EB Stereo

[TRBOETR]

I'm after some quick tips to install a new stereo into an EB XR8. I have never touched ford consoles/stereo's etc, and I am planning on getting it in and out in a rush, pretty much as soon as I get the car so I can take it to move house (330km away). Please note - I havent even bought the car yet, so I couldnt trial and error it...

My question is - How easy and what do I need to do to pull the old stereo out?

Cheers!

[spope]

The only tricky part is that you may need a torx bit to remove the bracket.
Otherwise it's very straightforward.
Immediately above the headunit there are two screws, left and right. Undo those, lever the trim panel out.
There are then two screws either side of the unit, in my car they were torx screws. Undo those and pull the headunit out. Easy.

[TRBOETR]

Cool, cheers for that! I'm sure it will come in handy.

[BuuBox]

Fordmods have a nice 'how-to' guide on their website, showing you which wires are which and all that, how to remove the headunit, amps, and everything else you'll probably need. Found it invaluable myself.

http://www.fordmods.com/forums/documents.php?doc=15

I got those torx screws off with some sidecutters, and threw them very far away. Pain in the *** if you ask me, as if a professional theif is going to let that stand in their way too...

[santoitaliano]

theif will get just as frustrated with torx as we do.. ha ha...

mine didnt have them so wen i was at pick a part i got a couple.. better be safe behind my nice new alpine deck..

if u CBF cutting the loom get an adapter from supercheap...

apart from that refer to fordmods guide..

[niko]

there good idea but wat u bolt the "hex" screw into is plastic and ive seen em get ripped out... not very strong :(

[santoitaliano]

dont they have the steel sleeve over the plastic which is threaded?

[JADED6]

As the wiring loom will be different, the new head unit wont just plug straight in.
Get an adaptor plug ($20)
Much quicker than wiring in a new loom and less chance of stuffing something up.

[bindi]

I always replace those stupid torx/hex screws with normal phillips head ones so that I don't have to stuff about with stupid screws again! And I use those metal clips with the hole on one side and the thread on the other (god knows what they are called, I know them when I see them) - they grip onto the plastic and they hold really well once you nip the screws up tight.

Also as far as wiring is concerned, when I first got the EA there were wires everywhere, it was really messy. So I pulled out the original stereo (yes, it was still the original), turfed it cos it was broken, then threaded brand new speaker wire from each speaker to the dash. Then I tested which wires were which by using one of those groovelicious screwdrivers with the light in em and the wire coming out the top with the clip that you attach to the metal on the handbrake (can't remember the name of that item either... memory like a sieve).

You can tell the permanent power that comes from the battery by leaving your ignition totally off. If the light comes on, there's your memory wire. Then if you turn the ignition to accessories, you will find the power wire.

I always use those male/female connectors, with the female always on the car side and the male always being on the actual stereo wires cos then you protect the wires on the car side cos they are covered.

It's really really easy... whether I make sense or not is another thing! :evil_laug

[santoitaliano]

terminals are good, but if you have the correct equiptment, use a soldering iron and solder the wires and cover in heatshrink..

multimeter set to volts will also work with the method of testing described above.. if using old speakers, u can set multimeter to ohms and look for ~4ohms...

power wire normally is ~10-12v when car is off (to determine that it is not accessory)
same with accessory voltage..

cheers,