Factory amp?

I have a 98 ford explorer and I was looking inside the rear left panel where the jack is supposed to be and found this box with two big connectors in it.

Looks like a factory amp maybe?? Not really sure though cuz my truck had some "premium speakers" (thats what was printed on the magnets when I replaced them lol)

So any ideas of what this could be...my truck is a 1998 Ford Explorer XLT

prob what it is. that's the common place to put them, usually along with rear window wiper fluid resiv.

Oh yeah sorry my main question is that I don't know if I have a factory amp or not and if I do I wanna bypass it

Should be the amp, though I remember them being on the passenger's side. If you look hard enough behind the radio you may find a harness with the speaker wires in it. It will be the same connector as if the car didn't have premium sound, it will look like the power connector only grey.

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There is nothing there....but there is a little black box with a buncha wires going into it near the top of the drivers side when I pull the dash out...dunno what it is

It is a factory amp, my roomate has the same truck. On her truck I integrated using a ford integrator harness and it sounds fine. However, bypassing is a better option in my opinion if you are going for sound quality and reliability/flexability for future add ons.. depending on if its the JBL or Premium, I know sometimes it is different you might be able to get a bypass harmess and no cutting or running wires are required. On some of the JBL systems you will need to run the wires from the amp to the dash. If you need any more help or wire color codes etc. post and I will do my best.  Another tip is if the antenna cable is at the dash you can use the amp eliminator harnesses (bypass), if there is no antenna at the dash the unit in the back is also the tuner. you need to run the antenna cable if you want radio and speaker wires. good Luck.

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Well I know for a fact that it is not the JBL system...I guess it was the "Premium" system but it still sounded like a goat farting underwater...lol

The antennae cable is behind the dash...so which box is the factory amp??

the one behind the dash on the drivers side or the one in the jack compartment in the drivers side rear panel???

I really want to bypass the factory amp...thanks

Nouse is correct however I think the JBL is used on both the 96 and 97, as it is with lincoln/mercs. I was going off the top of my head and wasn't 100% sure it wasn't also available on the 98, just giving as many options as possible in case. I work on an average of 700 vehicles a year and can't possibly remember every factory system available from 9 years ago. You should have no problem integrating or bypassing with off the shelf harnesses for the premium but you will most likely experience better sound with a bypass as you already think it sounds like garbage. Also, if the speakers are original take a peek at them, on every explorer of those years I have worked on the factory speakers have shredded surrounds as was also the case with my roomies. And the amp is in the back... don't mess with any "boxes" under the dash unless you know what it is and have good reason.  Best of luck.

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Thanks, Master (lol sounds weird haha).

So to clarify
-the factory amp is in the rear drivers side carjack compartment.
-I can get a simple harness to bypass the factory amp
-I already removed the stock speakers as they were FAR from "premium" lol...they were HORRIBLE


Also where could I get a bypass harness...I doubt my local car audio shop has a bypass harness...I wish they did as the shop is 2 blocks away from my house

Ok now this is wierd. Like I stated, I can't always remember every system from 9 years ago and especially remember harnesses for fords as there are so many and lots of mistakes with packaging and application guides. I went online to metra for the part number and it shows the 98 uses a # 70-1771. This is a single square plug and is used on non amplified systems. What this could mean is we are all WRONG and this vehicle does not have a factory amp in it, anywhere. For giggles I put in for a 97 and it shows the JBL plugs which apparently you don't have. All I can suggest at this point is not to mess with that "box" in the back until we figure out what you have. A 70-1771 harness is very poular, it is also known as a "ford 98-up" plug. Before you do anything else go to your nearest shop and ask someone if you can check if the 70-1771 fits your vehicle. You most likly have 2 plugs at the dash but the one plug is all you need unless there is a factory sub which would be on the rear right side. If not and that plug fits just wire it up and you are in business. You can also bring the factory deck into the car stereo shop to match it if they won't allow you to take it  an unpurchased harness outside to check your truck for fit. If you have a factory sub follow up here and I will tell you how to integrate it, but I highly doubt you have one, I don't even think it was available in 98 but with ford there are always surprises as I am sure you know as an owner of one. Good Luck and let us know how it works out. Late

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Um my deck harness has a square one AND a long skinny one.

