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  #1  
Old 05-16-2011, 10:56 AM
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98 Mustang Stereo Project

Did a successful system install in my 300E only to end up totalling the car a couple of years later!









So I pulled the audio components out of the vehicle in the hopes of reinstalling in a future car I have yet to purchase.

Bought my daughter a car with the money from the insurance settlement, and she has wanted me to put the stereo gear in HER car!



Told her that I didn't want her having that kind of distraction in her car while she was still new at driving, but I would hook her up in a year.

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2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
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Last edited by G-Benz; 05-16-2011 at 11:14 AM.
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Old 05-16-2011, 11:06 AM
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Well, it's been over a year, so it's time to make good on my promise!

Well, the box housing the big green subwoofer would not fit into the small trunk opening in the Mustang, so that was out.

It's a convertible, so the back seats do not fold down, so no way to shoehorn that box in that way either.

Plus, there is a welded metal brace in the center of the rear of the trunk, pretty much making any attempt to get a big box in the trunk a futile effort!

What to do?

Well, I found a dual bandpass 8" powered sub by DUAL that was perfect for the job! And it slides in the trunk opening easily!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Last edited by G-Benz; 05-16-2011 at 11:24 AM.
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  #3  
Old 05-16-2011, 11:07 AM
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Pretty easy to hook up and already powered. I had purchased a nice 5-channel amp, but will save it for my own vehicle later. Since this one is powered, I can reuse the amp from my 300E to power the other speakers and send the RCA output to this one:

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car
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  #4  
Old 05-16-2011, 11:10 AM
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The rest of the pics show some of the test fitting of the sub and amp to see what works and looks best:









The sub has blue led lighting in the cabinet, while the amp's CRUNCH lettering lights up in blue when powered on. Should look pretty neat when it's finished, and the daughter should be pleased.

Stay tuned as the project progresses. I should start the install in the upcoming weekend!
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2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
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  #5  
Old 05-23-2011, 07:39 AM
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Given the threat of total armaggedon I got right to work on Saturday!

First thing to do was to test fit the harness interface and the head unit. Stereo salesman said I would need a mounting kit, but it turned out to not be necessary so I will return it.

This is a Kenwood unit with Bluetooth, HD Radio, iPod interface and aux connection:



...and the factory unit it is replacing...



A couple of views of the head unit installed:



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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car
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Old 05-23-2011, 07:44 AM
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Next step was to handle the power issues. Had a battery clamp I never used on my 300E install, so I decided to use it for this install.





Engine compartment with the 4.6 liter motor is fairly boring-looking, and everything is black...so the clamp really stands out.

This is the completed setup:

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2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
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Old 05-23-2011, 07:46 AM
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Power lead for the stereo is fused, of course.



The power harness from a far away view...need to clean up the motor...

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
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2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
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Old 05-23-2011, 07:48 AM
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Now the fun part...routing wires!


The trunk with the spare tire access cover removed:



And the passenger compartment:

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  #9  
Old 05-23-2011, 07:51 AM
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Decided to build an amp rack with some scrap wood in the garage. Wanted to keep wiring neat.



Painted with a can of "flexstone":



Wife called me in due to an outing with friends later, so I had to quit for the day.
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  #10  
Old 05-23-2011, 07:54 AM
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Used 3M adhesive to glue the trunk carpeting to the spare tire access cover. Need to make things easy enough to get to the spare tire without having to tear up stuff. Once wiring is solidified, they will be bundled and cleaned up later.





Found a place to attach the ground wire.

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  #11  
Old 05-23-2011, 07:56 AM
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Pics aren't great, but here are some of the amp rack with the wires connected...



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2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car
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  #12  
Old 05-23-2011, 07:59 AM
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Time to connect the powered sub:



Discovered that the "bargain" open-box" purchase came with a caveat...missing hold-down screws on the power terminal strip!!!



Found some screws from another terminal strip I happened to have lying around, but there are a liitle too small, so I'm going back the the store to get them to provide me the correct ones!

Anyway, the sub is in its proper location:

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  #13  
Old 05-23-2011, 08:06 AM
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The trunk install in operation...



As with any stereo install, there are always challenges, and this one was no exception.

- Interface harness worked, but could not get a 12V battery lead to work, so I had to splice into the main lead.

- Blew 10A fuse that handled dash illumination. Took 30 minutes to find that one.

- Must have blown another fuse, as the compartment overhead lights don't work either...haven't diagnosed that one yet, and the garage door remote setup is tied to the same circuit.

- Harness from the factory unit appears to route to some external amp or amps, and I have yet to find them. If I cannot find them, I may just give up and connect the speaker wires directly to each speaker.


So will probably get these issues cleared up over the Memorial Day weekend.

Stay tuned for the final detail and diagnosis...hopefully all will go well this time!
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  #14  
Old 05-23-2011, 12:35 PM
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You do nice work, G.
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  #15  
Old 05-23-2011, 03:08 PM
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Good install, done properly. Funny how the salesmen always claim to need an "install kit" to properly put in a head unit but in the stereos I've put in various vehicles (20+) I've never needed a kit except for a ford taurus since they integrated the radio into the center dash. Wiring is a different story

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