Aftermarket Head unit on Mach 460

I'm pretty sure this issue has been covered pretty often.

Aftermarket hu

MGSTANG said:

That doesn't help me any. When I last checked it had to be rewired, I was asking if there's been any changes. The Mach 460's with the 2 seperate radios can have an aftermarket head unit, the ones with the singles can't. That I know of

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I know this doesn't help your question much but how do you use an aftermarket head unit (rca level preouts not speaker) on mach460 with the separate cd player?


Is there an adapter that let's you use the LINE level outs of your deck??

Thanks

p.s there were some interesting diagrams @ flemworld.com perhaps they may help you out if your better a deciphering them than I am.

Ryan

MGSTANG said:

That doesn't help me any. When I last checked it had to be rewired, I was asking if there's been any changes. The Mach 460's with the 2 seperate radios can have an aftermarket head unit, the ones with the singles can't. That I know of

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As far as I know it's been explained in more than one thread that you need to use a Metra wiring harness and that you should call Metra to find out exactly what you need.

dont bother hooking it up to the mach 460 if you have the metra 70-5700 harness. just rewire everything or it will sound like ass compared to the mach460.

I was trying to replace my head unit about 2 weeks ago, they still dont make a wiring harness (Anywhere). So, Im going to add a XM Satellite Radio.

What year is your Mustang? I just replaced the head unit on my '01 Mach 460 with a Kenwood MP3/Sirius head unit and it sounds pretty good. If you have an '01, I can hook you up with all the part numbers I used.

Justin

MGSTANG said:

Has anyone ever put an aftermarket headunit in a newer mustang with a Mach 460 without rewiring the hole system? The older stangs have a wiring harness, but the newer ones dont that I know of. My car is an 04

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The latest is that there was a "silent" harness change from '03 to '04 - Metra is working on a harness, but at this time there isn't one.

I suggest waiting a month or two before making a move - maybe one will hit the market soon (Metra "amp integrator" plug for 2004 will be part # 70-5520 i believe).

MGSTANG said:

That doesn't help me any. When I last checked it had to be rewired, I was asking if there's been any changes. The Mach 460's with the 2 seperate radios can have an aftermarket head unit, the ones with the singles can't. That I know of

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Not quite true - a set of harnesses and an integrator exists through 2003 - in '04, Ford made a harness change that they didn't notify the aftermarket about.

Be patient, it'll come. soon.

Here's the scoop on the '01 Mach 460 from my research. Basically, your system consists of 3 amps. One runs the front woofers, one runs the rear woofers, and one runs all 4 tweeters. The problem is that the one that runs the tweeters is actually inside the Mach 460 head unit. Therefore, you need to rig your aftermarket head unit up to send an amplified signal to the tweeters with a high-pass crossover on it and use the sub out on your aftermarket unit to send an unamplified signal to your 2 sub amps with a low-pass crossover on it. Here's what I used:

- Scosche Sound Kase SKFD223 - $25
http://www.cardomain.com/shop/item.pl?sku=SCOSKFD223

This installation kit fills the hole left by the single din aftermarket head unit. It replaces the empty space with 3 CD trays, which are quite convenient.

- Kenwood Excelon KDC-X579 CD/MP3/WMA Receiver - $178
http://www.techronics.com/index.cfm...ay&Product_ID=914&CFID=47027&CFTOKEN=74911908

I picked this head unit for 3 reasons. 1) I wanted MP3 functionality. 2) I wanted Sirius compatibility. 3) I wanted a sub out to run to the Mach 460 amps with a low-pass crossover on it.

- METRA 70-5519 Harness
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=265-790

This is the ONLY harness that will work that I have seen. I purchased the Best harness originally, and it did not have the correct connections.

If you need help getting to the stereo, check out the beginning of this tutorial to see how to get into the center console area:
http://www.stangnet.com/tech/speedsound/ssv.html

Basically, all you need to do is take the Metra harness and connect the sub out from your aftermarket head unit to the RCAs on the harness. This handles the subs. Then connect the Front L+/-, Front R+/-, Rear L+/-, Rear R+/- as labeled from the aftermarket head unit to the Metra harness. This will send an amplified signal to the tweeters. Put all of the grounds together and wire the amp turn-ons into the ignition power lead. This should do the job. When you power the new head unit on, you will need to set the crossover on your sub out as needed to only send lows to your sub amps.

This worked for me immediately when I hooked it up and it sounds pretty good. I got a bit of increased sound quality out of the subs, but overall, it still sounds like the Mach 460 system. Let me know if I can answer anymore questions for you. Many people in this forum helped me gather all of this info and I'm more than happy to pass it along!

Thanks,
Justin

MGSTANG said:

So the conclusion I came up with, is wait a few months?

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If it's an '04, if you're not comfortable going in and splicing wires, I'd hold out a bit.... I *doubt* it'll be a few months.

I'd call Metra at 800-253-TECH and see if they have any updated info on when a harness will be available for your car.

no i think Mesc7 solved the puzzle for the most part

Basically, if you have an '01 and are interested in setting it up the way I did, you'll be able to do it with no problems. No new harnesses will be coming out for older Mustangs, just for the '04s. If you have any specific questions about my earlier post, let me know and I'll be glad to help ya out.

Justin

wouldnt it be cool if ford just used rca cables for their optional stereos. if we pay more for them we should be able to customize them easily

mesc7 said:

Basically, if you have an '01 and are interested in setting it up the way I did, you'll be able to do it with no problems. No new harnesses will be coming out for older Mustangs, just for the '04s. If you have any specific questions about my earlier post, let me know and I'll be glad to help ya out.

Justin

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But the original poster has a 2004 Mustang...

stang976 said:

no i think Mesc7 solved the puzzle for the most part

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Nope - the original poster has a 2004 model...