Also there is no factory sub...I always see Mach Audio, Premium, and JBL system listed for my Explorer but _ I dunno what it is...all I know is that the factory speakers had "premium speakers" printed on the magnets and that they sounded like sloppy buttsex

One more thing, if you bring the factory deck in to match the plug remember that the plug should look identical to what is on the back of the deck, not plug into it. If the salesperson misunderstands you might get a reverse harness (71-1771) which the opposite of what you need. I always prefer to check the vehicle and/or deck, especially on fords before I sell a harness since I have so many customers returning the wrong plug that was sold by someone who didn't physically check which one was correct and many times with fords the part reccomended, even by the company that makes the plug, is off.

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i already have a harness as I have an aftermarket Alpine head unit but it doesn't sound the same...just a hell of a lot louder than when the alpine was in my previous car that I knew didn't have a factory amp...and my old car I installed 4 pioneer 5.25s and I could turn the volume up to 20 (max is 35) and the speakers sounded perfect.

Now on my explorer I can't turn it up past 14 before it starts to sound like complete ass....and I have kenwood 6by8's all around...and all eq settings are at 0. In my last car I could turn it up to 20 and have the bass up +4 and it still sounded clear as a bell

Ok..if you have the skinny one and the smaller square one with a gray cable that is a premium sound and it is amplified. This is an example of my last post reply about fords. You can use either a ford amp integrator harness or an amp eliminator harness. These both are very popular so if the stero shop does not have these I would question thier porfessionalism. If not you can get it at any circuit city, bestbuy type place as I know they stock these. The bad news is it will cost probably 18 to 20 dollars and but unless you know someone in the industry of have a retail business id that what they sell for. I get them for under 3 dollars. If you want to integrate that is the easiest way (lazy) but assuming the speaker are good and in phase, and the factory amp is ok, it will work. That is how I did my roomates and she loves it. I installed a top of the line JVC and new speakers, she doesn't even want a sub but one day I am going to steal her truck and install one because a system without a sub sucks. Now if you wish to bypass for whatever reason this is the easy way. The eliminator harness has 3 plugs. The long one is for your power, ground, constant, illumination and remote. The small square one is your speakers and is standard color code to your aftermarket deck. Now access the amp in the REAR and unplug both plugs. Take the last harness which has a plug at both ends and plug the ones that you removed from the amp into the ends that it fits. Now your amp is bypassed, you can remove it and use as a doorstop, or toss it around and burn up the circuit board like I do, or just leave it in there as dead weight. No longer well your system sound like sloppy buttsex or even neat butt sex.

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ok, now at least I am getting some useable info from you...If the amp in the back is still plugged in your Alpine is playing through it. They do sell just the bypass harness part for the amp as a seperate piece (you don't need all 3 since you alreay have the 2 at the dash) however no one ever stocks those. shame, but I have like 50 of those in my junk box. However, other then cutting the wires off the amp and running them to the dash the bypass or "eliminator" harness is the way to go and the previous post reply explains how easy it is. Buy the eliminator harness and just save the other 2 plugs for whatever, you will only need the one for the amp. Now if the amp is already bypassed you have other issues. If you know what "phasing" is I would check that as all too often less experienced installers don't check it. If you don't know a simple check is first fade the unit all the way to the front and play something with moderate bass. Now balance the deck to one side. If the bass sounds fuller and then when you balance it back to the center it sounds like ass again, take the left or right speaker wires and switch them (the positive and negative or the striped one to the solid one if you don't understand the terms.. Listen  for improvment. Remember to only switch one speaker or the system will again be 180 degrees out of phase. Now fade to the rear and do the same. If you are going to do the bypass check this again after and see how much better your system sounds. If none of this works get back to me and we will seek another solution. Maybe you need the ass eliminator harness.

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Sweet...thanks man...you have been a great help.

