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NOTE: The information in this document is correct to the best of the author's knowledge. However, due to a change in employers the author will not be able to update/correct this document in the future. The author accepts no responsibility for any damage, injury, or other "loss" you encounter while working on your car.
[The vast majority of the information included in this portion of the FAQ was provided by Chris Behier and Evan Hawrysh. Additional information came from Steve Harrell and Calvin Sanders. The document was assembled by Andre Molyneux.]
Converted to HTML by William Keller (wdklists@jps.net).
This portion of the Mustangs FAQ covers stereos. The bulk of this document deals with replacing the factory sound system with aftermarket components, although some information on the stock system is included.
Sound system types, components, and locations have changed significantly during the production life of Fox-chassis based Mustangs. The major changes can be broken down into the following three groups:
The majority of the information with regards to component locations and fitting of aftermarket components applies to the 1987-1993 vehicles only. Little information is (or likely ever will be) included for the earlier cars. Very little info is included for the 1994 cars at this point, but expect more information on these cars to be added as list members gain experience with them.
Information is broken down into the following sections:
A lot of good information was lumped into section 3 due to lack of time to break it out and list it separately. Hopefully future editions of this part of the FAQ will break this down better.
The Mach 460 system and CD unit have the same holes as the 1987-1993 Mustangs, so pulling the units out should be the same as before.
The head unit is held in place by four clips, two on each side. If you look at the front of the unit, you will notice a small hole near each corner of the faceplate. The holes provide access for a special tool to release the clips. The Ford tool looks something like this:
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The tool is made of stiff metal wire. You should be able to obtain this tool from Ford or from a car audio dealer. Alternatively, you can make your own tool. Take a dowel long enough to reach between the two holes on one side of the head unit (plus a little extra), plus a couple of nails approximately 3/16" in diameter and at least 2" long. Measure the distance between the holes, and drive the nails through the dowel with the same spacing. Dulling the point and making a little "ball" on the end of each nail (with a dremel tool or file) will help it fit in the clips better. The finished tool should look something like this (obviously not in scale with the drawing above):
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o o
Having two tools will make getting the head unit out easier, but in a pinch you can get by with one. Insert the tool(s) into the holes on each side of the faceplate about 1/2" (much further and the clips won't be engaged correctly), at which point you should feel them "catch". Push outward on the "handle" of the tool to release the catch, and pull the head unit forward (with a single tool you'll need to release one side, hold it forward so that it doesn't re-latch, then do the other side). Disconnect the wiring harnesses and antenna-connector, and it's out.
The equalizer or plastic bin is attached to the head unit and will come out with it. The amplifier (if so equipped) is located behind the head unit and should be easily visible when the head unit is pulled. Remove two screws and disconnect the wiring harness and it'll come right out.
The radio/stereo on these earlier vehicles are harder to remove, as they have to come out the back. The radio is held in place by two bolts, one underneath and one behind. You may need to move the center console out of the way (see the shop manual) to get at the bottom bolt. Then disconnect the two wiring harnesses and the antenna connector. The radio is now loose, but there's no room to maneuver it out of the dash.
To continue you will need to loosen the lower edge of the dash so that it can be pulled back to give the radio a path out of there. You'll find a metal bar running along the lower edge of the dash on the passenger side, under the glove compartment. You'll find that it's bolted to the chassis in front of the passenger-side door, and to a support over the transmission tunnel. Remove both these bolts and you should be able to pull the lower edge of the passenger-side dash back towards the rear of the car.
Now comes the fun part: You need to pull the dash out of the way with one hand, while you rotate and pull the radio to maneuver it out from behind the dash with the other. You may find it easiest to recline the passenger seat as far as possible and lay on it upside-down, with your feet in the back seat and your head in the passenger-side footwell. Pull on the lower edge of the dash with your left hand while you extract the radio with your right. You will find that you need to maneuver the radio carefully in order to extract it.
The amplifier (for premium sound systems) is located at the top-center of the dash, where the single-speaker would have been for mono radios. Remove the dash pad (held in place by screws above the instrument panel and glove box area, plus a couple in the defroster vents up top) to gain access.
