Radio Change

[JonC]

A question limited to the UK owners really - for reasons which will become obvious:

Now that I've got the old girl back on all fours (!) my attention comes back to the radio - which I would very much like to swap for something modern, touch-screen and with DAB/DAB+.

Mine currently has the Ford 6000CD.

Has anyone done this relatively recently and if so, what do I need? Is the 6000CD a complete unit or is there a separate power amp buried somewhere - thus do I need pre-amp outputs or power out?

Seems strange having to ask this - especially as I have qualifications in radio, TV and electronics but they came from the days when I was young, energetic and interested and I'm now old, lazy and bored!

I don't mind a bit of faff with the fit but I do want it to look like it belongs, work well and be a convenience. I don't want something obscure from Ooflung Dung Electronic Co. I don't want CD/DVD (I'd rather the money went into the features I'm going to use) and I don't want a million watts with speakers that occupy the entire interior.

I just want a nice, modern front end but as we know, most Explorer-related diagrams are about as much use as a handbrake on a canoe!

All advice gratefully received!

 

[Howard]

The Ford unit is all in one. Replacement is straight forward. The size is not quite 2 din although you can trim to make it so. Adapter cables from form to iso are available as are blanking plates to reduce to 1 din. (Mondeo plates will fit) Then it is just plug and play. The rear audio controls will not hook up, but everything else will just plug.

 

[JonC]

The Ford unit is all in one. Replacement is straight forward. The size is not quite 2 din although you can trim to make it so. Adapter cables from form to iso are available as are blanking plates to reduce to 1 din. (Mondeo plates will fit) Then it is just plug and play. The rear audio controls will not hook up, but everything else will just plug.

Thanks Howard - exactly the kind of definitive wisdom I was hoping for - now to the shopping....!!

 

[JonC]

So, moving on and armed with greater confidence, I now have a Pioneer DMH-A3300DAB double-DIN, touch-screen head unit. This comes with USB lead, microphone for hands-free and all sorts of bits and pieces. I've also bought the matching reversing camera (to avoid destroying lesser vehicles with the rear end, a glass-mount DAB aerial and a powered FM aerial (as my electric Explorer one is of course broken!).

You can actually get DAB via Bluetooth through your phone but I do want to do it all 'properly' and also end up with something that looks like it grew there.

The double-DIN cage doesn't fit without a lot of faff but I've found a very nifty adaptor system from Carav (11-534) which is actually made for our version of the Explorer and at £13 delivered, why wouldn't you? It's not here yet but I can wait.

I also got a Carav cable harness adaptor (12-009) which looked like it didn't fit but it actually does and works a treat - though I will have to snip a wire to stop the Ford aerial from trying to extend all the time. No worries, I'll use that output to power the new, boosted FM fin when that gets here.

So here it is so far - very modern doncha think? More later as it progresses.
thumbnail_IMG_2951.jpg

 

[Howard]

Well done. Not too hard.

 

[JonC]

Moving right along, we've made more progress!

I've fitted the Eightwood glass-mount DAB aerial. I wasn't expecting a lot from an £8 aerial but it loaded up 30+ stations in a hearbeat, doesn't drop out anywhere I've been yet and comes through loud an proud!

I've also found (and fitted) a very neat panel-mount USB socket which replaces the dash-mount cigarette lighter and looks like it grew there! Much better than having flying leads trailing around the interior. It's from Amaz*n - search TNP USB 3.0 Flush Mount.... (because their search function is crippled by sponsorship!) and out of the car, it looks like this:

download.jpg

I'll get a photo of it as installed later now that we have some daylight.

The next mission is the reversing camera and again, I've come undone! I need to find a convenient and 'elegant' location to access the reverse light wiring and splice onto the lamp side of the switch so that the stereo knows when I'm in reverse. Does anyone know of anywhere (preferably round the driving position) that I can do this or does it mean either a long wire from the back or grovelling underneath?

I'm all ears!!