Gen II 2007 stock radio upgrade

[Bruce Caron]

I'm planning to upgrade the stock radio in my 2007 Limited. It came with no steering wheel buttons, no subwoofer in the space behind the rear seat, and a crappy radio/cd/cassette.



I have two different steering wheel buttons, the Maestro RR, and FO1, a Kenwood ddx9903s. I'm going to try the later from an F250 that has more bottons first. If that doesn't work I'll try the switch with the temp button as appears in my owners manual. From what I've read it depends upon what wiring was installed in the steering wheel.



I need the cable that connects the switches to the steering wheel plug. If anyone has any part numbers for that I'd appreciate it.



The big question is, how does the the stock oem subwoofer and amp sound that is installed in the wall behind the rear left seat sound. I was considering buying a new one, since I can't find one used. It comes with a speaker. The amp is sold separately. I hate to buy it and find it sucks! I'm not looking for booming rap level sub. I just need decent bottom end to complement whatever I install in the doors. I'd love to buy just the housing and use a better aftermarket speaker and amp.



Thanks for any help or suggestions.



Bruce

 

[Bruce Caron]

Update



I followed the instructions for removing the airbag and installing the audio switch found on the Explorer chat room.



http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/steering-wheel-audio-control.167862/



Here's what I added to the thread.



The WPT-699 has been changed to WPT-1219. The Ford number is 3U2z-14S411-DAAC. The audio control switch is SW-6292 or 6L2Z-9C888-GAA. This one has only the temp button on the bottom. It was the switch shown in my 2007 Sport trac manual so that's what I went with. The clock spring connector that the audio and cruise cables plug into dictate the options available.



I had to clip a tiny piece of plastic from the switch so that the WPT-1219 would slide in and lock.



I got the switch on Amazon for $58. The pigtail WPT-1219 came from Ford $43.



The pigtail connector used on the cruise and audio switches are the same. The pins used are different. You might be able to find a less expensive used cruise control switch cable. There's one currently on eBay.



I followed DAPO2008's excellent instructions regarding the airbag removal. I didn't have to disconnect the airbag from the cables.



I'm going to use a Kenwood DDX9903s and a Meastro RR. I'll try to post an update when I get everything functional.