95 Ranger radio-- what the heck is going on here?

[randoranger]

95 ranger... this is not what I was expecting to see! I'm confused. what's going on here? appreciate the help.

 

[Doofy]

Damn Hackers !

 

[ab_slack]

What, the radio just jump out of place by itself?

Oh, I suppose that is what you found when you pulled it out. Looks like someone did some aftermarket stereo work.

Is that the stock radio there or is it one someone put in? I am guessing the latter but without seeing pic of front I don't know.

What is it you are wanting to do? Put a new one in? Or fix problems with the existing? Does the one there work?

The big heavy two conductor cables with clear jacket are very reminiscent of some of the monster speak wire I seen marketed and since I see two of those big two conductor cables I am guessing they go to speakers one on each side. Without an amplifier I have no idea why anyone need wires like that but...

Those white round things with wires going into them are just for splicing what looks like new connector onto the existing harness. Probably wires from the original factory connectors were cut off that connector to hook up to the new connector for new stereo so I guess that must be an aftermarket stereo already in there.

If you can dig up the color code for the ford radio harness it should be easy to figure what each connection is. Another thing, for the after market radio there get the model number which should be listed someplace on it and search for a manual for that radio online. That manual should provide connector pins and/or wire colors going to the radio. From that info, if it ever worked, you should be able to find out what the respective ford wire they connect to is for.

 

[randoranger]

Thanks! yeah, I was going to try putting a new unit in there, but I've never done it before. was reading up on how to do it and was curious as to what it looked like back there. I thought it was supposed to be hooked up to those connector thingys but it's not.

 

[ab_slack]

those connectors, the black and grey one I believe are the ford connectors.

The existing aftermarket ratio doesn't have connectors on the back and just has wires coming out to that white rectangular connector. I don't know if that white rectangular connector was part of the radio connections (pre-wired at the factory) or if it is a generic connector the installer used.

You just need to know the signals on the new stereo (should be in the manual) and signals on the existing harness (found by looking up ford diagrams or inferred from manual of the existing radio) and then match them up. Most should be pretty clear, but a few such as which are full time 12V verses switched 12V or the dimmer connections can sometimes be trickier to identify.

Good luck with it.

 

[randoranger]

Thanks!

 

[XLTsplash]

I think It would be a much cleaner/easier install of your new stereo if you buy a stereo wire install kit for your Ranger. They are cheap and very easy to find, even Walmart sells them. I would remove the mess of aftermarket wires someone installed. The wire kit will let you just plug your new stereo into the factory black and gray radio wires without cutting into the factory harness. The wires in to kit are color matched making it very easy to hook up the correct wires. You may have to reconnect the factory speaker wires to the speakers because it looks like they bypassed the factory speaker wires and just ran their own. If your still looking at new stereos I would recommend a Pioneer FH-X700BT I have one in my 97 Ranger and 99 Explorer. This stereo has a lot of nice features like changeable display color, blue tooth, MP3, CD and it fills the whole opening the the stock radio has.

 

[George]

Nice Install XLTsplash!!
I was considering the newer model (720) for my 2003 Ranger.
Are you using an amplifier for this unit or just the stock 14 watts RMS?
I am reluctant to go aftermarket since I have heard the output of the stock radios is 40 watts or more RMS. Any recommendations?>

Thanks George

All,
Just a quick update.
My install is complete and a couple of pics attached.
Wow, what a sound improvement and with the 720 I now have bluetooth.
Thanks to XLTSplash for all advice@!

George

 

[Haywire6000]

A wiring kit at that point would only half help you. The PO looks like he half cut on the the connectors off. My truck was the same way but with both connectors. I just finished cutting them off and wired my new radio directly to the stock wiring.

 

[XLTsplash]

Nice Install XLTsplash!!
I was considering the newer model (720) for my 2003 Ranger.
Are you using an amplifier for this unit or just the stock 14 watts RMS?
I am reluctant to go aftermarket since I have heard the output of the stock radios is 40 watts or more RMS. Any recommendations?>

Thanks George

All,
Just a quick update.
My install is complete and a couple of pics attached.
Wow, what a sound improvement and with the 720 I now have bluetooth.
Thanks to XLTSplash for all advice@!

George

The 720 looks good !