Guide To Fitting An Aftermarket Head Unit

[Brigante]

As promised, here's a guide to fitting an aftermarket head unit

First thing you need is a new head unit :D

Included in the box you get a half a wiring loom

And a cage, fascia adaptor and removal keys

However, bar the wiring loom, the rest is scrap as the fascia adaptor and cage are actually the wrong size unless you buy a different head unit surround.

Also, if you use just the wiring loom provided, you will have a hell of a lot of cutting, splicing, crimping and rewiring to do to transplant it onto your current ford wiring loom.

You'll also find that the radio doesn't work and neither does your stalk controls.

So what you'll have to do, like me, is buy a fitting kit for around 60quid. The kit will include a fascia adapter to build up to your current head unit surround, an aerial adaptor for the radio, a stalk controls adaptor, a new cage, and most importantly a head unit to ford specific patch lead (in my case pioneer to ford specific) which will plug into the loom provided with the head unit, and into the ford wiring loom making it plug and play with no rewiring required.

Now to start the installation

The kit also comes with a pair of these things

Which is what secure the head unit into the cage to stop it simply sliding/pulling out.

The two prong things are the new removal keys

First step is to put them together like this

And screw them onto the sides of the head unit itself

And the other side

So now when you slide the head unit into the cage, it will lock in place. To remove the head unit from the cage, slide a removal key down either side of the head unit and pull it out

This is the aerial adaptor

And it plugs in this big hole

Like so

Heres the loom provided with the head unit

And heres the patch lead

These plug together like this

Heres the stalk control adaptor

Which plugs into the wiring loom here

And into that plugs a 3.5mm jack

Like so

After all of that, you end up with a beast of a wiring loom like this

This beast will some how need to fit into your dash

Once you've done that

You have these 4 clips

(I know there's only 3 in my hand, I already clipped one on then thought I better take a photo first :P)

Which clip onto the fascia adaptor

These will clip the adaptor in place into your head unit surround

I dunno about you, but my fitting kit came with a vague diagram saying the head unit surround needs a little modification

Basically the lip around the bottom of the surround

Needs trimming off like so

Now it's time to take everything to the car if your not sitting in it already

I forgot to take a photo while it was fitted, but if you don't know how to remove your factory head unit

You require 4 removal keys like these

These will come with the fitting kit or are readily available all over eBay

There are 4 slots above/bellow the buttons of the head unit, simply slide these all the way in, with the flat edge of the key facing outwards till you hear them click in place

Slightly pull the keys outwards and the head unit will simply pull out of the dash rather easily

Then to remove the head unit surround there is just 2 torx screws then grab a hold of it and pull towards you to unclip it

Next job is to put the cage in the dash

You will notice these teeth all over it

Push/bend these out with a screwdriver like so

And they'll grip the cage in place

Now grab your wiring loom

And plug it into the ford wiring loom

Like so

Then lock it together

You will now have a great mass of wiring that some how needs to fit in your dash

The loom plugs into this black socket with a fuse above it

Like so

With the stalk controls, although in the photos above I've already got it connected to the loom, it is important not to connect it yet.

So once you've plugged the loom into the stereo, you then plug the stalk controls plug into the jack marked W/R

Like so

You now connect the stalk controls to the loom

And not before. It is very important you do it in this order. Loom into stereo, stalk controls into stereo, then finally stalk controls into the loom.

Next is the aerial so pull it out the dash

And simply push it onto the aerial adaptor in the back of the stereo like so

You now need to some how slide the head unit into the cage, this may be tricky due to the stupid amount of wiring behind it

This next step only applies to touch screen head units with a dvd player. Basically you aren't allowed to watch dvds while driving, so to make sure your not, the head unit needs to be wired to the handbrake to work, and will only work when the handbrakes fully engaged.

However, if you don't like your head unit telling you what you can or can't do, or if you plan on having a child in the passenger seat watching a dvd (like some comments I've read on google) you can cheaply source and buy a type of bypass from eBay, which you connect the wire to instead which will trick the head unit into thinking the handbrakes always on.

I wasn't fussed though as I won't have the dvd player on while driving anyway

So here's what you do

First you need to remove the demister switch surround, again it's just 2 torx screws and pull it off. Then the switches simply unplug from behind.

This long wire needs to go to the handbrake, so thread it down through the dash

Find it when it comes out where the demister switchs was

You also need to remove the gear leaver surround, this is easily unclipped by sliding a flat blade screw driving under the edges and popping it up. Or you can simply just grip your finger tips under it and rip it out like I do.

You now need to locate the wire and pull it through

Now you need to lift up the hand brake cover

Again simply grip it and yank it out

Pull it up as much as you can for the best view

Now find the wire and pull it though

You now need to locate the handbrake wire, this can be tricky to get hold of cause you have limited room to work with

Now with the splice block on the end of the wire, put the handbrake wire into the teeth

And with some pliers, clamp the splice block closed

This will splice the wires together so now the head unit will know when the handbrake is engaged and you won't get an error message telling you that you can't watch a dvd

Refit all trim pieces in reverse of how you took them off, and simply clip the fascia adaptor in place

(Don't mind the velcro, that's for another mod which is a very effective anti theft measure)

Job done

Now admire your work and work out how to use the thing

If like me, you don't want your nice new head unit getting nicked, see my guide to creating a very convincing dummy face plate. A link to this can be found in my signature.

