the passenger seat. Basically follow the PURPLE line. I chose to remove the 3rd row seat cushion and run the wires under that to get over to the passenger side - it comes out with two bolts (18mm I think, Torque specs for re-install: 35 lb. ft.) and it weighs like only 5 pounds or so - it's surprisingly light.

Also, I used the OEM wire channels whenever I could - so I removed the passenger side scuff plates - both front and rear, as well as the B-Pillar trim panel to gain access to the areas where I ran the wires. The carpet under the passenger seat is already split - it's not one solid piece (you'll see what I mean when you poke around there) so it was ridiculously easy to get the wires from the sill, beneath the carpet to under the passenger seat.

Here's the trim panels I that I removed - nothing fancy, just use your trim tool and be careful. Also, remove the scuff plates BEFORE you remove the B-Pillar trim panel.

Also, keep in mind there are airbags in the upper portion of the B-Pillar. We aren't messing with this part, but none-the-less, be very careful around this area. I did not disconnect the battery - you can if you are worried about setting air bags off.

1) Rear scuff plate (Pass. side) removal

Same as the driver side you did in the previous post

2) Front scuff plate (Pass. side) removal

Steps

1. Apparently, I forgot to take a pic of the fasteners. Ugh. Sorry about that. Using the picture above as a reference, there are two at the left most edge, two more along the middle towards the front, and then two more at the top of it next to the door. There are NO fasteners on the part that sits in the foot well.
2. Anyway, pop it up with your trusty tool
3. If you have a Platinum and these plates have LED lighting, you will need to disconnect them before they will come free

3) B-Pillar trim panel removal

Fastener locations:

Steps

1. Remove the little cover thing in the ORANGE outline - just lift it up and away
2. Pop the panel out with yo tools foo

For the wire that goes from the amp to the sub, I ran it along the passenger side of the Explorer - I tucked it under the loadspace trim panel under there, then along side the 3rd row seats to the rear cargo area. You can do this however you want, poke around and you will places to run the speaker wire. Just make sure you keep it away from the folding mechanism of the 3rd row seats - you want to pinch the wire or risk it getting damaged when the seats move.

Follow the purple line for the route I took to get the OEM sub signal to the amp, it starts here:

And goes....

And that's it. Next up, Power and Ground, and reinstalling everything.

 

[mcglsr2]

Power and Ground

We'll start with the Ground, that's the easiest of the two. I chose a spot that was exposed when I removed the trim panels from the passenger side. There's a clear, flat area. You must be sure to remove the paint down to bare metal where the ground lug touches - if you don't, you won't get a good ground. So pick your spot, drill your hole and remove paint until you see shiny metal.

And then attach your ground. I used a washer and a self-tapping screw to hold the terminal down:

Alright, that was easy. Now, for Power. Which was...not easy. Actually, it was probably the worse part of the entire install. I probably spent a good hour or two trying to decide on the best way to do this. I even removed the passenger side inner wheel liner to see what kind of "access" options there were from engine bay to inside the cabin; spolier: none. I will say this, Ford built this SUV very well, and sealed up pretty much everything.

Anyway, I finally decided on a location. It's behind the battery, next to the cabin air filter inlet. To get to it, you have to remove the clips on the passenger side cowl and sort of tilt it up so you can see what you are doing.

NOTE: do be careful here. The FSM says that once the fasteners are removed, the cowl should just come off - this is another one of those spots that is very vague. I say be careful because my cowl (maybe yours is different) was very, very stuck to the base of the windshield. Like it wasn't going anywhere. Maybe there's a trick to remove it, I don't know. What I do know, however, is that water sheeting off the windshield travels across the seam, onto the cowl, and directed towards the drain holes, keeping the battery (and your cabin air filter) nice and dry. If you remove the cowl, this seal has now been broken. Is it easy to put back? I have no idea. So I didn't try to remove it. Instead, I sort of held it up, used my drill with an extension to reach the firewall, and poked me a hole.

This is the location I chose to drill the hole:

Believe me when I say you are not spoiled for choice. The Explorer actually has two firewalls, the first is right behind the engine, but this is NOT the firewall that is right behind the dash. There's a cavity area where the battery is, fuse box, additional bracing, all kinds of stuff that make it pretty much impossible to get access to the firewall behind the dash. To the left of the battery is about the only clear spot - which is convenient I suppose considering that's where the power cable needs to connect. But you do not have a lot of room to work here.

