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2003 Ford F-150 Stereo & Speaker Wiring


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jcox843 
Member - Posts: 1
Member spacespace
Joined: February 08, 2015
Location: South Carolina, United States
Posted: February 08, 2015 at 9:29 AM / IP Logged  
Hey all!
First off; thanks for taking the time to check out this post for help on my stereo, speakers, and amp install! You have no idea how thankful I am for this website and the mentoring it provides!
I have a variety of questions, and not wanting to make multiple posts clogging up the board, I hope to ask them in one run so to speak!
So let me start with a little background on my vehicle and components:
I recently purchased a 2003 Ford F-150 standard or regular cab (non stx package) from family and grew tired of the stock stereo and speakers after a few weeks. I decided to get a simple kicker setup for my interior speakers, amp, and head unit upgrade:
    1x Power Acoustik PDR-340 single-DIN digital media receiver
    1x Kicker 11dx400 4 Channel 400w Amplifier
    4x Kicker 40cs684 6x8"Coaxials with 1/2" Tweeters (for a&b pillars)
    2x Metra Speaker Adapter For my Ford Vehicle
    1x Stinger Sqk8 600 Watt Amp Kit Blue
    1x Stinger Sqib17 17 Foot Stereo Rca Cable
    1x Single Din Dash Kit for the truck
    1x Ford Radio Removal Tool
So now that we have a little background on the upgrades and components I have multiple questions concerning this install.
    1) Receiver & Installation:
       a) How do I get the dash's interior pieces removed for installation? (ie that coverplate for the f150 that goes over the stereo and the AC unit)
       b) There is no stereo wiring diagram, for my specific vehicle, on the12volts wiring section. Does anyone know where I can find it at or have one handy? Or will any 97-03 diagram do? (Noticed one for a 2000 f150 but unsure of its accuracy for an 03)
    2) Speakers & Installation:
       
       a) So after I remove the plastic pieces that hold together my interior (ie the a and b pillar plastics) I should just be able to unmount and unplug the old factory speakers, connect the metra speaker wire adapter with the new speakers, then plug and play right?
       b) Am I supposed to run the speaker wires to the amp or the head unit? So confused on this one btw! Im thinking I run them to the amps channels right? and the RCAs bring the head unit to the amplifier correct? If so then what is the purpose of the metra plug and play speaker adapters? Also if thats the case... then wth do I do with the old speaker wire that will be loose from the unit to the speakers?
       c) These speakers say 75w RMS 225 peak. Does that even sound right to ya'll? It sounds wonky to me (I would assume they'd be 150 peak) but I am not an expert when it comes to all this so yeah...
       d) What would be the best wiring setup for them when it comes to the amp? Series or parallel? The speakers are a four ohm load each. The amp is two ohm stable supposedly. Do I wire my speakers one to each channel or should i bridge the two channels and lose my left and right but keep the fade from front to rear?
    3) Amplifier Installation:
       a) This should be easy enough for me. My concern is the remote channel. I know I run the power and ground from + & - of the battery. Power to amp ground to somewhere good and grounded. And the remote wire runs from stereo to amp. But I heard from someone that I should ask about the remote wire because 12v vehicles typically store power even when you disconnect the battery.. so how do I drain that power so it don't burn out my rem channel on my stereo when I try to hook them up?
       b) Gains, bass boost, crossover, etc. Literally what do I do with them. I really don't want to blow any speakers but I want them powered enough for it to sound good (ie quality with bass). Any suggestions, threads, etc I should look at?
Well that's about all I can think of right now. FYI it will be about a week before i get all the parts in and start the install. If i can think of anything else, or you can that I need to know, between know and then Ill ask! Thanks for the time and effort of everyone who reads this and helps in advance. I REALLY appreciate it!
sirhutson 
Member - Posts: 30
Member spacespace
Joined: January 29, 2015
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: February 09, 2015 at 8:40 AM / IP Logged  
The Dash kit you purchased should have instructions on how to remove the dash. Also youtube videos will help as well. Also the harness you bought for the vehicle will match up color to color on the new head unit. You will just need to run the remote wire (blue and white) from the after market radio to the amplifier so it will turn on. Yes the speaker wire adapter should just plug and play. When you wire up the head unit you will just wire up the ignition, constant and ground (red yellow black) to the truck harness and just tape off the speaker wires on the aftermarket radio harness.I just noticed on your list you dont have a ford truck harness, if you dont have this please get it. on the truck harness you will need to run speaker wire from your GREEN/ greenblack WHITE/ whiteblack PURPLE / purpleblack and grey/greyblack to your amplifiers channels. the Truck harness should tell you which colors match which speakers. i suggest getting stinger 9 conductor wire, it has 9 wires all in a sheild, makes it real easy to run. then yes rca's go from the head unit into the amplifier. OH while you have the head unit out and you are wiring the harness go ahead and tag the tweeters into the front speaker wires that are into the front channels of the amp ( probably channel 1 AND 2) just make sure you have crossovers for the tweets. Just each speaker into 1 channel 4 ohms per channel. Dont bridge anything. You will be getting remote turn on from an aftermarket source so no worrys there. I suggest getting a sub eventually, but make sure that when you tune it you have the gains ALL THE WAY DOWN, turn the radio up to its none distortion point then set gains comfortably with no distortion. Should sound pretty good, i would suggest a different radio though.
Hutson-

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