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Modifications
Performance Parts
Car Audio & Video
- Alpine Speakers
- Alpine Subwoofers
- Bazooka Sub Enclosure
- Scosche Wiring
- Alpine Tweeters
- Alpine Head Unit
- Alpine Amplifier
Interior
Exterior Styling
Page 2, ever want to install a new radio or complete system in your car but have been too intimadated? Here ya go, step by step.
First thing you need to do is decide what is going in the car? A cd player from a friend? a little amp to help out the stock speakers? A complete system? This guide covers all the basic audio install you wanted to know and did'nt.
I decided to go with something I had already in the garage, a set of Alpine 12" subs and a Alpine CD with ipod and whatever else capabilities, a Alpine 450 watt amplifier.They are 2006 models so not like they came out of my high school ride or anything. I did buy a ford wiring harness for the headunit. This is a must in whatever vehicle you are installing in. Factory wire color combos are so various from make to make it's better to just buy the harness made just for your make auto.
The first thing before touching the car is remove the ground wire on the battery. I must admit I rarely do but since I'm trying to also teach people something might as well do it right.
The ford factory radio requires a couple of lil tools used in the 4 holes in the corner of the radio. You could try an old wire coathanger in the holes or do what I did and have the Best Buy installer leave it loose for ya when he pops it out to double check which harness you need. Slide the radio out and unclip the factory harness and antenna wire.
Before doing anything make sure the wiring harness is the right one for your car. follow the color coding on the package for the harness and the headunit. Most headunits have well labeled wiring , a diagram on the top of the unit , or is outlined in the paperwork if you bought it new.
next, most headunits if not all come with this sleeve. install the sleeve in the opening and bend a few of the tabs around the inside to hold it firmly in place. This is what holds it well in your dash or council and also to make it a pain in the ass for thieves. Will they tear the hell out of everything to get it out still, yes they will, but the longer they are in the car the more of a chance they have of getting caught and they will have to give up some of their meth habit to pay restitution, then feed the harness , in the probes case there were 2 , and the antenna wire thru the sleeve and plug it into the back of the new headunit. Hook up the neg battery wire and try it out. If everything checks out ok unhook the battery again and slide the headunit back in until it clicks or locks in the sleeve. If this is all your doing then congrats! Your done and can reinstall the neg cable on the battery and program the new headunit, set the clock ,etc. Good luck cause that is probably the toughest part of the whole job. Hee, Hee! You'll see.
If you got more than lets get on with it...
Ford was nice enough to put a big rubber boot with extra room in the firewall to run the powercable thru from the engine compartment to the cabin,This is on the driverside just left of the brake pedal. Look on your car for a easy place to feed your power cable thru away from moving parts like the steering column. If none could be found you might have to drill a hole in an easy to reach location in the firewall carefully checking both sides so you don't drill into anything important. Use a rubber grommet in the drilled hole to keep the powerwire sheathing in great shape if this is a necassary step in your install.
I decided to ground my amp here next to the fuel shut off in the probe. You will need to find a paint free surface close to your amp to run gound. If you have to drill becareful not to drill into your gas tank or other system electrical like taillight wiring. Because I know this box won't be staying in this car I left cables long incase relocation is necessary down the road and tucked them in where the spare tire would go. Speaking of spare tires.... I have been doing things to gain horsepower and make the car lighter so when adding this system sacrificed the spare and jack. It's not enough weight to cancel out what is getting added but it helps. As a side note I would make sure you have free towing on your insurance plan. I do.
Hook up the ground, power ,remote and RCA cables to the amp and can be done in the back. Notice I don't have a hockeystick, baseball bat, 2x4 or anything holding up my rear hatch. This car is a winner and it actually stays up on it's own. How rare is that?
Now back at the battery add a inline fuse if it's not already on your power cable and hook it up to the pos. bat terminal. Then hook up the neg cable and done. Does'nt it feel good to do it yourself ?
This install covered a headunit and amp install and took about 2 hours to do. Use this as a guide to get over your fear of wiring and truly be proud when you tell people, "Yep, did it myself. "Happy wiring!
2-22-08 got in some new stereo stuff. Nitrous Stinger 1 Farad Cap, Alpine 250W 5x7/6x8, Alpine 240W 6 1/2" component speakers and a Ipod nano. I have more stuff coming today but in the mean time going to start replacing the factory speakers. Check back soon for more install pics and tips or for me asking for tips.LOL!
