Unknown plug in dash

[Takoda]

Wondering if my 1985 ranger came with a factory radio or not and what this plug is.

 

[RobbieD]

That's definitely not a factory plug.


What does your antenna look like, and the grilles on top of the dash?

The aftermarket had dash speaker grilles which did closely look like OEM units, but the antenna is usually the best tell, as whether the truck came with a factory radio.

If you can post a pic of the antenna base I can tell you what you've likely got.

 

[Takoda]

That's definitely not a factory plug.


What does your antenna look like, and the grilles on top of the dash?

The aftermarket had dash speaker grilles which did closely look like OEM units, but the antenna is usually the best tell, as whether the truck came with a factory radio.

If you can post a pic of the antenna base I can tell you what you've likely got.

Ok. The grilles look factory and had the 3 bolt speakers in there until I changed them. And I dont have a picture on hand but can get one of them and the antenna tomorrow.

 

[Takoda]

Ok. The grilles look factory and had the 3 bolt speakers in there until I changed them. And I dont have a picture on hand but can get one of them and the antenna tomorrow.

Thats the best I have at the moment. And the grilles were same color as the dash.

 

[RobbieD]

Thank you.

That is a factory antenna, and the speaker grilles look factory too. You should also have a braided clip-on grounding strap between the hood and cowl, on the rear passenger side of the engine compartment.

I'm pretty confident that your truck had a factory-installed Ford radio, which was swapped out with an aftermarket head unit at some point.


The aftermarket used to make copies of the Ford 3-hole speakers, although they had universal spade terminals and not the Ford connectors. I wish that I had gotten a case of them, back in the day.