Re: Installing new head unit with stock amp and sub answered

[dehlers]

Just added a ne HU to my girl's 02 Mountaineer. Here are the connections that worked for me.

Cut the 8 pin 4 wire connector off. You are left with a Red/black, Lt Blue/Red, Brown/Orange, and bare.

New HU amp wire (blue/white) connects to Red/Black
Positive RCA/speaker wire connects to Lt Blue/Red
Negative RCA/Speaker wire connects to Brown Orange
Bare is unused

Thank you!

This worked to install a new head unit in my 2002 Explorer Sport with the stock amp. I had replaced the subwoofer a couple of months ago since the stock one rotted out, but the aftermarket head unit pushes a lot more power out of the sub even though it is the original amp. I only did one thing differently than above, instead of using RCA cables I wired the Blue/Red with the positive Left Rear Speaker wire, I believe the standard is gray (you should double-check this). Also, I wired the Brown/Orange to the negative Left Rear Speaker wire (gray/black I believe). So you will have the left rear speaker from the head unit connected to both the sub and the actual left rear speaker. By the way the bare wire is the black ground wire, it does not need to go to anything. The whole system sounds great now, I would recommend doing this - very simple procedure and the reward is great.

In case anyone was looking to replace the subwoofer, the shallow truck subs :fit and sound great. Removing the old sub without removing the entire panel is a chore to do, because of the bolt in the center of it in the back. Cutting through the plastic box is impossible, I tried a Dremel with no luck. I ended up cutting through the old sub's cone, pried the rim of the sub down with a crow bar, and bent the sub up and down until the bolt in the back of the sub broke. Four hours later you've got a new sub that looks and sounds great!

Hope this helps someone!