91 Explorer Head Unit Install
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=57194
Printed Date: May 14, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Topic: 91 Explorer Head Unit Install
Posted By: compwc18
Subject: 91 Explorer Head Unit Install
Date Posted: June 06, 2005 at 9:30 PM
I have a quick question for everyone.
I just recently purchased this CD Player my wife wanted, it was a new Jensen Head Unit. The explorer already had a panasonic in the car, and it was wired in with the aftermarket harness, so you can just color match every wire. My wife had cut the wires, so we could color match them. I color matched them, just as they were before.
The Head Unit powers on, but nothing comes out of the speakers, no sound at all... Everything else works, and there is power to the speakers, but nothing comes out. I know this for a fact because I even hooked up a test light to check them. Somebody please help me out. ALl fuses are still in good condition. What could be the problem? HELP ASAP. Thanks
Replies:
Posted By: kaezoo
Date Posted: June 06, 2005 at 9:48 PM
Just about every '90-'94 Explorer includes a factory amplifier. When the first head unit was installed, the amplifier may have been bypassed or it may have been integrated. If it was integrated, it's necessary to turn the amp on to get any sound. The Panasonic head unit may have had both a blue power antenna wire and a blue/white amp turn-on wire. The Jensen probably only has the blue wire which doubles for both functions. If so, you need to make sure the blue wire from the Jensen is hooked up to the vehicle wire which was connected to the Panasonic's blue/white wire.
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 06, 2005 at 10:20 PM
Which wire was the vehicle wire? What color is it? I dont know much bout Explorer's for stereo isntalls. Your help would be apprecieated. Thanks
Posted By: hawn13
Date Posted: June 06, 2005 at 11:22 PM
it would be blue on the vehicle side might say pwr ant.
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:25 AM
I have one more quick question. How do I hook up the remote wire to the deck so I can run my amp. I know I have the factory amp, and my head unit is working perfect. Where do I wire in the remote wire. Please help me out ASAP. Thanks
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:32 AM
Locate the remote turn on wire on the deck and run a dedicated wire from the deck back to your amp.
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Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 5:20 AM
Ive done that, but the only problem now is that, when I turn the key over, the amp will turn on for about 2 seconds then turn right off. Every connection I have is good. Ground, Power (fuse is perfect) RCAs, and remote. What could be the issue? PLEASE HELP!
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 9:17 AM
How did you check the ground? That sounds like the problem now. -------------
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 10:44 AM
the ground on the amp is under the carpet where the seat bolt goes, I sanded it down to bare metal then soldered a connector to it, and slid it on. The connection is really secure I dont know why it wouldnt work. Please help!!!
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 11:37 AM
Either you check it with a meter, or try regrounding it elsewhere temporarily. A meter is very useful in this situation. You will be able to verify all of your leads without any doubt. 1. unplug your rca's and speaker wire, see if the amp stays on, then reconnect each lead individually to see if either of them cause the amp to shut off.. 2. try the ground else where 3. get a meter 4.take it to a pro. Unfortunately the seat bolts and or the seat belt bolts don't always work that great. you may need a direct ground to the frame. -------------
Posted By: TruckSystem
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:05 PM
I would relocate the grounds to the frame. Find a spot you can drill and stick a bolt there for just the amp ground, seat bolts always seem to have problems. I tried using a seat bolt first and changing it to the above made a world of difference.
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2003 Chevrolet Silverado Standard Cab ~ Alpine CDA-9851
Diamond Audio D3600.1 ~ 2x Diamond Audio TM310D4
Diamond Audio D3400.4 ~ Diamond Audio Hex S600s
AstroStart RS5204 Remote Start/Alarm
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:14 PM
my ground was right direct to the bottom of the car, bare metal... its not on a bolt... i bolted it to the ground. and what kind of meter do i get? would a test light work? lmk asap... also... like i said the amp comes on for like 2 second when u turn the key over, then it shuts off.... please help me some more on this I will check those things out to.
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:18 PM
thanks for all the quick replies, I really need to get all of this taken care of, all help is great...
Posted By: TruckSystem
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:33 PM
What gauge is your remote wire? It's possible there is not enough signal getting there due to having too small of a wire, which would shut the amp down after a couple seconds I believe.
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2003 Chevrolet Silverado Standard Cab ~ Alpine CDA-9851
Diamond Audio D3600.1 ~ 2x Diamond Audio TM310D4
Diamond Audio D3400.4 ~ Diamond Audio Hex S600s
AstroStart RS5204 Remote Start/Alarm
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:37 PM
This sounds more and more like a grounding issue. You bolted the ground just to the sheet metal? If so you need a better ground. Did you experiment like I suggested, just touch the ground to something else and see what happens? A simple multi meter from radio shack, you don't need anything fancy, a simple pocket sized one that does ohms and voltage. But FIRST deal with the ground, right now my money is on a grounding issue. -------------
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:48 PM
i cant experiment too much with the ground cuz its only about 15 inches long dont have many places i can run it, unless you have an idea where i can run it... also i beleve my remote wire is 12G or 10G... one of the two... lmk thanks
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:50 PM
maybe i should let u know that the amp is located behind the drivers seat
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 12:53 PM
something i dont know if I have mentioned yet is... the amp was grounded to the spot it was at before. just all of a sudden it had stopped working. it was grounded there and worked fine. I can still double check it to see if its good though... I will double check it, but please post up some more ideas.. Thanks
Posted By: speedwayaudio1
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 1:31 PM
I had the same problem on my sisters explorer. there is a blue mute wire in the trucks factory radio wires. use the head units remote turn on wire to hook up to the blue mute wire.
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Big Dave
Posted By: dwarren
Date Posted: June 07, 2005 at 3:17 PM
Well there is always a chance that the amp is bad. I might ask again if you removed the rcas and the speaker wires completely and tried that? Try the seat bolt, you may have to remove the two front or rear bolts in order to do this. -------------
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 08, 2005 at 11:24 PM
well the problem was the ground... i had lifted up the seat, and checked the ground and the amp powered on right away. I had also couldnt find a spot to ground the wire but I sanded all the metal under the carpet completly and put a washer on it, and it doesnt turn off at all... Also, does anybody know what size the Torx is for the bottom of the seatbelt? LMK asap, thanks.
Posted By: compwc18
Date Posted: June 08, 2005 at 11:25 PM
also, thanks to dwarren for the help on the grounding issue...
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