Guide to replacing your 2001 Mach 460 head unit

  • Sponsors (?)


OK correct me if I am wrong but I thought you needed something to adjust for the fact that your Rear speakers are Amplified POST head unit. You'd be sending a 50 watt signal to the AMP in the trunk ?

I have the mach460 and have a head unit picked out, I dont think the Metra 70-5519 Ford 2000-2001 Amplifier Integrator Plug does this unless I am mistaken. I understand the pass filter. please help
 
I studied and studied the 460 (first gen SN95 version) bought the entire factory service manual set for the 95 including the wiring schematics
The pod and rear tweeters are 4 ohm imp 300HZ filter from the front amp
Rears/Door woofers are 8 ohm but they are wired in parallel for a 4 ohm load

I just finished gutting the system on my 95. Pulled the entire interior . Only thing I retained from the original system was the 4 tweeters (Actually mid/tweeters) and the the rear speaker box. Installed a Pioneer 4ch amp and MTX electronic crossover I hve had since 95 and 4 pioneer 6x8's. Ran new wiring, built a high pass x-over for the tweeters and ran them off the HU internal amp.

The electronic crossover adjustments and the amps own gain/bass allowed me to even out the speaker balance between the 6x8's and 2.5"s . The Amp is only 45w (RMS) x4 ch. the HU is about 22 RMS

I have 2 Pioneer 10" subs I need to build an enclosures for and get a mono or 2 channel amp. But thats for another day. I put in everything to quickly expand it (power and just plug in RCA's to the sub chanel of the MTX X-over)
 
hey I could really use some help... I decided I wanted to put an aftermarket head unit in my mustang... I have a mach 460 system... wellllll heres where I **** up hah.. I took the tape player and cd player single din head units out and removed the center dash piece... I then took the wire hardness I bought that has one grey piece and one black piece and clipped the grey piece in.. could not find where the other one went... the one with all the speaker wires... I noticed an amp I think inside the dash I reached in and was able to unclip a clip on the back that fit perfectly into the other slot on my harness.. perfect I connected my new head unit annnnd... nothing happened.... any idea why?... I checked all the wires I had connected to each other color to color still nothing.... so I removed it and clipped my mach head unit the tape player/radio back up and ..... nothing :( no power no lights just nothing... am I doing something wrong here? any help would be awesome. ahhh so sad
 
hey I could really use some help... I decided I wanted to put an aftermarket head unit in my mustang... I have a mach 460 system... wellllll heres where I **** up hah.. I took the tape player and cd player single din head units out and removed the center dash piece... I then took the wire hardness I bought that has one grey piece and one black piece and clipped the grey piece in.. could not find where the other one went... the one with all the speaker wires... I noticed an amp I think inside the dash I reached in and was able to unclip a clip on the back that fit perfectly into the other slot on my harness.. perfect I connected my new head unit annnnd... nothing happened.... any idea why?... I checked all the wires I had connected to each other color to color still nothing.... so I removed it and clipped my mach head unit the tape player/radio back up and ..... nothing :( no power no lights just nothing... am I doing something wrong here? any help would be awesome. ahhh so sad


First thing I'd do is check the fuses. I don't recall having to unplug anything from the amplifiers when I changed the head-unit out, so my guess is you popped one or more fuses plugging that plug into your new harness.
 
First thing I'd do is check the fuses. I don't recall having to unplug anything from the amplifiers when I changed the head-unit out, so my guess is you popped one or more fuses plugging that plug into your new harness.



ahhhh found a burnt fuse.. oing to go to the store and get a new one and hope it was the issue.. any idea why that would have happened?...
also... on my wire harness there is a grey plug and a black plug... the grey one seems to be for like power,memory,ground... and the black one has all the speaker wires.. that amp that's inside the dash on the back is a plug that I undid.. it has all the same colors and connects rite to the aftermarket harness... should I be leaving that where it is and only connecting the grey plug?.. if that makes sence.. thanks for the reply I appreciate it
 
Which harness are you using? Also, what's the year/model of your 'stang? When I swapped out my Mach460 headunit, both of the connectors I needed to plug into the new harness were plugged into the headunit itself, but it sounds like you have the base system currently so it's bound to be a little different. Depending on the year of your car, though, I should be able to scrounge up some instructions and/or pictures that would help you out.
 
