Install amp ford explorer

Use this wiring guide to help you install an upgraded Explorer stereo or navigation system of your choice. Want to add smart features such as infotainment or even Alexa? Kicking off our Explorer stereo wiring guide is the first generation Ford. Spanning the year ranges of , the early Explorer leaves much to be desired as far as the stereo goes. Because of the simple Explorer wiring, you can upgrade your radio quickly and add Explorer speakers of your choosing. Believe it or not, installing an FM modulator or additional stereo add-on can be an even easier way to upgrade your Explorer stereo.

The Explorer shares many of the features found in the trucks of this year range as well. This should be more than enough for you to wire up your Explorer stereo. You can also complete any Ford amplifier installation with this group of wires.

We will now move onto the Ford Explorer speaker wiring. Using the following Explorer speaker wiring outline, you can install any aftermarket stereo into your Ford.

With over 6 years of production, this particular Explorer is very popular. Although double DIN stereos can fit in the Ford, many times it will require an installation kit. These stereo install kits are useful to properly install your upgraded Explorer radio. Own a Ford between the year ranges of ? Need Explorer stereo wiring job but not sure where to find it? Check it out below. When installing your new Explorer stereo, take care around the radio bezel.

This bezel can be exposed to the elements, making it brittle and easy to crack. The Ford Explorer stereo antenna wire is Orange with a Blue stripe. All Explorers feature component speakers in the front doors. You'll need to remove the door panels to replace these speakers, which isn't a difficult task as long as you work carefully and keep track of all the screws and panels you remove along the way. A variety of aftermarket component speaker systems will work in the front doors.

Some woofers will require mounting brackets, and they'll be included with your Crutchfield purchase. Securing the tweeters, on the other hand, will require universal backstraps or hot glue or silicone. You'll also need to use Posi-Products speaker connectors for the tweeters, because there's no wiring harness available.

In some cases, you may need to drill new mounting screw holes for the speakers. This isn't hard, but you'll want to work carefully and wear eye protection. Once you've finished replacing the speakers, test them out before you put the doors back together.

Also be sure to make sure the locks are working properly and the wires aren't interfering with the windows. You'll need to drill new mounting holes before you replace the rear door speakers Crutchfield Research Photo. The job's not that hard, but you will need to drill new mounting holes for the bracket.

This is not an awesomely challenging task, but you'll want to know what you're drilling into. Work carefully and wear eye protection. Start at the top corner and pry off the sail panel. Move on down the door and pry out the screw cover behind the door release, then remove one 10mm screw. Next, pry out the screw cover behind the door pull and remove one 10mm screw. Remove two 7mm screws along the bottom edge of the door panel, then pry out the sides and bottom of the door panel to release nine retaining clips.

Disconnect the wiring harnesses and door release cable, then remove the panel. Remove the three 7mm screws securing the speaker, then disconnect the wiring harness and pry the speaker off of the door. Secure the new speaker to the mounting bracket included with your order, then place the entire assembly into the cavity and mark the two new mounting holes. As noted above, work carefully and wear eye protection.

Test the speakers, then start putting the door back together. Make sure the locks and windows are working properly before you button everything up again.

The Sony system's rear pillar tweeters should be replaced at the same time you replace the sub. You'll see why in the next photo. We mention the subwoofer here because if you're going to replace the speakers or the sub, you might as well change that "or" to an "and," since you'll have to pretty much take the rear of the interior apart to do either. Once you've gotten to the speakers, the actual replacement part is pretty straightforward, aside from using another set of Posi-Products speaker connectors to connect the new speakers to the factory wiring.

Shop for speakers that fit your Ford Explorer. As noted above, replacing the Sony subwoofer involves quite a bit of work. None of the steps are remarkably hard, it's just that there are a whole bunch of them. You'll want to reserve an afternoon for this job, and you might want to bribe a handy friend with pizza and beverages, too.

Again, it's essential to know the area you're drilling into, work patiently, and wear eye protection. This is a low-impedance sub, so look for something similar in an aftermarket model. Installing a higher-impedance aftermarket speaker will result in lower volume, which is kind of not the point of adding a new sub!