What worked for me is my Ryobi drill, and this drill set: https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-21-Piece-Set-x-Set-Titanium-Twist-Drill-Bit-Set/1001029160

It comes with an extension - I started with a 1/8" hole and worked my way up in steps to the 3/8" bit. With those bits and the extension, my drill could just reach the firewall. You will see what I mean when you get access to this area and attempt to stick a drill in there.

To protect the power cable from sharp edges and to prevent leaks, I picked up a rubber grommet kit from Auto Zone - one of the grommets in there let the 8 gauge wire pass through, and the grommet fit tightly into a 3/8" hole.

I checked about a billion times to make sure there was nothing on the other side of the firewall that would get damaged if I drilled here - don't take my word for it, you should check, too. But if you use the same spot I did, you will be fine. Any other spot...and you better do a good job of checking. It is really tight up in the dash back there with the blower motor where it is.

To get access, you will need to remove the glove compartment. To do this, open it, pinch the tabs to at the back to get it to drop lower (like you are going to change the cabin air filter), and then remove the plastic check strap. There is a trick to this. Basically, you have to hold the box at the correct angle (don't let it go all the way down) and push up on the strap. You need to snap it out of it's slot; here's what it looks like:

Once that's done, there are 5 LARGE screws that hold it in place (ignore the 2 smaller screws on the left and right sides) - remove them. Torque specs for re-install: 22 lb. in.

Once the screws are out, there are 5 clips holding it in place, - just pop it out like you have with other trim panels. Remember to disconnect the light connector, it's located on the back, bottom left. Just press the tab to release it.

Lastly, there's a carpet section that holds the LED ambient light - it's held in by two plastic push clips. Use your trim tools to remove it, disconnect the LED light (the connector about 6 inches away from the LED - it does not disconnect at the LED itself) and set it aside. You now have unfettered access to the bowls of the upper inner dash. You will notice 2 things:

1. There is a A LOT of stuff crammed up in that dash
2. They covered pretty much everything with jute padding. You probably won't even see the firewall itself....until you go all the way up to the back side of where I showed you to drill. The jute just ends right about there.

Here's roughly the area you will be looking for; the area is back up in that dash, against the firewall, roughly contained where the blue circles are:

Ayup. Back up in there. I couldn't even get a good picture of it. Just move the passenger seat as far back as it will go, get a good flash light, and stick your head up under there. To help you locate the area where the drill will come through, there is a rubber hose that passes through (up and to the left of the external firewall image) - you can see this hose on the outside, the grommet where it passes through the firewall, and you can see it/find it on the inside. Just be careful when drilling, you obviously don't want to damage it.

And here is the cable installed, in addition to the rubber grommet, I also used some black RTV and rubbed that around the area where the cable enters the grommet to be super sure I got a good seal:

And that's it. All done. Hook up all the stuffs to your amp, tune it, and put things back together.

Re-Assembly

Things go back pretty much in the opposite order that they came apart. Just follow my steps in reverse, paying attention to the location of the fasteners on the trim panel AND their corresponding hole(s) in the body/other trim pieces. Go slow, be patient, ensure things are lined up before snapping them home - and no one will ever be able to tell you had half of your Explorer ripped apart.

And one last gotcha - make sure you thread the 3rd row seat belt bracket/bolt through the D-Pillar trim panel BEFORE you bolt the seat belt back down to the body. You don't want to get everything back together and then realize you have to take things apart again because you forgot the D-Pillar And same goes for reconnecting things - the antenna on the loadspace scuff plate, the speaker on the D-Pillar, the LED lights on the glove compartment and ambient light thing - make sure you don't forget these things when putting stuff back together.

Good luck, be patient, go slow, take your time, and I'm sure it will go great for you too!

As for how it sounds....well. I have my opinion - that being fantastic. I am just absolutely amazed at how much bass that little sub puts out. I was looking for something to add that last bit of fullness to my music - a little something you can feel, and this sub delivers. I have an RF remote bass knob hooked up to the amp, with Min and Max being the bottom and top of the range - it's currently turned only like 1/4 up from Min, and it hits plenty hard for the type of music I listen to. If I keep turning the knob, the bass just gets louder and louder and louder - clean signal and no clipping. So I am very happy indeed

 

[themishmosh]

NICE! I've always put in a sub in my cars and was thinking about doing it but your pictures just changed my mind--that's a lot of work!!! Thanks for posting.

I will say that the stock sound system is probably the best stock system I've ever had. It actually does have some decent bass but I just wish it had an equalizer so I could boost just certain bands like around 60Hz. Bump up the "bass" setting and the sound is not good...to much boomy upper bass.

