Head unit install price

[jayhawkexplorer]

Well I'm thinking about buying a deck for my X finally but the install price keeps holding me back. Everyone I've asked so far says because the factory amp has to be bypassed, they would charge me around $150 to install it. How does that price sound to you guys?

Also, is it really that difficult to do the wiring yourself? I've never done a thing with car audio before; can a novice do this pretty easily?

 

[aldive]

Installing a HU is simple; almost anyone can do it.

Good luck.....

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Ok, the HU is simple, what about bypassing the factory amp Al?

 

[Alec]

most of the time a DIY audio install comes out better than having it done. About half the time they mess the stock amp bypass up.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Any idea how difficult it is to do myself as a novice Alec? Thanks~!

 

[Alec]

I did it with my dad in about 3 hours. We took it slow, had to go buy some tools, and the 2 door is much harder. And this was one of my first car projects many years ago.

 

[jgilbs]

for a real factory amp bypass, its not that hard - it was the first project i ever undertook for my car. just goto best buy and get one of those radio wiring harnesses for your car. its all color coded AND the wires are labeled, so all you have to do is splice (basically just twist the wires together and tape them with electrical tape) the plug from the new headunit to the harness you get from best buy. do all of the wires EXCEPT the speaker wires from the headunit. then just pop the speakers out of the doors(goto installdr.com or buy a haynes manual to see how - its very easy, but a trim removal tool will come in handy, even though you dont NEED one) and note what the wire colors going to the speaker are(i have YET to find a color code index for this that is accurate). next, take off the trim around the base of the column that the seatbelt is bolted to and look for the wire color that you found goes into the speaker. cut the wires, and splice new speaker wire into the side that goes into the door (tape off the ends ofthe other side) do this on all 4 doors, keeping track of what wire goes to what speaker. then run the wires to the headunit and hook them up to the wires coming FROM the headunit. just put everything back and you should have saved yourself $150. i highly recomend buying a trim removal tool because of all the specialty tools ive ever bought, i use this one all the time. i use it on almost every car project i do, so its well worth the $7 IMHO. you can do this, it might take a little time, esp if its your first time, but its really a lot easier than it sounds.

 

[kalel33]

Jglibs is right. Its so easy to do...but make sure you get a good kit around it...not the one at walmart or autozone. Go to Kiefs...they have good one's there. Oh and do the wiring in the house to the adapter plug. Dont hook it up till all wires are covered (to avoid burning up your head unit due to grounding. Glad to see another KU person here.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Rock Chalk.... sounds like a bit of a tough project, I may just head to Kief's and ask somebody there how tough it is.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

According to this install guide www.simonscans.com/wap and Crutchfield's online advisors, I don't need to bypass the amp, I can integrate instead, which sounds a whole lot easier to me. So I'm thinking I can do that and that I'll get a Pioneer DEH-P4600MP

 

[Chew_12]

I had my installed today for $23, from best buy. It was cheaper for them to install it then actually me installing it.

 

[jgilbs]

According to this install guide www.simonscans.com/wap and Crutchfield's online advisors, I don't need to bypass the amp, I can integrate instead, which sounds a whole lot easier to me. So I'm thinking I can do that and that I'll get a Pioneer DEH-P4600MP

if you integrate, you are basically putting an amplified signal into the line-in of your amp, and this is not good. also, the stock amp is prob rated for much less wattage than your headunit(at least mine was) so you will hear lots of distortion, even at low volume. its best to bypass the amp, you will be able to hear the difference and you wont risk blowing your speakers, like you might if u dont bypass it.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

if you integrate, you are basically putting an amplified signal into the line-in of your amp, and this is not good. also, the stock amp is prob rated for much less wattage than your headunit(at least mine was) so you will hear lots of distortion, even at low volume. its best to bypass the amp, you will be able to hear the difference and you wont risk blowing your speakers, like you might if u dont bypass it.

Hmm, that Simonscans guide said integrating is now the preferred method of installation on the factory amp Ford systems. I'm a bit confused as to what to do now. Anybody else have an opinion?

I had my installed today for $23, from best buy. It was cheaper for them to install it then actually me installing it.

Do you have the factory amp in your rear quarter panel??

 

[BPattee]

I recently had to bypass my amp, and also went to Kiefs to buy all the wiring, it only took about 30 minutes, start to finish. Real simple.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

So you bypassed, not integrated?

Did you splice the wires, solder, what'd you do?

 

[Chew_12]

Your right I do not have a Sub in the car it was just the HU. But at Best Buy they only charge you for the parts for the installation and no labor, this only works if you get it at best buy.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Yeah, they quoted me $150 for the installation, as did 5 other audio shops I called. So I'm doing it myself or not at all, me thinks.

 

[icu400]

ok jay, this is REALLY easy, I did it on my 95 xlt not a month ago

First, go to crutchfield.com and order the amp bypass wiring harness from them. They can also give you a mastersheet that tells you everything about your car stereo stock system, with pictures and all. But basically, you are going to solder the wires that are on the harness to the cooresponding wires on your hu's harness. The colors will probably match, but just read the instructions for the harness and the deck to be sure. Now, the bypass harness is going to have two connectors , one that has about 12 feet of wire coming out of it goes to the amp in the back in the trunk. The other has a few short wires that hooks directly to the connector in the dash. What you need to do is take out a few screws in your trunk (this is where the mastersheet comes in nicely) to disengage the trim, then pop out a few trim pins, and you can see the amp (right hand side if you are looking at the trunk from the back). Pull the plug from it and plug in your harness. Route the thing from there back to your dash. Use a coat hanger to pull the whole harness up to the stereo. You will have used radio removal tools to pull out the stock radio by then of course. After that, you just stick the hu in there (complete with dash conversion kit to make it fit in the opening) and plug the connector that came with it that is now woldered to the bypass harness into the radio, and you are good to go. Make sure your battery neg is disconnected the whole time. Then go reconnect the battery and you are good to go.

Definately do not integrate the factory amp. Best of luck, it really is not as hard as it sounds. If you have any other questions, holler.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Hmm. that doesn't sound too bad. I'm curious though; why is integrating the amp so bad? Thanks for the help and instructions!

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Ok. A guy on here sent me the Crutchfield bypass kit for free a while back since he didn't need it. I think I'm missing part of it though. I've got a black adapto harness with 8 wires coming off of it (2 white, 2 green, 2 grey, 2 purple, one of each color has a black stripe on it). On Crutchfield's site, it looks like there's 2 harnesses in the kit. Is that correct??