Which harness are you using? Also, what's the year/model of your 'stang? When I swapped out my Mach460 headunit, both of the connectors I needed to plug into the new harness were plugged into the headunit itself, but it sounds like you have the base system currently so it's bound to be a little different. Depending on the year of your car, though, I should be able to scrounge up some instructions and/or pictures that would help you out.
I have a 200 mustang GT... in the back of the tape player/radio has the grey connector and 2 silbver connectors that i think are for the amps, a ground and the antenna ... then on the stock cd player... i have another one of the silver connectors that i think is for the amps and a black connector and a ground... inside the dash on the "floor" of it looks to be an amp.. in the back of it is a connector that fits the wire harness, is yours like that?
 
I have a 200 mustang GT... in the back of the tape player/radio has the grey connector and 2 silbver connectors that i think are for the amps, a ground and the antenna ... then on the stock cd player... i have another one of the silver connectors that i think is for the amps and a black connector and a ground... inside the dash on the "floor" of it looks to be an amp.. in the back of it is a connector that fits the wire harness, is yours like that?


I'm afraid mine was a bit different (my 2001 had the in-dash 6-disc changer), but this should help you out:

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/2000-mustang-gt-mach-460-tutorial-help.740332/

Looks like that post has information specific to your setup as well as pictures of the connectors you need to use. Let me know if that helps or if you run into any issues. I've never had any issues with amplifier pop on my setup, so not sure if the 5 Volt Fixed Voltage Regulator mentioned in the write up is needed or not.

Good luck and have a great 4th of July. Let us know how it goes!
 
This thread has been super helpful. I got a Pioneer HU from Crutchfield, included 12-5v converter (a resistor; whoopee!), correct harness, and mounting hardware, but CF didn't really cover the parts about needing high-pass for the 4 speakers driven by the HU and low-pass for the rear amps. These functions are available in the HU (Crutchfield apparently does know about this; there's a discussion forum for Mach 460 installs) but doesn't call it out in the installation sheets. Anyway, the new HU sounds great once I got the cutoff frequencies sorted out (80 hz and 200 hz seem to work best for me; 01 convertible).

Thanks for all the help.
 
After my 01 GT sat for over a year, I had forgotten that I lost 6 CDs into the abyss and will be replacing the head unit soon. I found crutchfield.com has many of the parts listed for this swap including the metra wiring kit and at a little better price than the standalone retailers. :)
 
I have a 2002 mustang gt with a mach460 system and my factory head unit went out. What's a couple of really good replacement options that would allow me to still use the entire system?
 
I'm just an audio Philistine, I only wanted something better than the Mach 460 that I could plug my iPod in to and that would connect to as much of the existing stuff as possible and not cost a bundle; it's a 14 year old car with 140k, not going to sink a fortune in to it (although I did drop 4 Benjamins on a new top... I really like the car). So, I took the lazy way out and went to Crutchfield. They identified 8 (at the time) head units costing less than $200 that would tie directly in to my existing 460 amps and speakers. I took the cheapest option, a $99 Pioneer something-or-other on closeout. They supplied the mounting kit, the correct Metra harness (there are lots of choices, all but one of them, wrong, as you will see from reading these threads), the turn-on thump-stopper (a resistor in a plastic sleeve), and a nifty box for my cat to play in. It sounds tons better than the original system, took a very lazy afternoon to install, mostly making a really good wiring harness, and is absolutely one of the easiest audio experiences I've ever had, for $100!

One very important thing, though; be sure the HU has low pass and high pass filters, or you'll need bass blockers. I ended up with the sub filter set at about 60 Hz, with 12 db/octave roll off, and the HPF at 160 Hz, as I recall, also with 12 db/octave roll off. Otherwise, some music distorts badly. The range in between 60 and 160 is not eliminated, as some posters have speculated, it's just covered by both sets of speakers but at reduced volume from each. The Mach 460 system feeds one channel of bass to the front, both sides, and the other to the back, both sides, because bass is omnidirectional and you can't tell where it's coming from, so the range between 60 and 160 doesn't have much stereo separation. On the other hand, there usually isn't much information there, speech information, for instance, is nearly all above 1kHz and is well separated, so this slightly funky way of doing things doesn't cause a hardship. After all, you didn't notice that little bit of sound trickery with the Mach 460 system...

The next increment in quality is to gut the whole Mach system and start over, which is a lot more expensive. I suppose you could replace the Mach bass speakers with 2-ways, tie them in to the wiring that drives the existing sort-of-tweeters, tweak it a bit and be reasonably happy, although you'd lose the bottom octave or so; the Mach speakers are an odd impedance and won't work well when connected to any other head unit made on this planet.

