Arrg, a little help please.

[zekex2]

I have a 98 ex with the factory stereo (radio cd player) I developed all the normal BS that the ford systems do and in addition I lost the left side audio completely one night that I had it cranked up. This actually happened about a year before the normal fade in and out stuff ( I swear this car is possessed, it locks itself , the blinkers rarely work, the brake lites flicker in the dark, and a bunch of other stuff that doesn't come to mind) So for Christmas I bought a new Sony to put into it (this is my wifes daily driver so it seemed after years of no radio that it was time to fix it). I put it in and still have nothing on the left side front and back. I just ran a wire direct from the stereo to a speaker and got a lot lower volume than on the right side

So the questions are:

Is there some sort of power amp stashed away in this system? If so where is it?

Or has anyone else had this happen and what was the deal.

Thanx

 

[nvrenufedge]

The speaker you ran the wire to. Was it a factory speaker or did you just hook one up to it?

If you ran the wire to a factory, then it's the speaker. If not, your might have an amp. The amp is behind the right rear panel. There are two of them. The one you want is towards the front. You can get a bypass harness and run the speakers off the deck.

Hope that helps and good luck.

 

[zekex2]

The speaker you ran the wire to. Was it a factory speaker or did you just hook one up to it?

If you ran the wire to a factory, then it's the speaker. If not, your might have an amp. The amp is behind the right rear panel. There are two of them. The one you want is towards the front. You can get a bypass harness and run the speakers off the deck.

Hope that helps and good luck.

nvrenufedge, thanks for the response. I used an external speaker to test with. I have to figure out where I stashed the factory one that I took out several years ago when I tested it separately (it was fine, but as of today I got no idea where in my very full garage it is residing)

That would be right rear as in right behind the passengers' seat? directly opposite of the side with the computer, above the right rear wheel housing . The one that does not have a convenient access panel So I will have to tear out the junk cubbyhole and/ or remove the entire inside panel? .... of course.

I might as well The truck is waiting for a new front propeller shaft at the moment anyways. The stealership wants over $600.00 for one but Parts Plus has a source for re manufactured ones (apparently the only way to replace the worn out CV joint that the AWD's have on the shaft.

 

[nvrenufedge]

There are 7 or so clips that are on the panel. When you remove them, I recommend not doing it when its cold. They will break easily. You will have to remove the upper seatbelt on that side. You will need a T50 Torx bit for that.

 

[zekex2]

There are 7 or so clips that are on the panel. When you remove them, I recommend not doing it when its cold. They will break easily. You will have to remove the upper seatbelt on that side. You will need a T50 Torx bit for that.

Thanx,

I got the front propeller shaft from the parts store a few days ago and haven't had access to the car since . My wife was really getting tired of driving the f350 diesel crew cab. so as soon as I am able to get at it that panel is coming off. thanx for the cold weather advice (though I am in SoCal) the sun makes the plastic brittle enough even with out it being sub zero.

Zx2