Remember to test the sub and the rear pillar speakers before you go to the trouble of putting the cargo area together again. If you don't have the Sony system or just want to add even more bass , there are some other aftermarket options. You will need to remove the stock Sony sub to install this one, though, and the Stealthbox won't work with the Explorer's cargo security shade accessory.

Shop for vehicle-specific subwoofers for your Ford Explorer. The Explorer is a big vehicle, and maneuvering in a crowded parking lot can be a huge challenge. If you want a better view of what's behind you, we offer rear-view cameras from Kenwood, Alpine, Sony, Pioneer, and more.

Some are designed to work with same-brand receivers only, but others come with a composite video connector and will work with almost any video receiver.

If you're mostly using your Explorer to haul gear rather than kids, you can still have an amazing system without sacrificing square footage — look for amps with small footprints to fit in the out-of-the-way spaces in your cargo area. Fifth-Gen Explorers are actually kind of quiet for SUVs, but as trucks age, creaks and groans can start to intrude on your driving serenity.

A Dynamat Xtreme Door Kit is the perfect way to seal in sound. This heavy-duty insulating material is easy to install, and it really makes a difference. One kit will take care of the front doors in your Explorer. The rear doors and the rear hatch are also good areas to target if you build a serious sound system. Installing a security system in your Explorer isn't easy security systems rarely are , but it's definitely a good idea.

Our Crutchfield Advisors can help figure out what you need to get the job done, but we usually recommend taking your car and new gear to a professional installer. Shop for car security systems for your Ford Explorer.

Visit our Outfit My Car page and enter your vehicle information to see stereos, speakers, subs, and other audio accessories that will work in your vehicle. Watch this video for a step-by-step overview of a basic car stereo installation. The actual steps involved vary from car to car, but this is a good example.

These car audio tips can help improve sound quality in your vehicle, whether you're listening on a factory system or a multi-channel amplified setup. Read on for advice from our experts. A car stereo is the centerpiece of any car audio system. This introduction explains how to choose the right receiver for your car or truck. Large touchscreens, loads of built-in features, and easy viewability are just some of the advantages to building your stereo around a large-screen receiver.

Digital media and multimedia receivers are the most popular types of car stereos. How do you pick the right one? We'll give you some tips for finding the stereo that's right for you. If you ask us, a car stereo system should include much more than a stereo and a pair of speakers. Adding components like satellite radios, subwoofers, amplifiers,. When adding an aftermarket receiver, you need a steering wheel control adapter to keep the functionality and convenience of your steering wheel controls.

My entire system is being upgraded by an indi that came highly recommended. He comes to the customer. He's already done several gen 6 Explorers so I'm not the guinea pig. He uses Crutchfield as his supplier. Total gear head. Has several classic Mustangs in his garage. Bstard Member Jun 4, Awesome, try to take some install pics before and after.

FlyersGuy Member Jun 4, Awesome, post pics if possible!!! MikeyTX said:. Illusion Audio Carbon C8 midbass in the doors. Illusion Carbon C12XL built into the same side as the oem sub. Amps and processing will be a false floor build above the spare tire. Still a lot of things to work out and finalize. To round out the sound in his truck, Travis installed 5"x7" Focal Performance AC coaxial speakers in the factory locations of his rear doors, using Crutchfield-supplied wiring harnesses. Thanks to Focal's innovative design, he was able to rotate the tweeters to fire upwards at the listener.

These rear speakers went in even more easily than the woofers in the front thanks to the MasterSheet. Now, to power a set of components, a pair of 2-way speakers, and a sub we'll get into that in a moment , you need a beast of an amplifier.

Travis found the perfect location for his new Kicker amp behind the back seat of his 4-door cab. With any amplifier you need to give some thought to how you're going to wire your vehicle for sound and just where all that wire is going to go.

Thankfully, Ford had already done most of the work for Travis by giving him clear, plentiful passages for cable. Running the length of the truck on either side, Ford had factory-installed, easily accessible tubing that housed tail light wiring, etc. Both tubes had room for company, and Travis ran power wire down the driver side and speaker wire and RCA cables down the passenger side.