As far as I have seen there is only a couple of options. The Ford Dealership will charge you dearly for a stereo repair and it will take a long time to get fixed as it goes out to Ford Electric Service. The next best thing is to go to a junkyard of Late Model dead Mustangs, or just late model junkyards. They will have your radio/amplifier for you. If you're getting a premium sound system, note that there are a large number of wires connecting the head-unit to the amplifier. If you remove a premium system from a junked vehicle yourself, remove the amp that goes with it and there will be less wires to reconnect. If you don't care to have the same old stock radio, then this is the perfect opportunity to get a new aftermarket stereo unit. Then all kinds of possibilities exist.
Yes, the RED wire is identified as the "amplifier return wire" and is terminated with a screw to the metal dash frame. It is the system ground.
Locations for the Mach 460 are as follows. There are two mid/high speakers up from right where the mirrors are (inside of the car). They are triangular in shape and fit very nicely and discretely. The next two pairs are at the doors, and these are mid/subs just like the rear ones, which are located on the rear deck. Note that the rear speakers are not enclosed but have a port going into the trunk of the car, so replacing those speakers would require the same response of the stock speakers to use the physical configuration of the factory.
The stock speakers vary depending on whether you have the "base" or "premium" level stereo:
Go far enough back and you'll still find cars with AM-only radios and a single speaker. I believe that all "stereo" radios came with four speakers, but I could be wrong.
Stereo installations have a speaker at either side of the dash. Size is approximately 3", but I've never measured. Impedance unknown.
(This information should apply to 1987-1993 cars)
From: calvin@jonathan.com (Calvin Sanders)
There are 2 plugs (though they may be molded into one piece of plastic on some Fords) one is refered to as the power plug the other is the speaker plug. Each is an 8 pin plug, though on the power plug 3 of the pins are not used and therefore the pins are missing. I also have some wiring colors, these may or may not match the wire colors on your Mustang. The order of the pins can be figured out from the missing pins.
POWER PLUG pin# wire color application 1 yellow 12 volt constant - memory, clock, battery 2 not used 3 red 12 volt ignition (switched) 4 orange dash lights (illumination) 5 not used 6 black radio chassis ground 7 blue power antenna 8 not used SPEAKER PLUG 1 white left front positive 2 white/black left front negative 3 green left rear positive 4 green/black left rear negative 5 gray right front positive 6 gray/black right front negative 7 violet right rear positive 8 violet/black right rear negativeAgain don't count on the colors, but the order is correct
A full-size DIN unit will fit; not sure beyond that.
It is a tight fit, but two full DIN units can be installed in the radio area. The typical scenario is an aftermarket CD player installed below the factory radio/tape player.
Mounting h/w plates are widely available that allow a full DIN with a 1/2 DIN location below it. Some ideas for items to mount in the 1/2 DIN are EQs, preamps, electronic xovers, the Sony 1/2 DIN tape player (now discontinued), and with some modifications, the mid-80s Ford clocks (that had date, time, and elapsed time functions in a near 1/2 DIN size - they could be found in some Escorts).
With some trimming, the factory plastic pocket will fit in the DIN area, to fill up the opening left by a pull-out head unit.
There's room for one full DIN unit, and that's all.
This section covers the stock speaker locations only. For ideas on additional speaker placements, please see section 3.
Common replacements for this speaker are 4x6" plate speakers or a 5.25 or 6.5" midrange/midbass driver, mounted on a custom board. 6x9s will fit, but special attention has to be given to mounting.
from Chris Behier:
Well, with underdrive pulleys on the car and a stock alternator, I can barely make 450 watts RMS (900 peak). Fuses are rated for 25Amps and 30Amps for my two Amplifiers. Now if you like loud base, then don't get underdrive pulleys ! and if you to suck up more juice, then a second battery/alternator are possible routes with an Isolator of course. It all depends how big of a system are you willing to live with, I just wanted not to exceed my stock alternator and get great sound quality, with 900 watts max I'm real satisfied. I would not go over 60 Amps peak, this could be too much of a drain on the car.