All in all this has been one of the easier stock speaker replacements I have done, the rear side panels have only 1 screw and a bunch of one time use plastic screw type fasteners that will need to be replaced holding it on and the door panels had 4 screw and a tug to get off. The clips on the back pulled out easily and without breaking so is'nt a crappy loose fit when done. My stock door speakers were moldy looking and failed a long time ago by the look of them, one worked poorly the other was dead. The new Alpine 6.5s came with a speaker saver preinstalled with the wiring kit but when installed since I did'nt amplify the door speakers it was starving for power with only 18 rms from the headunit and sounded blown. Removed the wiring that came with the speaker and sounds like a new Alpine speaker should.
The Stinger capacitor was my first time installing a cap and the thought of an explosion in a car I just doubled the money I had into it was scary but it was easy. Wire everything except the ground wire with the ground off the battery. Put the charging light bulb between the neg wire and the cap then hook up the ground on the battery. Go back to the cap location and make sure the bulb is lit up, it was, then when the bulb goes out get the bulb out of the way and hook the ground up to the cap and done. Very sweet! After adding the capacitor my whole walk thru above had to be changed now power and ground are run directly from the battery.
2-26-08 Got in my Ipod/Alpine interface cable so I can put the Ipod in the car now. If your going to do this in your car this cable is a must because it allows your headunit to power the Ipod, not just be used together. It's going to take some playing with it to figure out what button does what but it's a cool addition and can't believe I have'nt done it sooner. Don't even need a cd case anymore, all of my cd's are on the Ipod.
3-1-08 Just got in my 2nd nitrous sub tube and set them in the car to see how they fit. I know the wiring is a mess right now, bare with me and trust it will all be a nice neat install when done.
4-24-08 Started my hatch A/V custom enclosure and amp rack. I won't bore you with where I'm going with this , just check back often to see how it turns out. If I can get the resin hardened and sanded it should be done tommorow night.
Since weight is a concern and I have no need for a sealed chamber I don't need to put a bottom in this since it is basically an amp rack and a support for the subtubes. That keeps the weight about the same as the store bought box that is in the car now.
Need some more body filler in places before I can paint so I am trying to be patient and do it right and will get to filling instead of slapping on a coat of paint and stuffin it in the car. I am starting to get excited tho seeing it in primer.
It's not done yet but was losing daylight so got pics of what I have done. Painted it white since my interior will all be blue and white. Figured if I change my mind white would be easy to cover.
4-28-08 Still working in the hatch. I have all the speakers wired up and all the neon. Looking closer to done everyday but still not quite there.
I hate when you look at someones page and they have night shots of their neon but you just can't tell what your looking at. I tried to get good pics , and didn't ad the worst ones. Well....work continues.
5-1-08 made a plexiglass cover for the amps and trimmed it in a carbonfiber wrap. (fake) . But looks very good and finishes it off nice and hides the neon light bars. Almost done now.
I told you to trust me I would clean up that wiring mess. Can't see any wires anymore. Almost feels too clean to me.
I am going to go with a patriotic theme and since my airbrush is useless in my hands just picked up some decals for the sub tubes to help the theme get started. When I get the car painted I want to paint the tubes the same color so won't feel bad about having to peel off $10 worth of decals.
5-02-08 finished working in the hatch. Had a delema because the top tier was for the PS2 but the capacitor was there then with the back seats up the cap hit the back of the seats so I had to come up with something quick.
I knew what I wanted to do from the start but on a budget of nothing had to search my messy garage for what I could use. Some 3/4 pvc pipe, some plexiglass from work, a few guts from some trophies and some spray paint and a trip to the hardware store for some acorn nuts and BAM... Check it out.
The front view, the center speaker cover is just a cover to allow air back to the amplifiers since they are covered by plexiglass. The only thing left to do is install a arming toggle for my ummmmm, nos, aka neons.
Page 1 First month of ownership
Page 2 You are here
Page 3 Performance upgrades
Page 4 Cosmetic upgrades
Page 5 me and the family
Page 6 Model pics
Page 8 Memory Lane Past rides I have owned
THE IMAGES AND CONTENT ON THESE PAGES ARE MY PERSONNAL USE AND NOT TO BE USED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR THE CAR AND USE PICTURES FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.
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