installing new stereo

Venomized

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right, the op took the time to dig out 6 sets of wire hrns's in the dash and didn't bother to notice the coppor colored red/black ends plugged into an aftermarket loc that would have stood out like hell.... Just follow the rca's and see where they go too.

my mecp cert exp back in 99 I think it was, by then I had learned more then it took to pass that test and figured out already that it didn't mean squat.

Right, so theyre still letting you install without an MECP cert?? What level were you certified at?

To the OP, it looks like the PO installed an LOC somewhere and thats why the wiring is capped off.

The stock amps are mounted under the rear deck where the alpine is now. The PO repinned the stock connector so when you connect all your wiring to the adapter harness run the remote turn on wire off the head unit connector to the adapter blue wire. It will then run into those. The brown wire IIRC is the turn on wire for the stock amps.
 
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mtang98 gt

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so i do have a remote turn on wire already there..? The next steps i shoud take are running four rca' from the headunit to the amp????
 

ttocs

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Right, so theyre still letting you install without an MECP cert?? What level were you certified at?

To the OP, it looks like the PO installed an LOC somewhere and thats why the wiring is capped off.

The stock amps are mounted under the rear deck where the alpine is now. The PO repinned the stock connector so when you connect all your wiring to the adapter harness run the remote turn on wire off the head unit connector to the adapter blue wire. It will then run into those. The brown wire IIRC is the turn on wire for the stock amps.


I was only installer certified, but I took the test in 94 and this was back when there was cellular install knowledge that was still no the test. I got a degree in electronics and left the industry for a while when I went to work for intel as a tech there. A couple years later I needed something to fill my time off(14 days a month) so I went back to work for two stores in scottsdale called streamline audio and soundwerks. This was all 4-5 yrs after my cert had expired but again when you get into custom shops like those two are saying your mecp cert'd really will not earn you any bonus points. While I was there I actually got to work with some fairly well known installers, one of which was in on team gates and helped to design and build alma gates first bronco. Another great installer I worked with was scott owen which if you have speed channel you would have seen him as one of the allstars(audio/fabrication) on the car-wars series. Neither of these guys were ever certed from what they told me and laughed at the idea of doing it. The only places that care about being certed are big box places that think a certificate on the wall will tell everyone all they need to know... shops like the ones in scottsdale used the magazine articles written about their cars to show that they could do what they said.

I would be suprised if the rear enclsure and amp are still there honestly, they would have needed to drop it to get to the speakers and it would have been 10x easier just to bottom mount the speakers to the rear package tray.

OP - Yes there is a remote wire in there somewhere but since you are already planning on running new rca's from the deck to the amp I would just include your own and save the time of trying hunt the old one.. Get two 15 ft rca cables and a single blue 18 awg blue primary wire. Tape the rcas and the remote wire together every 12 inches or so and it will make it easier to run them all at once. All you really need to to is just gently lift up the plastic parts along the side of the car and tuck them under it. You can pull them off if you want too and know how as it is easier and cleaner to do. Plug the cables into you deck/amp, connect the remote wires and you should be done.
 
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mtang98 gt

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Well when I disconnected the stock stereo all those harnesses had a place on the back of the stereo or slave cd drive
 

g36 monkey

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It looks like it is there in the pics, I took that turd out because it messed up. Got rid of that extra useless wiring.
 

Venomized

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When did they start putting the amp under the deck? Both mine (of course I have the mach system) are mounted with the enclosure under the rear deck/package tray. His is gone and they put the 6x9s in there and underhung the alpine amp back there.


Scott, i wasnt trying to come across as degrading so sorry if it sounded that way.

As for running the new remote turn on he doesnt need to its already connected. Hes got an LOC somewhere in that car. Probably under the trunk carpeting or something.
 

g36 monkey

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I don't have the mach and I had a factory amp in the dash. Not sure when that started though.
 