I've wanted to bypass this for like a year now but hell no one here knows if my truck had a factory amp or not cuz every installer has told me.."well it is a possibility"

Then the other week I was looking around in the back and found this box with a shetload of wires coming in and out of it and thought..."what the _ is this?!?!" lol

Well thanks Master...I'll check with my shop tomorrow and see if they have the bypass connector

Cool beans. I can't imagine any reason they don't have those as explorers are extremely popular. I would loose a ton of business if I didn't stock those harnesses at my shop. The only thing I would double check is the passenger side. I know most explorers have the amp there and a "box" with tons of wires coming out of it does not really satisfy my definition of an amp with enough accuracy. I do know that some of the trucks do have them on the drivers side, which is easier to access due to the spare tire compartment but the simplest thing I guess is to see if the bypass plug fits the ones on the "box" behind the driver side. If not or if you  have any doubts it will be on the passenger side which is a little bit of a pain to get to but not too bad. Best of luck.

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Ok...this sucks...because that box I THOUGHT was the amp that is in the drivers side rear panel is not the amp.

Well atleast I think it is not as I UNPLUGGED both connectors going into the box and the music still played through the speakers.


So what the hell?? lol

The amp should be behind the passenger side rear panel but you can access the speaker wires in the passenger kick panel. They will be standard Ford colors. Go to general info on the left and click on vehicle wiring.

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There is no such thing as free installation!

aznboi3644 wrote:

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Sweet...thanks man...you have been a great help.

I've wanted to bypass this for like a year now but hell no one here knows if my truck had a factory amp or not cuz every installer has told me.."well it is a possibility"

Then the other week I was looking around in the back and found this box with a shetload of wires coming in and out of it and thought..."what the _ is this?!?!" lol

Well thanks Master...I'll check with my shop tomorrow and see if they have the bypass connector

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I think he wants to bypass the amp.

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There is no such thing as free installation!

Yes I want to bypass my amp because I have to have my gain set almost to max to keep up with the door speakers as they get loud at volume 14 out of 35.

So I wanna bypass the factory amp...So I have to take off the rear passenger side panel??

Yes or you could take off the passenger kick panel or rocker panel to access the speaker leads. The colors wll be RF+ WHITE/ Green, RF- Dk GREEN/ Red, LF+ ORANGE / Green, LF- Lt Blue/White, RR+ ORANGE / Red, RR- BROWN / Pink, LR+ Gray/Blue, LR- Tan / YELLOW

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There is no such thing as free installation!

tcss is correct and so is nouseforname. It comes down to if you prefer to pull the passenger side rear panel and just plug in the bypass hareness or grab the wires at the kick, cut, connect and run to the dash. Niether is too difficult just depends on if you are more comfortable pulling the panel or cutting/connecting/running wires. Regardless you should still do the phase check I posted earlier as you told me the speakers were replaced and unless aftermarket speaker plug adaptors were used, or whoever installed them knows the color codes they can be out of phase. It will make a HUGE difference in bass response and sound quality if the phasing is correct. If you choose to go the bypass harness route you will see the amp on the fender well area towards the back seat behind the PASSENGER side rear panel. Although some feel the need to remove the entire panel if you remove the plastic push pins, the rear sill, the top sill (all phillips) and the lower phillips under the carpet you will be able to pull the panel out enough to unplug the harnesses from the amp and plug in the bypass harness., its like crawling into a giant "clam" with sharp plastic edges so be careful and don't bend the panel too much or it could crack. You are now on the right track, take care

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Ahh yes...thanks..I'm not sure what i'll do yet.

But if I do cut and connect to the dash I can just connect the dash leads directly to the newly ran wires from the kick???

Thank you

Ok aznboi my new friend, because you are even asking this question is more reason why the bypass at the amp may be the best way for you to go. it seems you already have the skill to remove panels.

However, it can't hurt to learn the other method. When you cut the speaker wires at the kick you need to extend the side of the wires that are going to the speakers and run them to the dash. Then connect those directly to the head units speaker outputs. You will no longer need the small square harness and the factory side will just be laying behind the dash doing nothing, you no longer need it.

The longer gray one is the power so just leave that one connected the way it is. do the phase check I told you about before you remount the head. If all is well slide the deck back in, reinstall the kick and enjoy your system without all the problems.

Later bro

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