Stock Radio And Stock amp in 2000 explorer limited

[JakeC23]

I have a 2000 ford explorer limited v8 5.0 and was fixing something by back rear panel and realized I have a factory sub and amp. No sound coming out. Tested sub and power to amp with a dmm. Got power to amp and ohms were good on sub. Nothing coming out out of subwoofer high audio neg and pos while radio was on and nothing coming out of subwoofer high audio mute. All tested with a dmm. I took the factory radio out and tested continuity on the wires for the 3 subwoofer high audio neg, pos, and high mute all good. What I assume is the right factory radio has a harness to clip into radio from those factory amp wires I unplugged and realized on the radio connection their are no male pins coming out which complete the pos neg and mute wires. Yu3f-18c868-aa is the radio model. Why put a factory sub and amp in if it doesn't connect to factory radio. Is this the wrong radio can't seem to get answers on the internet.

 

[J_C]

I assume you aren't the original owner?

My best guess is the prior owner had their radio fail, and picked up one that was for a different sound system package, one that didn't have the sub, and that's why the pins are missing on the radio, though it is a bit surprising to me that they'd make the radio so much the same as to even have the connector socket but then not populate it with pins.

If it helps, here's a PDF wiring diagram, my best guess on which diagram applies to your vehicle's original factory setup, though I can't guess what is different in the vehicle now, if just the radio was replaced or more done, because on some vehicles the head unit is just the tuner with a line level output and then the rear amp, without any subwoofer, is the amp for the 4 door speakers... but that's probably not the original setup for your vehicle, since you are only mentioning the 3 amp wires (sub +/- and mute) going to it.

I don't know the model #'s for the different radios but I did find a site that states your model # is the non-premium, 4 channel radio, so best guess is that is what is sometimes called the "base" model radio, and what you want is called the premium Mach radio.

Ford Mercury Radio YU3F-18C868-AA explorer expedition

Ford cd tape radio rebuild unit with new ford CD driver 6 months warranty YU3F-18C868

www.oemautosound.com

 

[Turdle]

Does your radio have a rds button?

Pics of faceplate, and rear help.

 

[JakeC23]

I assume you aren't the original owner?

My best guess is the prior owner had their radio fail, and picked up one that was for a different sound system package, one that didn't have the sub, and that's why the pins are missing on the radio, though it is a bit surprising to me that they'd make the radio so much the same as to even have the connector socket but then not populate it with pins.

If it helps, here's a PDF wiring diagram, my best guess on which diagram applies to your vehicle's original factory setup, though I can't guess what is different in the vehicle now, if just the radio was replaced or more done, because on some vehicles the head unit is just the tuner with a line level output and then the rear amp, without any subwoofer, is the amp for the 4 door speakers... but that's probably not the original setup for your vehicle, since you are only mentioning the 3 amp wires (sub +/- and mute) going to it.

I don't know the model #'s for the different radios but I did find a site that states your model # is the non-premium, 4 channel radio, so best guess is that is what is sometimes called the "base" model radio, and what you want is called the premium Mach radio.

Ford Mercury Radio YU3F-18C868-AA explorer expedition

Ford cd tape radio rebuild unit with new ford CD driver 6 months warranty YU3F-18C868

www.oemautosound.com

Yes I went down a rabbit hole and found out that the radio is a non premium I some of the stuff I found has it labeled as premium mach radio but pics show a different model number that is the base model. Frustrating to say the least. I have some pics of what I found as the premium Mach and the pics show pins for the amp wire harness connection as well as other premium Mach system model numbers. Thanks for the diagram that will help alot. I think I'm going to go with aftermarket radio that has an option to keep steering wheel control with a harness to keep factory amp that has a step down from 12v to 5v due to aftermarket head units only putting out 12v when factory amps only take 5v. The price for factory radios are about the same if not more than aftermarkets that have more functionality. I'll post pics as well. And if that doesn't work with the aftermarket radio and harness I'm just going to install a cheap amp and over ride factory system all together. Thanks again.

 

[toypaseo]

My 2¢…

I would buy decent aftermarket sub to fit in the OEM enclosure, use a decent high-low converter, and use an aftermarket amp to power it.

My setup in my 96. Last setup so far. Non-premium, non-JBL head unit. Carved out an OEM enclosure to accept an 8” 2ohm Kicker Solobaric. Alpine amp under the driver side rear seat. AudioControl LC2i converter. Not winning any bass competitions, but more than adequate output…

I dunno if this applies to your setup, since my 96 has the OEM amp for the side speakers…

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I went through this myself- the PREMIUM headunit has the port for it, but no output. I know it is able to recognize low level, so it's in there somewhere, but I never went through the trouble of finding it. The MACH does have low output. But that's already been said.

My 2¢…

I would buy decent aftermarket sub to fit in the OEM enclosure, use a decent high-low converter, and use an aftermarket amp to power it.

My setup in my 96. Last setup so far. Non-premium, non-JBL head unit. Carved out an OEM enclosure to accept an 8” 2ohm Kicker Solobaric. Alpine amp under the driver side rear seat. AudioControl LC2i converter. Not winning any bass competitions, but more than adequate output…

I dunno if this applies to your setup, since my 96 has the OEM amp for the side speakers…

98+ has intergrated amp for the door speakers, and standalone for the sub. At least premium and MACH. Not sure about base, mine came w/ Prem and I converted to MACH.