Depending on the gauge and number of wires you are running through the firewall, the wires can be run through the factory wiring harness grommets. There is one on both the driver's and passenger's side of the firewall. There is a metal ring on the driver's side grommet which needs to be loosened prior to running another wire through. Lubing up the wire with dish soap makes it easier to push it through.
If you end up having to make an additional hole through the firewall, make sure to clean up any sharp edges and install a grommet. Otherwise you risk having the wire insulation chafe against metal edges, eventually resulting in a short-circuit.
The Mustang is known for having problematic noise on audio systems, especially alternator whine, but that doesn't mean you have to live with it. There are a few things you can do to minimize the noise in your system before going the route of installing noise filters.
Ensure that there is little potential difference between the grounding points of your head unit and other components (amps, xovers, EQs, etc), while at the same time minimizing the ground wire lengths. Also make sure you use a ground wire of equal gauge to the power wires for each component. Also, solder all connections, and seal them with some heat-shrink tubing.
In the rear hatch location
From: chrisbe@autodesk.com:Hatchback - I fitted 6x9's in the rear 1/4 panels with difficulty (had to remove some of the sound proofing material). In the doors, 5 1/4 to 5 1/2 inch speaker will fit but the depth of the speaker needs to be shallow due to clearance problems. It is a good idea to place mid range woofers there, or something that will not produce a lot of base to minimize the magnet size. I had 5 1/4's mid range speakers in there for both the GT and the GT conv. Up front I had placed 1" supertweeters with a home made bracket I created. but 3 1/2" speakers should fit in there. A subwoofer box can be made for the trunk area. I had an enclosed, 2 12" subs in a box that was geometrically jammed in the trunk area. This way I would not need to drill any holes in the interior and was easely removable. It also fitted under the pull down vinyl cover that is in the trunk for a stealthier look. The subs were mounted vertically behind the rear seats, and enclosed the recommended volume from the Sub manufacturer.
From: ehawrysh@bnr.ca (speaker: Legacy LS6920 3-way 6x9):
The requirement is a speaker that can have a deep magnet/piston, or basket, but not a wide one. There is also tailight wiring that is collected and fastened to the fender well behind the insulation with a big plastic clip which might cut down on your depth. It can be moved out of the way to provide more depth. There wasn't one on the passenger's side of my vehicle.
If you're not using a speaker or adapter that mates with the face of the stock grill, be sure to seal off the any potential openings that may cause cancellation of sound waves from the front and back of the speaker i.e. seal off the area between the speaker face and the grill. If this isn't done correctly, you will get little bass from your drivers.
Anyways, here's what I did to make them fit. I placed the speaker into the opening behind the grill, so that it rested on top of the insulation. Next, I removed the metal grill from the plastic frame that came with the speakers, and placed the frame on the speaker (ie both frame and speaker fit into the opening. The plastic extensions on the factory grill (where the screws go into) would come into contact with the frame, though. I needed a way to anchor the speaker as well. So I drilled holes into the frame (one was already there; for securing the frame to a deck in a normal application) into which the plastic extensions fit snugly, and allowed the factory grill to fit into place. This also served to secure the speaker. I also used the frame to mount some weatherstripping between the frame and the factory grill to isolate front from back.
Magnet size and diameter is a big thing here. There is room for a big magnet, but the diameter cannot be too large (ie large in depth, but not dia). The magnet rests against the insulated inner fender well. There is also tailight wiring that is collected and fastened to the fender well behind the insulation with a big plastic clip which might cut down on your depth. I just removed the clip, and this was no longer a factor.
This is a very tight fit, and the holes have to be drilled precisely, but it can be done. And I think it's easier fitting a 6x9 than say a 6.5 round (at least it probably looks better through the grill. Oh, the sound is great. Decent bass too. But when I get my sub in, it'll start up from where these left off! Hope this helps.