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Its got to be something with the mach system then. I have the stock "sub" amp and "highs/mids" amp hanging on each side of the enclosure under the rear deck which are coming out in a couple weeks and bein replaced with my 2 12" infinity kappa perfect subs and my RF 500a2 and 400a4 and then the fronts will be replaced with Kappa components and the rears will be replaced with coaxials
 

ttocs

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the piece under the deck has always been there, its actually more of a x-over/eq but as g36 said there was also a premium system between the basic and the mach that had it as well. I do not see pics of this in the pics provided but looking back through them the rear enclosure is certainly missing. Yes there is a remote back there, do you know what it was hooked up too though? If it was comming through the stock amp wiring then you are running into the possibility of using the stock 6v remote turn on that only ford uses. He is already running rca's, primary wire is cheap while his time to investigate where the current remote is, what its hooked up to for us to get back to him and hope it would be ok would be too much trouble again since he is already running wires to/from the same location. Its not like he needs to make a completely different run up under the hood.

Don't worry I was not insulted at all. I used best buy to get my foot in the door and actually hate them enough that in the 14 yrs since I left there I have only bought one video game from them. Them/me did not have a nice parting of ways and I was suprised to find out 10 yrs later they kept my last check and turned it into the state claiming they could not find me. My folks have had the same address for almost 40 yrs now so that was bs. If you are an installer then you need to learn some professional courtesy. Talkin trash about your competition doesn't make them look bad, it makes you and your shop look bad. Throwing out blanket statements that they are all bad either shows that you have some chip on your shoulder with them or that you lack the profesional courtesy that should be shown to almost any shop. I was taught that everything in sales was good/better/best and that the worst I might say about a shop is that I personally might not recomend them, but shop A - B - or C are not too bad. I can gurantee you that if anyone has a reason to hate them its me but to say all of their bays suck isn't a shot at its bays its a shot at its workers.
 
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mtang98 gt

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Seems like I have two different answers but if you guys could give me a step by step for what I should do now that would be great. Also am I going to use that adapter kit at all?? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the help guys.
 

Venomized

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I have had to fix MANY of their installs is why I bad mouth them. Its not going against professional courtesy its just personal experience.

I agree though that the OP should probably just run RCAs back there and the remote wire is his decision to make. It wont be a 6v turn on running off the Sony HU since the connector was repinned. I personally think he only needs to use the connector with the power/ground/constant power and such and leave the rest out. This will eliminate the LOC and keep his pre amp voltage from being drug down thus giving him more clarity out of the amp than before. Also 9 times out of 10 LOCs dull the sound quality using the low level inputs.
 
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mtang98 gt

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Sooooo...
Run two sets of rca's from the new stereo to the amp
unplug old RCA's
Remove old RCA's from car???
Splice and sodder all color matching wires to gray hardness addapter
Plug it all in and done????
 

ttocs

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thats correct 98gt although the only other question is the remote turn on wire. IF you connect the blue wire on the hrns it may or may not work. If it doesn't then you will need to investigate where the wire goes and what its hooked up too, invariably relay that info to us to then tell you what to do and hope we got everything right between what you saw and told us.

OR - for the price of a good cup of coffee(a few bucks at most), just buy some 18-20 awg blue primary wire and run it right along side of the rca's and make the connections yourself and know it will work. Its up to you and the real question is what is your time worth?

Again throwing it out there that all best buys suck because the one next to your house may/does isn't a smart thing to say. You said you work for a big box, which one? Over the years I have heard big/bad stories about almost any big-box shop that has screwed something up so I guess then all big box shops suck?
 
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mtang98 gt

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Does it matter if when I had the old stereo in when i would turn the stereo the amp would turn on?
 

ttocs

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well then if everything goes well and you connect to the right place then the amp should come on. If it were me I am sure I could figure out what/where its connected to save myself the time.

I just never trust what the installer before me did as there have been too many times when it did not work and ended up costing more time/money then it would have to just run a single wire with the rca's like in this case.
 
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mtang98 gt

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Okay could you give me a tip on how to discretly run the wires from the front to the back?
 

g36 monkey

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He already said how to do it earlier. Pull up on the plastic trim and tuck it underneath on the side of the car. :)
 

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