 

[mcglsr2]

NICE! I've always put in a sub in my cars and was thinking about doing it but your pictures just changed my mind--that's a lot of work!!! Thanks for posting.

I will say that the stock sound system is probably the best stock system I've ever had. It actually does have some decent bass but I just wish it had an equalizer so I could boost just certain bands like around 60Hz. Bump up the "bass" setting and the sound is not good...to much boomy upper bass.

Thanks! And yah, by far the most work I've had to do for an install to date. It wasn't that bad though, took me roughly two days to get it done and that was with no prior knowledge of how to do it - at the time there weren't any posts or vids on how to do this (that I could find, anyway). So I went super slow and careful so as not to break anything. I suspect if I had some guidance (a good how-to or a youtube vid) I could have cut it down to just one full day.

And I agree, I think it sounds really, really good for a stock system. It rivals the B&O system in our 2012 A4 (and that was a top of the line system at the time). I had the same problem as you - I couldn't boost the lower end of the frequency. I was disappointed Ford only offered the 3 "bands" to adjust: treble, mid and bass. And yes, the bass slider seems to boost bass ABOVE ~80 Hz rather than below - maybe either a software/programming bug, OR - and more likely - done on purpose so as not to accidentally blow out the woofers. Despite the great sound, these are still paper-coned speakers. So maybe it was a "save the speaker" rationale.

Thus this project

 

[evilgeek]

great write up!

as for the audio system's EQ, bass is 80-200 hz, so it makes sense the bass band would correspond to that. 20-80 is sub-bass, and is a lot more expensive to produce (in terms of electrical draw). even if the stock woofer is capable of reproducing sub-bass, skewing the EQ that direction would draw a lot of power away from the bass and mid-range, and with limited amplification, result in overall lower sound pressures. it's likely that the the additional amplifier is making a much bigger difference than the switch from 8" to 10" woofer.

</end sound nerding>

 

[mcglsr2]

great write up!

as for the audio system's EQ, bass is 80-200 hz, so it makes sense the bass band would correspond to that. 20-80 is sub-bass, and is a lot more expensive to produce (in terms of electrical draw). even if the stock woofer is capable of reproducing sub-bass, skewing the EQ that direction would draw a lot of power away from the bass and mid-range, and with limited amplification, result in overall lower sound pressures. it's likely that the the additional amplifier is making a much bigger difference than the switch from 8" to 10" woofer.

</end sound nerding>

Ah, I see what you are saying. To be clear, I wasn't trying to imply the improvement came from the increase in subwoofer diameter alone. At the volume I listen to, I honestly probably could have gotten by with a 8" rather than a 10" (I've just always used 10's, so it was more force of habit I suppose - "the thing you know."). It's the combination of the better materials, and probably greater cone travel, and the power (provided by the amp) to drive the cone that is what makes the difference.

I don't know the full "wattage" of the B&O system off the top of my head (I think it's like 900 or so?), and I don't know if this is actually peak or RMS (probably peak). But even with 14 speakers (almost half of which are probably tweeters or pretty close, thus require little wattage comparatively), I would think there'd be maybe 200W RMS available for the stock 8" sub. Maybe that's a bit high. Even if it was 150W RMS, I'd have thought it would have been able to reproduce more of the sub frequencies. The battery/alternator can obviously handle it (and music doesn't use the full wattage anyway, more like a 1/3 of the full power like 80% of the time with occasional spikes toward full power), so I'm not sure why Ford / B&O didn't allow it to hit a little harder. The only reason I can think of, honestly, is to protect the paper cone from excessive wear and "early" component failure?

At any rate, I personally feel the additional amp and sub complete the package

 

[evilgeek]

another factor might be demographics. most popular forms of music don't have all that much sub-bass, so shipping a mass produced system tuned for sub would be a waste of money, especially knowing that most bass music enthusiasts are likely to put in after market subs anyway.

 

[themishmosh]

Top 40 in the past decade has seen heavy use of sub-bass. Hence the appearance of stock subwoofers in many cars today, including the Explorer. Unfortunately, they all seem to be underwhelming. This Explorer though seems to have more sub-bass output than my wife's B&O Q5 system or my old BMW HK system. I myself like emphasis on sub-bass, even if euphonic. Would love to install the JL Audio low profile subwoofer (similar to mcglsr2's) that I have from my previous car. It didn't go extremely low but from 40-60Hz, it was plenty satisfying. Maybe if I have the time. Again, thanks mcglsr2 for taking the time for the How2 and taking pics.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Hey everyone! I have a 2020 Explorer ST. Love it. I have the Tech package option which, among other things, adds two extra speakers to the B&O sound system. Overall, I find the B&O system to be quite good for an OEM system. However, as it always seems to be the case for me, the lows are never quite strong enough.

