king nothing

The metra is the bt5520. [MENTION=94921]mamonti[/MENTION] I hadn't considered doing it like that, cutting the wires on the PAC unit

kmaximus

Hi GTOdrifter, a few months ago I completed my audio upgrade from the sony system, and while that does have the nav/oem amp setup, the rest of my install is very similar to what you are trying to achieve.

I've attached the diagram showing my install. I did start out with just a 5 channel amp, but quickly discovered that the ford headunits quickly reshape the sound and to get a good clean sound you will a summing device to fatten the signal so the sound reproduction is correct. Some folks don't hear any issue after an upgrade, but just a bit of advise after you complete your install and it doesn't sound quite right, it's probably because your frequency band is off.

Also, i did start out with line level input install and everything sounded good, except for the frequency band deal. My single 12in is in a sealed box under the rear seat where the factory sub was located and I'm more than immersed in bass when needed and the door speakers are crisp and cleanly loud enough

the Alpine MRX-V70 I chose and many others offer auto turn on if you are using speaker level so there is no need for a remote wire. Doing it over, I think I would have chosen the RF R600.5 vs the Alpine, I had issues

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/r600x5

I've also added a picture of where I had to cut wires at the amp, I think in your setup, there would be a similar plug behind the headunit with speaker out wires. There are complete wiring diagrams floating around that show how your head unit is connected, I'm unable to locate them at the moment, but I'll keep hunting and post it when I find it.

ianinedm

That's an awesome setup and exactly what I eventually want to end up with. Can you speak more to the actual parts used? I wouldn't mind knowing the part numbers and I can research more into them to fully understand the wiring. Super clean, love it! it's tax return time and I'll admit I am really torn!

ososlow

I used the Metra BT5520 on my install. Made installation very simple. I built the harness on my workbench then ran it through the truck so no soldering inside my truck.

This mess is the 5520 to 9-wire to speaker level input plug.

Then I ran the front speaker wire from the amp back to the 5520 and used the factory wire through the molex. I didn't want to tear everything apart and drill holes in my molex. I know for sure I would have messed it up.
The molex in the rear doors had more than enough room to squeeze some flat 14g speaker wire beside it.

Where I mounted the amp

I have since shortened up that ground.

I'm running Polk DB6501 components up front, DB651 in the rear and a Kicker 10" sub and box I'm borrowing from my bro. I was using a cheap pioneer combo, but it hits no where near as hard.
Overall the system sounds awesome. Listening to my ipod, it does start to sound crappy after about 6 little bars of volume, but it is uncomfortably loud that high. I usually listen to 4 bars and it shakes the truck more than enough for me.

ryan_r_simpson

Very nice and clean. Great job. Thanks for the pics for reference. I'm doing the same set up except with the bit ten instead of cleansweep. Cheers

GTOdrifter

Thanks for tbe responses guys. Im going to cut the factory speaker wire behind the factory HU and run additional speaker wire to the high level inputs back to the 5 channel amp. Then I will run speaker wire back to the wires I cut behind the head unit. I was thinking I would go right down the middle of the truck to keep wires short as possible. Has anybody done this?

king nothing

Sorry but I would NEVER cut wires in one of these trucks. With all the integration imagine if you had a totally unrelated electrical problem and the dealership found you had cut wiring. What do you think they will blame it on? I once had a dealership try to blame a fuel pump problem on a plug-and-play iPod integration kit

2011FX4boost

You would hate to see my setup if you dont agree with cutting anything lol

king nothing

To each their own lol. These new electrical systems make me nervous

ryan_r_simpson

You are one of the smart ones, if you don't know what your doing and need step by step instructions, don't touch it and leave it to a professional. These newer electrical systems are delicate but if you know how to read a wiring diagram and know how to use and what a computer safe test light or meter are, you should be fine. Don't go hacking up wires that you don't know what they are and where they go and don't go probing a negative pulse on a data wire with a regular test light. And t taps are not proper connections, don't use them. Most aftermarket accessories won't harm anything, it's the install, mostly electrical side, that people just don't understand how to properly integrate with the complex electrical systems in new vehicles.