A sizeable grommet in the bulkhead was his way through the vehicle's firewall to connect the power wire to the vehicle's battery. He grounded the amp on a bolt under the seat after sanding the paint off the bolt to ensure a solid ground. Travis's Explorer featured a factory sub, and while he was happy to see it go, he wasn't so quick to toss out the removable, wall-mounted enclosure that housed it. Another plus — the enclosure location was side-by-side with the new amp location behind the rear seat.

Mounting and wiring the sub was, like everything else with this installation, a breeze. With the sub and the amp wired, Travis's last step was integrating his new wiring with the connections he'd already made when he'd first installed his Kenwood head unit. Because he'd already done that work, things were as simple as undoing Posi-Products connectors and rewiring them so that the full-range signal went out to the amplifier and the amplifier's outgoing signal was directed to the woofers and separate tweeters in the front and full-range speakers in the rear.

Travis has clocked a few miles since his installation, so we checked in with him to find out how this new system sits with him: "Putting the tweeters on the dash lifted the soundstage and also made it a bit wider, so I was able to discern more stereo separation.

The Dynamat dampened a lot of road noise and allowed the details in the music to come through. If an installation like this sounds like something you'd like to do, just contact us via phone, chat, or email using the links at the top of our website. Our advisors will help you pick out the gear that's right for you and your vehicle and make sure you get everything you need to do it yourself.

Can you show a picture of where you ran the power wire for the amp through the firewall? And how did you get the door speakers wired to the amp?

Mine run to a harness plug in the pillars with no other openings for speaker wire? Are the dual voice coils in the sub wired in parallel or series? Michael, we ran cable both incoming and outgoing signal from the amplifier at the rear of the cab to the console behind the receiver. We spliced the amplified signal into the factory speaker wire behind the receiver. Quick question about this install. How did he use wiring harnesses for the speakers since they were being powered by the kicker amp?

Wouldn't he have had to run fresh speaker wire directly from the amp to the speakers in the doors? Or is there a way to pump the output of the amp back through the factory speaker wires? Replacing your car speakers usually involves removing trim panels doors, dash, etc. With a component system, you'll also have to mount your tweeters, which will mean some extra work and possible modifications.

We include instructions for taking apart your car, and our Tech Support staff is always here to help. Component systems will work fine when powered by an aftermarket stereo, but they'll really sound their best when powered by an external amplifier. More expensive component speakers usually need more power for maximum performance, while lower priced components can get by with less power. It's simple - you replace your car speakers because you want your music to sound better. Car makers cut corners when it comes to car speakers, and aftermarket speakers use better materials and superior construction to deliver improved sound.

Replacing your old speakers is an inexpensive way to get better sound in your car. Speakers are sold in pairs, and it's common to replace your front speakers first, then later replace your rear speakers. It's a good idea to choose the same brand speakers for front and back, if possible.

That way, the tone settings that sound good in the front seat will sound good in the back seat too. Of course, you can replace all your speakers at one time for the most dramatic improvement. Most component speaker systems need, at minimum, the power of an aftermarket stereo. Like we said above, it depends on the RMS power rating of the speakers. Speakers with an upper range of 50 watts RMS or higher will definitely sound better powered by an external amplifier. Factory speakers usually sound fine when they're new, but they deteriorate over time.

We compared speakers of different ages to see how badly they fared. When you're shopping for speakers, don't forget the tweeter. The shape and the material it's made from have a direct impact on how your music sounds. By separating the tweeter and the woofer, component speaker systems improve the sound quality and overall audio experience in your car in three very big ways.

Brand-name speakers will make a big difference in your car's sound. But with some simple, relatively inexpensive extra steps, you can make them sound even better. Over time factory speakers deteriorate and begin to sound truly awful.

We set up a blind listening test in our Labs to see if our experts could tell the difference. Properly tweaked, your car or truck can be a fantastic place to listen to music. But first, you need to compensate for some of its natural limitations. Even the best component system can sound better with a few tweaks. Let's look a few set-up tips and additions that will tune up your speakers for the best sound.