Appendix B: My install - ehawrysh@bnr.ca
Here's the setup:
- head unit:
- Alpine 7903s CD tuner 4ch preamp pull-out
- active xover:
- Coustic XM-3
input: 4ch from tuner
output: 2ch to Cupid 22wpc 2ch amp (xover 120Hz)
2ch to 2ch of Sony amp 33wpc (xover 100Hz)
1ch mono sub output to bridged ch of Sony (xover 100Hz)
mounted underneath front passenger seat- Cupid amp:
- to JBL TN05 passive xovers, 12db/oct
mounted underneath front passenger seat- passive xovers:
- highpass to JBL T05 tweeters in dash (xover 3kHz)
full range to 6 db/oct lowpass (coil) to JBL T51 mids (xover 3kHz) in doors
coils mounted in door
JBL xovers mounted behind head unit- Sony amp:
- 2ch to Legacy LS6920 6x9s in stock rear locations
mono bridged channel to homemade isobaric tube sub
mounted under driver's seat- Sub:
- 2 - Rockford Fosgate SP-88 drivers mounted face-face, wired in parallel
isobaric design, sealed enclosure
held in with strap for easy removal and access to spareTotally stealth design (except sub, but I covered it in the same carpeting as the interior, so it blends in. It's also at the very back of the car, so the hatch partially covers it. If the hatch cover is over it, it's covered completely. The 7903s is a pullout. When it's out, I put the factory plastic pocket into the sleeve.
I have a mounting kit which consists of an opening for a din and a 1/2 din. The 1/2 din opening holds a green LED clock from a mid -80's Ford Escort and includes date,time, and elapsed time.
Hatchback - I fitted 6x9's in the rear 1/4 panels with difficulty (had to remove some of the sound proofing material). In the doors, 5 1/4 to 5 1/2 inch speaker will fit but the depth of the speaker needs to be shallow due to clearance problems. It is a good Idea to place Mid range woofers there, or something that will not produce a lot of base to minimize the magnet size. I had 5 1/4's mid range speakers in there for both the GT and the GT conv. Up front I had placed 1" supertweeters with a home made bracket I created. but 3 1/2" speakers should fit in there. A subwoofer box can be made for the trunk area. I had an enclosed, 2 12" subs in a box that was geometrically jammed in the trunk area. This way I would not need to drill any holes in the interior and was easely removable. It also fitted under the pull down vinyl cover that is in the trunk for a stealthier look. The subs were mounted vertically behind the rear seats, and enclosed the recommended volume from the Sub manufacturer.
Convertible - The only changes from the above are the rear speakers and the Subwoofer setup. I designed an Isobaric system with the wheelwell as the enclosure, bridged my amp and it worked wonders. The only thing about 12" in a convertible is that you need volume for the subs - which you ain't got much. The trunk space acts as the open air side of the speaker, but the trunk needs porting for even better results as it is still a little suffocating for the system to work at its best. Smaller Subs can be placed back there, four 8" subs on a board, maybe a tube would work too, but then you are assured to lose your precious trunk space. I currently have 2 amps, 1 EQ, 2 12" subs, and a CD changer in there. I can still fit 4 grocery bags back there - which is not bad considering the space we are provided with. For the rear 1/4 panels, 6x9's will work with a little of pushing and shoving. I got 6x9 4 way speakers right now which are great. For the sub design I can be contacted, and I could fax the dimentioned drawing of it.
What is an Isobaric System ?
Isobaric means constant pressure in thermodynamic terms. The setup is like this:
------- | | <--Sub 1 ------- / \ _________/ \__________ \ / \ / Enclosed side. ------- | | <--Sub 2 -------The Speakers work in MONO where one of the poles of the speakers is reversed to achieve the following. As one speaker pushes (say sub 2) upward, the top speaker will pull upward, conserving the pressure between the speakers constant. By having the MONO setup, you can bridge your amp and have two speaker wires hooked up to the single output of the amp. Subwoofer frequencies are so low that a stereo effect is pretty useless and is pretty much unidirectional, so the orientation of the speakers don't matter much (they don't need to point in any particular direction). Also the beauty of the system is that only one volume for the subs is required. Enclosing the bottom speaker to the correct volume of one speaker will do the job and you save yourself 1 volume of a 12" for example.