Anyway, to answer the previous poster's question, ask Crutchfield. You might pay a few bucks more for the HU than, say, a big box store, but you'll get a relatively frustration-free experience with all the needed parts included in one box, and probably save a few bucks over buying the pieces separately.
 
1. go to Crutchfield.com --> http://www.crutchfield.com/m_266150/Car-Stereos.html

2. enter your search parameters; how much you want to spend, single or double DIN, Bluetooth or no, preferred brands, etc.

3. once you've narrowed down the list, make sure your preferred units have high-pass and low-pass (or subwoofer) cutoffs. Should be in the specifications tab.

4. the reviews are helpful; if a unit has a tendency to cause sterility in mice or attract UFOs it'll be noted in the reviews.
 
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the replacement of a Mach 460 head unit in a 2001 Mustang. I switched mine out with the help of many people in this forum, so I figured I’d compile all of my information together and post it. This may apply to the 02 and 03 setups, but I am not sure if the system is exactly the same. Someone would have to verify that.

First, an overview of the system. The system consists of 4 tweeters, 4 subs, and 3 amps. I’m not positive on the size because I’ve never removed them. I believe the subs are 5x7s though. The first amp is actually contained within the head unit and runs all four tweeters. The second amp runs the front subs and the third runs the rear subs. The reason that things get interesting replacing the head unit is that you need to send an amplified signal and an un-amplified signal to the amps that run the subs.

Here’s what you need to replace the head unit:

1. A new head-unit with RCA outs on it. It is ideal to have a high-pass and low-pass crossover both built in as well. If you don’t have those crossovers, you will have to use the crossovers listed below in 4 and 5.

2. Scosche Sound Kase SKFD223 - $25
This fills up the hole that is left underneath your new head unit. The space is filled with an area that holds 3 CDs.
Cars, Trucks & SUVs Photos, Videos and News at CarDomain.com

3. METRA 70-5519 Harness - $18
This is the only harness on the market that will work.
Parts Express: the #1 source for audio, video & speaker building components

4. Low-pass crossover for your subs (not needed if your head unit has a low-pass crossover built in)
Go to Parts Express: the #1 source for audio, video & speaker building components and search for “FMOD” and choose the frequency that you like

5. Bass Blockers for your tweeters (not needed if your head unit has a high-pass crossover built in)
Bass Blockers at Crutchfield.com
Choose the frequency that fits your liking.

The key to the entire setup is the Metra harness. This is the ONLY harness on the market that is completely plug-and-play with the 2001 Mach 460 system. I purchased the Best harness (which was originally recommended to me), and found out the hard way that it does not work.

When wiring the Metra harness to your radio, follow the following guidelines:

- Combine all grounds from the Metra harnesses to the ground on your radio’s wiring harness.

- Combine the amp turn-ons with the ignition-on power on your radio’s wiring harness.

- Plug the RCAs from the back of your radio into the Metra harness. If you don’t have a low-pass crossover on your radio, you will need to plug the FMOD crossovers in here.

- Wire the L/F+-, R/F+-, L/R+-, and R/R+- from your radio’s wiring harness to the corresponding wires on the Metra harness. This will send an amplified signal to your tweeters. If you don’t have a high-pass crossover, you will need to put the bass blockers in here.

Once you wire all of this, you are ready to replace your head unit. If you don’t know how to get into the center console, follow the beginning of this article:

Speed Sensitive Volume for your Mustang - StangNet - The Mustang Network

Once you get your Mach 460 head unit out, you can mount your Scosche kit where the radio used to be. Then you can just plug your harnesses into the Mustang harnesses and you’re ready to test your new head unit. If your crossovers are contained in your head unit, then you will need to set them immediately before turning up the speakers to keep from sending the wrong frequencies to them and damaging them. If you used the FMODs and bass blockers, then you should be good to go.

I've attached a picture of my new head unit so you can see how it looks with the Scosche kit around it. The kit also adds 3 CD storage slots to your system, so that is nice. Overall, I have been happy with just replacing the head unit. The sound quality is pretty much the same as the original Mach 460. I really just wanted to add MP3 functionality and Sirius to my setup and this worked perfectly.

If anyone has any questions about this, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to give any input I have. I hope this helps you guys out.
Thank you VERY VERY MUCH for this!!! You are a God send for someone like me trying to get music in my GT! Again thank you!!!
 
Actually quite easy, definitely needed to know about equalization to get a good sound. The Sony with the built in EQ did the trick, was kinda worried when I first heard it because it sounded like the music was coming from underwater!
Thanks!