Also, when I get round to fitting the thing I'll be making a guide on fitting a reverse parking camera. Hopefully in the near future if I get the time.

[Stoney871]

!Removed! good job there Sir.

Just the reversing camera to suss out now.

So that's wires through the roof lining to the reverse light and to the plate light area to squeeze in then?

[Brigante]

Nice one uncle

Cameras sussed out and I know what I'm doing with it

It's just finding the time and the !Removed! daylight to do it lol

Think instead of going via the roof lining all the way to the head unit, what I may do is once the wiring from the camera has gone from the boot lid into the car, I may be able to route it down to the floor of the boot and go around the edge of the footwells behind the easily removed trim pieces instead, then up into the passenger footwell and across into the dash.

Got a fair bit of running around tomorrow and tuesday, then wednesday morning I'm off to birmingham to drop me car off for MOT on thursday at a place me old man uses

[Lenny]

Fantastic guide mate,

Will be very usefull to many forum members, youve got me thinking of upgrading mine now too.

[Preee]

Great guide , i thought this was a Christmas present ? , i'm telling Santa!

[Brigante]

Great guide , i thought this was a Christmas present ? , i'm telling Santa!

Lmao no mate I said it was a birthday present. It was my 23rd yesterday, exactly a month before Christmas :P

[Stoney871]

Lmao no mate I said it was a birthday present. It was my 23rd yesterday, exactly a month before Christmas :P

Still only a youngster. :)

I best not tell you that Santa is not real then (oh crap!)

[Brigante]

Still only a youngster. :)

I best not tell you that Santa is not real then (oh crap!)

YOU WHAT!?!

HE'S NOT???? :o :( :o

Hang on a minute.. If he's not real then who was the old bloke dressed in red who used to stand at the bottom of my bed when I was little??

[Stoney871]

YOU WHAT!?!

HE'S NOT???? :o :( :o

Hang on a minute.. If he's not real then who was the old bloke dressed in red who used to stand at the bottom of my bed when I was little??

That was probably Jimmy Saville making house calls (too soon? Sorry) ;)

[Brigante]

That was probably Jimmy Saville making house calls (too soon? Sorry) ;)

Lmao I was gonna say who was that old bloke in a red tracksuit with white hair n a cigar in hand but I ain't as grim as you ;) so thought I'd set you up for the joke instead.

Wait a minute!!..

THAT AIN'T A CIGAR!!!!

[Stoney871]

Wait a minute!!..

THAT AIN'T A CIGAR!!!!

You told me that it tasted like one ;)

[Brigante]

Lmao that's a tad too grim mate

Put the sangria down and step away with your hands on your head!!

[Haz93]

Ahahahaha you two should have your own section to the forum for explicit content :P

[Stoney871]

Ah, nothing like a good bit of banter eh?

[Brigante]

Lmao Haz mate this is just what a severe lack of sleep does to you

But as Clive says, it's just good old banter

[gforce]

Just a note on the handbrake bypass...when I had a DVD unit in it was really for Jr on the long motorway trips so I wanted to be able to have playback when driving. It was just a matter of earthing the (pink in my case) handbrake wire to a screw on the back of the unit, so just put a ring terminal on the wire and screwed it down.

The bypass kit you mention from eBay might be just as cheap/handy as this anyway, or even the same idea, but just a heads up to others.

You said you noticed in your last photo that you could see the cage but have since straightened it up...have you a final pic of this?

[Brigante]

Looked into the brake bypass mate, I know about simply earthing to a screw, but reading comments on google apparently they've changed it with newer head units now so it's not as easy as that anymore n won't work (whether it's actually true I dunno). So you have to actually connect it to the handbrake, or they've come up with a bypass I mentioned.

[Brigante]

Here's a better photo with me velcro fitted lol

Can still see the cage slightly cause the adaptor isn't seated properly. But you can only notice the cage because of the flash, otherwise you'd never notice it.

I'm not fussed at the moment cause I'm gonna have to remove the head unit a few more times in the coming days, when I fit me stalk controls adaptor again once the sellers replaced it cause they appear to have sent me a faulty one.

I also gotta remove it when I get round to fitting me reverse camera. So once the cameras in n the head unit ain't gotta come back out I'll make sure I'm happy with the way the head unit sits.

[Big_dom91]

Looking good mate cannot wait to get my one sorted now :)

[Brigante]

Looking good mate cannot wait to get my one sorted now :)

Nice one mate

You any closer to gettings yours yet? If your still thinking of the 2400bt then at least you know your installation will be exactly the same. Only difference will be that you'll also have the bluetooth mic to wire in but that's easy enough

Have you thought of any security measures?

[Big_dom91]

Well im just gunna get the 1400 instead so hopefully get it january like bet it looks boss all up n running

[Brigante]

Ah so your getting exactly the same as me then

Thought you wanted bluetooth though?

Don't get it from halfrauds, get it from amazon for 200quid n get the fitting kit from eBay for 60quid.

Fit it yourself n save some un-needed expense cause it's really easy

[Big_dom91]

Yer after looking at this im really considerin it like was it as easy as just connecting the blocks together as such ?

[Brigante]

Yup as easy as that mate. No rewiring or nothing like that required just plug n play as long as you buy the fitting kit.

The hardest bit of the whole thing is sliding the !Removed! thing back into the dash with all the wires behind lol

[Big_dom91]

Sound mate like ya said if its just plug an play i should easily like :P hopefully