1991f150jason

Hey everyone, ive been having some trouble lately. I previously had an aftermarket headunit in my 91 f150(it was in there when I bought the truck) but I got a sub (amp built in), new speakers (the idiot before me cut the doors and put in 6x9's so I had to deal with that. but I kept the old after market head unit. the head unit went out and I knew I was going to get a new one anyways so I went ahead and bought one. I used the schematics to wire it up and it doesn't want to power on. the fuse in the radio isn't blown, the inline fuse isn't blown, and the fuse under my steering wheel isn't blown. my next guess is to see if I have a short somewhere or a loose ground??? just don't have the money to get it installed anywhere. any help would be appreciated! its just very aggravating haha

93F-150

where is your power wire wired in? i always wired mine into an ignition wire so i knew i had power when the key is on.

mach1threat

There are 2 different power wires usually on head units. One that's on all the time and one that turns on with the switch. Have you tried to use a test light? Sometimes fuses don't look blown but they actually are.

You could always make your own jumper wires and test it that way. Also check ground wire for oxidation

It could also be that the stock wiring for the power of the head unit is not sufficient to power the new head unit. New ones have built in amps that are 4x. The power of the stock crap unit

1991f150jason

I have two power wires, I have the one in my ignition so it come on when my key is on, and I have one that's a constant to my battery(please correct me if I'm wrong ahaha)

mach1threat

Correct. Only thing I would recommend is running your own wiring directly from the battery to make sure it would be getting a strong enough voltage to run a newer head unit.

In other words the stock wiring may be 18 gAuge, but the head unit would need 12 gauge to get enough power

I would definitely test those connections with a test light to make sure the circuit is getting power. Latch the alligator clip onto a ground spot on the truck, and touch each power wire, then also attach the alligator clip to the ground wire supplied with the stock wiring.

You may be able to get away with a thicker ground cable. My rule is bigger is always better when it comes to car audio.

carbell555

Are you using a wiring harness to plug into the truck itself? If you are, you should have red to red (power), yellow to yellow (remote), and black to black (ground). Other than that, all you should have hooked up is speakers. The orange wire and blue wires shouldn't be hooked up. Have you ran a test light to the red wire to see for sure there's no power and you don't have a junk head unit?

1991f150jason

Thanks everyone sorry for the late reply! Haven't been able to get on. Had to run new power wires AND new ground so not much work just annoying haha. Glad I got it taken care of. System sounds great! Installed the new head unit and have a sub with built in amp. Sounds awesome.

mattbarron94

Which sub did you get? I have a 10 inch behind my bench seat in my single cab, but I'm about to buy a 97 4 door 250, and I'm thinking about kickers "hideaway" 8 inch sub/amp for under the front 40/20/40 seats

1991f150jason

I have a 12 inch Memphis sub sitting behind my bench seat in my single cab. They cut the box and it fits perfectly. It will fit better once I get my new bench seat because mine is falling apart lol. But I'll post a picture later when I get to my truck

madd

I highly recommend infiniti speakers. Get a decent head unit around 150 bucks,it makes a big difference. The ten 10 inch kicker in a low profile box will fit a standard cab. I have an eclipse amp mono. Put tape on the old speaker wires taped to new speaker wires and pull them through for a easier install.

My system really sounds good I have maybe 500-700 bucks into it. The specific model speakers and amp I have I dont remember.

I listen to loud aggressive metal music and it sounds great.