Where to put the CD changer ?
Not too close to the subs ! the vibration will make the CD player skip at louder volumes which happened to me. Place it firmly onto the chassis either in your trunk or some other hidden place, but easely accessible.
Wiring of the CD Changer ?
There are two way you can go, Analog or Digital. Analog requires that big thick chord provided with the CD changer to be fed through the center console, under the carped at the rear hump, under the rear seat, and into the trunk. Digitally, an optical cable needs to be added. As this cable cannot take a bend more than a few inches in diameter, I routed it along the bottom or the doorway, where it not get pinched and take sharp turns.
Wiring to the amps - RCA's ?
Get *good* RCA cables the first time ! Yep, you might have to shell out some buck for this but its worth it. I initially put some cheap wires but the static drives you up the wall if your amps are far from the head unit. Get double shielded RCA cables. I got Phoenix Gold wires after I had enough of hissing and in conjunction with the optical cable it was an unbelievable experience of pure silence. This way, you get to hear true CD quality :)
1) How to safely mount your stereo Equipment into the car to avoid damaging your precious equipment ?
A CD changer should be mounted if possible onto the center line of the car, this is where the CD player will get the least amounts of bumps, and less skipping too. The head unit should use the rail clip from the stock stereo. This of course requires you to take out the center console to unbolt the little nut behind the unit. It also helps to prevent a thief from taking your stereo unit. In my case the radio portion of my unit had to be placed under the passenger seat, this piece does not heat up a whole bunch, so it safe for the component to be placed there, using one of the seat bolts as the grounding point. This brings me to the amplifiers, one MUST place them in a well ventilated place. If they are high output amps, you might even be required to add small fans to keep the amps cool. Another note, is that replacing the amp's metallic shell to show the interior might look great, but the shell acts like a heat sink, and a plexiglass replacement might heat up your amps even more. Good locations are behind the rear seats (mounted onto the rear seat fold down flaps), or onto the trunk floor. Depending on how much space you are willing to sacrifice, you can always mount them any which way, in an airy, no visible location.
1) How does humidity affect my equipment?
Then there is humidity that you need to worry about. If your connections are gold plated, then you must not worry too much but if they are not, you will need to check your connections for oxidation every once in a while (every 6 months maybe). If you car happens to leak (convertible especially), try to do your best to stop the leak. On my convertible I had to remove all the windshield panels off, silicone all of them shut to avoid any moisture in the vehicle. Also on rainy cold days, using the the AC and the heater together brings in dry hot air, and helps to have your windows defogged.
2) How does dust affect my equipment ?
Well, dust as many people know, is one of the biggest enemies of electronics. Keeping you car clean and not smoking in you vehicle will help to minimize the amount of dust. Also having the windows closed most of the time will help too, but for the fresh air lovers and convertibles, it becomes a more acute problem and cleaning regularly the vehicle is needed.
3) Cleaning your equipment and removing some scratches.
Well, a soft toothbrush will get into most little corners and remove dirts without scratching anything if done gently. If your glass display is a little scratched, the use a fine rubbing compound and a cloth to polish it out. A rougher but smooth enough compound like toothpaste can work, otherwise machinist compound or even turtle wax can do it too. (Turtle wax is extremely fine though). I use Son of a Gun on my convertible. I found that Armor All is way to greasy for my vinyl top of the convertible and for the interior of the car. It makes my unit look like new when I clean it with a little toothbrush and Son of a Gun. Also using Son of a Gun will repel dust after the application onto your components. If you have a tape deck in the car, make sure you clean the tape head regularly. This is one area of heavy neglect and is a must to keep your sound, equipment, and tapes from deterioration. One must note that if you want to remove some scratches off your equipment, make sure you do not apply any polishing compound on lettering that has been painted or embossed as it is will rub it off too, do this with extreme caution.
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