no sound went from aftermarkrt head unit to indash now no sound

[tking1124]

I replaced my current head unit with a aftermarket flip out everything worls but the sound please help thanx

 

[colintrax]

Check the amp hookup

 

[mic98xlt]

The original Ford radio had an external amp in the right rear hatch area. This means that the speakers are not powered from the radio head unit. The rear amp is switched on by a control lead off the back of the radio (blue wire). Most people bypass the amp in the rear with a bypass harness which basically ties the speaker lead to the new radio head unit. The harness is available but if you're handy then you can splice the wires easier for some. There are eight wires and I recently did this in my wife's '97 Mounty. It took me a while to find it, and I found it here courtesy of DadNSonF350:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/935112-the-real-amplifier-bypass.html

"If you really want to bypass your stereo amplifier in your 1995-1999 Explorer here is how to do it without buying any kits that may or may not be the right one.
Locate the amp in the right rear of the Explorer under the right side rear window. Unplug the two connections and connect the following wire colors together. If you are color blind you will need help here.

Orange/Light Green to Light Green
Light Blue/White to White/Orange
White/Light Green to White/Red
Dark Green/Orange to Brown
Gray/Light Blue to Light Blue/Black
Tan/Yellow to Yellow
Orange/Red to Purple/White
Brown/Pink to Light Blue

The following colors are the ones in the dash that you will need to connect to the head unit.

Left Front (+) to Light Green
Left Front (-) to White/Orange
Right Front (+) to White/Red
Right Front (-) to Brown
Left Rear (+) to Light Blue/Black
Left Rear (-) to Yellow
Right Rear (+) to Purple/White
Right Rear (-) to Light Blue

This is the combination that worked on my 1996 Explorer. To find this out it took a lot of research.
My thanks to the wonderfull folks on this forum and the experts that are not afraid to share thier information on www.the12volt.com you both rock."

 

[pbnj22]

does op even have the factory amp?

 

[colintrax]

Every explorer does

 

[pbnj22]

Every explorer does

false. mine didnt. only ones with "mach audio" or whatever did.

 

[mic98xlt]

There is a lot of confusion about the radio's and rear amplifiers in the rear portion of the Gen. 1 ('91-'94) and Gen. 2 ('95-'01) Explorers. Basically Ford had different levels with the top line being the "Mach." The Mach traditionally came with a separate visible rear sub woofer in the rear hatch area. The rear sub woofer required it's own amplifier that was switched on by the Mach radio head unit in the dash.

The Gen. 1 ('92-'94) and Gen. 2 ('95-'97.5), had an rear hatch amplifier that provided high audio power to the 4 door speakers. The radio head unit only supplied a control turn on lead plus a low audio output. The low audio output was amplified by the single amplifier in the right rear hatch area. A second additional amplifier would accompany the radio unit amplifier if the rear hatch had an sub woofer.

Starting in '97.5, the second generation radio head unit changed to having it's own internal high power amplifier built into the radio head unit. No rear amplifier was needed to supply high audio power to the 4 door speakers. If the vehicle had an rear sub woofer in the rear hatch (Mach units usually) then a single rear amplifier provides high audio power to the sub woofer. The sub woofer is turned on by a control lead and low audio power provided by the head unit.

It has taken me a lot of research to simplify the operation of the radio head units. My explanation may not be technically perfect, but hopefully it helps filling in the mystery of why there are many variances in Explorer's radios.

 

[albi1cnobi1]

mic98xlt hit it on the head. 98 and up had no external amp unless the vehicle had a sub woofer.

 

[pbnj22]

mic98xlt hit it on the head. 98 and up had no external amp unless the vehicle had a sub woofer.

which is what i said earlier basically.. but to the point op hasnt replied so i assumed he fixed it or got tired of it and brought it in somewhere?

more questions i thought of.. does the aftermarket radio even have an internal amp? many aftermarket ones come with no internal amp since they assume you will have rcas and an external; 4 channel amp to power the speakers he might have missed that.. or he could just have it on mute? i made that mistake on my first car audio install.. had to take it to a shop to figure out why my sub want banging.. i had the sub on mute in the options lol

 

[mic98xlt]

which is what i said earlier basically.. but to the point op hasnt replied so i assumed he fixed it or got tired of it and brought it in somewhere?

more questions i thought of.. does the aftermarket radio even have an internal amp? many aftermarket ones come with no internal amp since they assume you will have rcas and an external; 4 channel amp to power the speakers he might have missed that.. or he could just have it on mute? i made that mistake on my first car audio install.. had to take it to a shop to figure out why my sub want banging.. i had the sub on mute in the options lol

True, some aftermarket radio head units do come with a need for an external amplifier(s). They give more options to tailor the radio head unit to external amplifier(s) with RCA's outputs etc. Most of this type are high end systems in general.

The average aftermarket radio units (low end) do have a built in internal amplifier with 4 speaker output leads, and a single RCA type output jack for an sub woofer amplifier. This of course means they don't need an external rear amplifier to power the 4 door speakers. The sub woofer output requires an external amplifier if utilized. All of this causes real confusion if the original radio head unit utilized a hidden external amplifier in the rear hatch of some Explorers.

 

[Shocalot]

Ok so still confused, I have what is suppose to be a 98 Ford Explorer, installed a low end Dual din aftermarket just so I can play my Cds not looking to blow out the neighbors windows or anythig=ng just decent sound while Im in vehicle. As many have found, I have no sound out of speakers.....so I first see about a separate amplifier, why would you want to bypass that to begin with, how do you know if you have or do not have it, and if you dont have one then why is there no sound out of my speakers. I can do some things but somewhat tech challenged so give it to me in english please.....lol