Backstory
I know there's an 8" sub in the back (it's a paper cone, if you happen to be wondering), but it doesn't really hit low enough for what I am used to. I decided to add on some extra grunt. My experience has been mostly with older vehicles that have a discrete radio (which I would replace, thus giving me pre-amp outputs). The only exception being my wife's DD, a '12 Audi A4 - but we had an audio shop install that sub and amp. Anyway, I decided to do this install my self.

Strategy
I did some research, bought a FSM, talked to the great folks at Crutchfield, and ultimately decided that the best place to grab the high level speaker input signal was from the wires feeding the OEM 8" sub. As it turns out, this sub has a dual voice coil, so the "Subwoofer 1" set of wires became my left channel, and the "Subwoofer 2" set of wires my right channel.

I would tap into those wires and run the signal to the amp nestled under the passenger seat. The power for the amp would come from the battery under/behind the passenger cowl, and the ground would come from a chassis connection near the amp.

The Equipment
It doesn't really matter for this "How To", but I selected a JL Audio 10" shallow sub (300W RMS @ 2 Ohm) in the just about the smallest sealed box I could find. We use the Explorer as our family hauler so the cargo space in the rear is very precious to me. I don't want a massive sub box taking up all the space. So I found the smallest 10" box I could that would still sound great. For those wondering: it sounds great. For the amp, I selected a Rockford Fosgate T500X1br mono amp, it puts out 500W RMS @ 1 Ohm / 300W RMS @ 2 Ohm. The main reason I selected this amp (other than I love RF stuff) is its tiny size. It is really, really small. And the space under the passenger seat has an air duct taking up most of middle of that area, so I needed something small enough to fit along the side of the duct (which this does). The power and ground is a 8 gauge RF cable set with sting speaker wires blah blah blah. Enough words. Pictures. Here they are installed:

By far one of the best write ups I have seen. Awesome job!!

If you contact Rick (owner of this site), I believe he is still giving free Elite memberships to members who do write ups like this.

 

[peterk9]

By far one of the best write ups I have seen. Awesome job!!

If you contact Rick (owner of this site), I believe he is still giving free Elite memberships to members who do write ups like this.

One of the things Rick asks for is that photos be stored on the Forum's servers so that they won't disappear over time. Hopefully that won't be an issue.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

One of the things Rick asks for is that photos be stored on the Forum's servers so that they won't disappear over time. Hopefully that won't be an issue.

Peter

Once he is elite, he can repost them that way.

 

[mcglsr2]

another factor might be demographics. most popular forms of music don't have all that much sub-bass, so shipping a mass produced system tuned for sub would be a waste of money, especially knowing that most bass music enthusiasts are likely to put in after market subs anyway.

Top 40 in the past decade has seen heavy use of sub-bass. Hence the appearance of stock subwoofers in many cars today, including the Explorer. Unfortunately, they all seem to be underwhelming. This Explorer though seems to have more sub-bass output than my wife's B&O Q5 system or my old BMW HK system. I myself like emphasis on sub-bass, even if euphonic. Would love to install the JL Audio low profile subwoofer (similar to mcglsr2's) that I have from my previous car. It didn't go extremely low but from 40-60Hz, it was plenty satisfying. Maybe if I have the time. Again, thanks mcglsr2 for taking the time for the How2 and taking pics.

I honestly can't say one way or the other, I don't really know. Though it does seem more and more "high quality sound systems" seem to come with a (sub)woofer of some size. All the speakers still seem to have paper cones though

By far one of the best write ups I have seen. Awesome job!!

If you contact Rick (owner of this site), I believe he is still giving free Elite memberships to members who do write ups like this.

Thanks, I appreciate that! I always try to do these in a fashion that I would personally want to read I'll follow up with him, if it works out then super; if not, that's okay too

One of the things Rick asks for is that photos be stored on the Forum's servers so that they won't disappear over time. Hopefully that won't be an issue.

Peter

I'll see what I can do. I certainly understand that given how Photobucket's recent behavior pretty much broke the internet.

