easy question

[superxplorer]

i have a 95 explorer and i was wondering if i need to still by pass the factory amp if i am putting in a new amp and running new wires to new speakers in the front and back.

 

[Redrig]

ok nobodies answering so ill take a guess. i dont think u can hook 2 amps up to the same speakers so you would have to disconnect the factory amp.

 

[bmacd]

If you're running new wires to the speakers, then you won't be using the factory amp from the harness.

And redrig kinda has it right...in your case, you won't be needing two amps for the same set of speakers, although it's very possible to hook up two amps to power one set.

-=bmacd=-

 

[superxplorer]

thank you

say i dont get an after market amp and i just get new speakers. if i disconnect the factory amp then will my speakers get poweer to them or no.

 

[reichhartkg]

Your factory head unit just puts out signals, not anything high enough to drive speakers. You have to have an amp, whether it's factory or after-market.

If you install a new amp, you can leave your old one hooked up but you may experience unpredictable results.

The general guideline is to completely remove whatever you replace and leave everything else alone.

 

[superxplorer]

aight thanks

 

[metalhed]

If you have an aftermarket headunit (couldn't really tell from the posts), you could just mount the amp somewhere, run the wires from the amp to the speakers, and run some RCA cable from the back of the HU to the input on the amp.

Leaving the stock wiring disconnected won't do anything but take up space. No problems with that whatsoever.

If you're still factory, then I would consider an aftermarket deck unless you really like your stock setup. It will make installing the new amp and wires alot easier.

Just something to look into if you're doing all this in your driveway.

 

[superxplorer]

alright thanks ya i haver an after market hu with 3 sets of rca outputs

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by reichhartkg
Your factory head unit just puts out signals, not anything high enough to drive speakers. You have to have an amp, whether it's factory or after-market.

That's the most absurd thing i've ever heard of! I had my stock explorer HU running four speakers in my garage powered by a regulated power supply. You don't by any means need to have a factory OR aftermarket amp to use with your factory HU.

-=bmacd=-

 

[reichhartkg]

It depends on the system you have. If you have a system with an amp, the head unit is putting out signal level voltage (<2v). If you have a system without the amp, it will put out higher voltage to drive the speakers directly.

Since he's asking about bypassing the factory amp, I'm assuming that his system has one and therefore the head unit is not putting out enough power to drive speakers.

If a head unit put out enough power to drive speakers and then went through an amp, THAT would be absurd.

 

[Doug]

Originally posted by bmacd
That's the most absurd thing i've ever heard of! I had my stock explorer HU running four speakers in my garage powered by a regulated power supply. You don't by any means need to have a factory OR aftermarket amp to use with your factory HU.

-=bmacd=-

well from what i understand some 2nd gen explorer's came with factory amps others didn't and i think from 99 on the amp was built into the HU. I know my 97 had a factory and and i ran my aftermarket headunit through that for a while and it sounded like garbage. i recently bypassed the amp and it sounds alot better.

 

[wired_af]

That is exactly what I did Namitey,

I ran a 200W HU amp through the stock amp in my 98 until I had the time to take off the whole right side panel to bypass the amp.

It sounds like **** running the aftermarket amp through the stock amp!

 

[Doug]

I didnt bother pulling out the stock amp. I ran new speakerwire for each speaker.

 

[superxplorer]

Namitey
thats wat i plan on doing

 

[chipmunk2k3]

autozone sells an amplifier bypass harness for fords for about $25. if you by this harness it makes life so much easier when bypassing the amp you can just use the factory wires that are run to the speakers. you wont need to run separate wires for each speaker you can even take the factory amp out and put your new amp behind the panel for a stealth install.

And for those who r confused, The factory radio does put out enough signal to play your door speakers. The input on the factory amp is hi-input which means it can accept the output of an aftermarket radio or the output from the factory radio. However there is a limit if you put too much wattage to it, it will sound distorted. 10-20 watts is fine 100 is way too much.

 

[superxplorer]

so say i buy the amp by passing harness. can i hook up my after market amp to the door speakers using the same wire and not worry about anything with the factory amp.

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by superxplorer
so say i buy the amp by passing harness. can i hook up my after market amp to the door speakers using the same wire and not worry about anything with the factory amp.

Easy method 1: Wiring directly to the speakers:

Method 2: Reusing factory/aftermarket harness:

I'd wire directly to the speakers just because...

-=bmacd=-

 

[superxplorer]

i dont get why there is speaker wire to the amp to the hu

is that how the factory amp is hooked up to the factory head unit.

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by superxplorer
i dont get why there is speaker wire to the amp to the hu

is that how the factory amp is hooked up to the factory head unit.

If you want to re-use the factory harness, you're going to have to run speaker wire back to the headunit area where the harness is located. It's a big waste of time.

-=bmacd=-

 

[chipmunk2k3]

The harness I mentioned(amplifier bypass harness) goes in the back of the vehicle where the factory amp is so you would not have to waste anytime running wires back to the front of the vehicle or running new wires to each speaker. Why fix something that isn't broken theres already wires there that can carry plenty of wattage. You simply connect the output of your new amp to this harness and voila your done! I have a Rockford 500x hooked to my mids and have no problems. My factory amp is in my basement somewhere.

Sorry I took so long to respond.