factory amp bypass question


rhagen

10+ Year Member

Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4
Points
1,501
Vehicle Year
1996
Transmission
Manual
The radio in my 96 Ranger XLT has stopped putting out sound. It still gets power, finds stations, etc. I pulled the radio out and find that I have the "premium sound" wiring with the factory amp behind the panel behind the passenger seat. This makes me suspect the amp died.

I bought a new radio from Crutchfield with the amp bypass harness.

Do I really need to run the harness from the radio to the amp? Can't I just disconnect the amplifier input and output connectors and wire them together?? (I have the wiring diagram).

Thanks,
Rick
 
Well, I confirmed that the factory amp is dead. I hooked up the new radio and got nothing, but when I connect it to a spare speaker that works. Not looking forward to pulling the interior panel to get at the amp.

I'm going to try just connecting the factory amp input and output wires first. If that doesn't work I'll run the bypass wire harness.
 
Well, to answer my own question: Yes, you can disconnect the input and output from the factory amp, cut off the plugs, and wire the corresponding speaker wires together. I just did it and it works fine. Now I can return the bypass harness to Crutchfield and get a refund!
 
Why didnt you just use the bypass?: Its plug and play, unplug from the amp plug into the bypass and run your head unit, what you did is ten times harder. I dont normally check this section or I would have offered some advice, I had to runt he bypass on my lincoln continental. As far as the head unit not working with the amp, the ford factory radios have no pre-out, they dont put out any power at all, other radio put out about 20-40 amps on average so they dont need the seperate amp.
 
Running the bypass wiring seemed like a lot more hassle to me! Plus, I was able to return the bypass harness and save the money.
 
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