Left over wires

[MSGia]

Good afternoon all. I am installing a Sony stereo head unit in my truck. I used the Metra wiring harness which had 12 wires. But the wiring harness for the stereo has 4 connections left. Do I need to use speed in, reverse in, and remote out? I’m using without a camera. I also think I have to use the green Parking brake wire for the screen to be able to turn on, where is this on the ranger? Thanks.

 

[Curious Hound]

I don’t think you need those. Reverse is just to tell it to switch screens to the backup camera when you put transmission in reverse. I think remote out just triggers a remote amplifier on/off if you have one. Speed is probably for nanny controls to keep you from fiddling with more intricate settings when you should be paying attention to the road. Could be wrong on that. I don’t remember what parking brake signal is for. Didn’t the radio come with wiring info and operating manual? You may be able to download documents from the web.

mid I recall, my radio wouldn’t let you use certain aux inputs or video input unless brake was engaged or speed was zero. That was so you wouldn’t patch ina portable dvd player and watch movies while driving.

 

[MSGia]

Nothing helpful with the manual or customer support :/. Only info I know is that the parking brake signal has to be used or else it might not work, but where do I tap into on the ranger for this?

 

[Curious Hound]

Nothing helpful with the manual or customer support :/. Only info I know is that the parking brake signal has to be used or else it might not work, but where do I tap into on the ranger for this?

At the pedal is probably easiest.

 

[MSGia]

At the pedal is probably easiest.

I found a better manual. Turns out the only ones I need are parking brake and Speed In.

Sony is saying to tap in to a parking brake switch lead above the pedal which like you said would make sense. Remote is for an amp and reverse is for a camera. The unit wants speed in because of Apple CarPlay which is interesting. So where do I tap into a “speed pulse output lead”?

 

[sgtsandman]

I found a better manual. Turns out the only ones I need are parking brake and Speed In.

Sony is saying to tap in to a parking brake switch lead above the pedal which like you said would make sense. Remote is for an amp and reverse is for a camera. The unit wants speed in because of Apple CarPlay which is interesting. So where do I tap into a “speed pulse output lead”?

My guess is the wire harness going into the instrument cluster might be a good source. You would need the wire diagram for that to see what wire(s) feeds signal to the speedometer.

 

[RonD]

Speedometer is Digital from 2004 and up in Rangers so no "speed pulse" at the cluster
Best bet will be OSS sensor at PCM or an ABS sensor at 4WABS module in engine bay
It doesn't need "speed" just a pulse for movement, and not sure WHY it would even need that

If Apple Car Play doesn't work when you are stopped in traffic, no speed pulse, then it is not much of an audio system

Although there are automated volume controls that increase volume with speed
But I would rather have car makers reduce interior noise levels at speed, lol

 

[MSGia]

Speedometer is Digital from 2004 and up in Rangers so no "speed pulse" at the cluster
Best bet will be OSS sensor at PCM or an ABS sensor at 4WABS module in engine bay
It doesn't need "speed" just a pulse for movement, and not sure WHY it would even need that

If Apple Car Play doesn't work when you are stopped in traffic, no speed pulse, then it is not much of an audio system

Although there are automated volume controls that increase volume with speed
But I would rather have car makers reduce interior noise levels at speed, lol

I did more digging. My unit wants Parking Brake In (can be just a ground, but I found the wire), Speed Pulse In, and GPS (provided). It uses all 3 to determine where you are (only if you are using wireless, seems like I would be okay for wired). Not sure if I trust Sony with my "accurate location" . So I just need to find where to tap into a speed pulse output lead. What about the rear diff?

 

[fastpakr]

Some radios only use the parking brake wire to determine you're stopped, with no logic applied to that signal. In those cases, you can simply ground the parking brake wire permanently. No idea if that applies to your particular model. Others actually have some logic to ensure that the signal makes sense, i.e. that you're ungrounding the brake at some point so it knows the signal is legitimate. There are separate defeat methods for that situation if they apply to you.

 

[RonD]

OK, I goofed, there is a speed signal at the cluster thru 2006, but not 2007 and up
Ford changed to a 3 connector computer in 2007 and cluster got CAN Bus data instead of a direct speed signal
So not there in 2010

Yes, you could tap the OSS wires or the ABS wires, but it is not a "speed signal", just an "in motion" signal
They are 25k to 35k pulses per mile(PPM)
Fords MPH calibration was 8k PPM, lol
But it will provide a PPM speed signal

 

[MSGia]

OK, I goofed, there is a speed signal at the cluster thru 2006, but not 2007 and up
Ford changed to a 3 connector computer in 2007 and cluster got CAN Bus data instead of a direct speed signal
So not there in 2010

Yes, you could tap the OSS wires or the ABS wires, but it is not a "speed signal", just an "in motion" signal
They are 25k to 35k pulses per mile(PPM)
Fords MPH calibration was 8k PPM, lol
But it will provide a PPM speed signal

So where does it convert from 25k to 8k PPM? The PCM? I’m a little lost now lol. And does pulse speed matter?

 

[fastpakr]

Are you sure you need the VSS? I can understand the Nav system using that data as an alternative when you temporarily lose signal, but it would surprise me if it's really necessary.

 

[RonD]

In 2006 computer converted OSS signal to 8k and sent it out to speedo and cruise on 1 wire
In 2007 Computer converted OSS signal to Digital(1's and 0's) and sent that out on the CAN Bus network on 2 wires along with ALL the data needed by cluster and other modules in the vehicle
Think Home data network, without the WiFi part, lol
So there is no "speed signal" after 2006


GPS calculates speed and position from orbiting satellites that send out an accurate time pulse
GPS is not accurate on curving roads or by using vehicle speed, UNLESS you were in an airplane or on a ship at sea, lol, and then you have head/tail winds to deal with and have currents to deal with, that throws off actual speed

If you drive up a switch back road GPS will tell you you only drove 5 miles but you know it was actually 20 miles but back and forth
And you could have been going 40mph but GPS will tell you time and distance = 10MPH
So not seeing the connection for GPS in this case

 

[MSGia]

I know this thread is kinda dead, but I finished installing everything so I am back with answers if anyone ends up in a similar situation.

For my specific head unit, it requires "Speed In" and "Parking Brake" to operate Apple CarPlay, wired or wireless. The parking brake signal can just be tapped into chassis ground, on the Metra ranger harness its black. The manual calls the input "speed pulse" but it will take a digital VSS wire as well, on a 2007+ ranger the wire is pink and orange on the back of the cluster (you need to remove the cluster to reach the wire and drill a hole for the harness to reach, there are two connectors on the rear of the cluster, pk/o wire is on the right), NOT black and grey.

Proof that it all works, the phone is not plugged in and CarPlay is running. I tried while driving and it checks out, haven't tried HDMI but I'm sure it would be okay too. Unit name is Sony XAV-AX.