 

[AntcAss_614]

First of all I applaud you for a very nice write up that saved me tons of time and frustration! I would like to add to this great post with a spot on the drivers side under the dash where there is a hole with a rubber grommet/plug in it. Can easily cut a hole in this rubber and squeeze 8 or 4 gauge through. Me I ran 1/0 with some techflex on it and had to enlarge said hole and use my own grommet. Be careful drilling as there are other wires on the otherside of the firewall. It was fun concealing the 1/0 under the trim panels but is possible.

 

[GeoGeek]

First of all I applaud you for a very nice write up that saved me tons of time and frustration! I would like to add to this great post with a spot on the drivers side under the dash where there is a hole with a rubber grommet/plug in it. Can easily cut a hole in this rubber and squeeze 8 or 4 gauge through. Me I ran 1/0 with some techflex on it and had to enlarge said hole and use my own grommet. Be careful drilling as there are other wires on the otherside of the firewall. It was fun concealing the 1/0 under the trim panels but is possible.

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Let me start by complimenting the original poster's write up....these are more helpful than you know. I've done similar build logs for other vehicles and it's always good to share insights on what you've discovered on your journey.
Has anyone attempted an amp integration for a non-B&O/non-Rebel Amp equipped 2020 Explorer? Just wondering about the outputs from the factory radio. The factory descriptions indicate a 6-speaker system....just wondering if those are six channels of full range output from the factory head unit or if there is any cross-over/dsp/eq'ing going on that needs to be overcome. Would also be nice to know what the output power is to know if I'm going to need a LOC or factory integration unit of some type.

 

[Sgt1411]

One of the best write ups I have seen on any forum, well done!.....I admire your tenacity.

I might have missed this and please excuse my audiophile ignorance but could you simply not just change out the OEM sub with a better sub?

 

[3.0Raven2021]

Let me start by complimenting the original poster's write up....these are more helpful than you know. I've done similar build logs for other vehicles and it's always good to share insights on what you've discovered on your journey.
Has anyone attempted an amp integration for a non-B&O/non-Rebel Amp equipped 2020 Explorer? Just wondering about the outputs from the factory radio. The factory descriptions indicate a 6-speaker system....just wondering if those are six channels of full range output from the factory head unit or if there is any cross-over/dsp/eq'ing going on that needs to be overcome. Would also be nice to know what the output power is to know if I'm going to need a LOC or factory integration unit of some type.

Does anyone know what the ratings are on the stock sub and amp output to the sub? I’m wondering if it’s dual 2 or 4 ohm and rms? Has anyone simply installed a better aftermarket sub in place of the factory b/o sub? Factory enclosure specs ?

 

[Sdca7718]

Does anyone know what the ratings are on the stock sub and amp output to the sub? I’m wondering if it’s dual 2 or 4 ohm and rms? Has anyone simply installed a better aftermarket sub in place of the factory b/o sub? Factory enclosure specs ?

I was wondering the same thing. I don’t think the sub has a standard ring shape. I have only seen f150 subs removed from the factory box and they looked like it would be a pain to fit in a decent speaker. When I get around to installing my sub I will have to take a closer look.

If I install an amp and a pair of subs off the signal wires that are posted above, do I have to disconnect the factory sub? I plan on running a LC2i pro, Fosgate T750x1, driving a pair of JL 8w7’s. The LOC has resistance options that should make the system believe the sub is still connected. I just wanted to know if it is best to disconnect or leave it attached. Also plan on making a oem jumper wire using the wpt-1016 and wpt-1456 connectors so I don’t have to splice the wiring.

 

[Sdca7718]

Let me start by complimenting the original poster's write up....these are more helpful than you know. I've done similar build logs for other vehicles and it's always good to share insights on what you've discovered on your journey.
Has anyone attempted an amp integration for a non-B&O/non-Rebel Amp equipped 2020 Explorer? Just wondering about the outputs from the factory radio. The factory descriptions indicate a 6-speaker system....just wondering if those are six channels of full range output from the factory head unit or if there is any cross-over/dsp/eq'ing going on that needs to be overcome. Would also be nice to know what the output power is to know if I'm going to need a LOC or factory integration unit of some type.

There is a YouTube video from antman showing an xlt getting an upgrade. It doesn’t say much but they show some dash removal and then cut to the back right panel near the spare tire and said they found the amps. They had a ton of wires coming off the high side, probably to a LOC to an amp. Definitely a ton of work unless you are used to installs. I’ll stick to adding a sub and maybe some day swapping speakers for better ones. Mine is the b&o system but I’m not as impressed as the others here, my other vehicle has a full system but was far easier to install.