Questions About Replacing 2004 Adrenalin/Pioneer Head Unit

[TrainTrac]

I have a 2004 Sport Trac Adrenalin with the factory 510-watt Pioneer/Adrenalin sound system. A few years back, I installed an in-line FM modulator for iPod/iPhone connectivity. It's worked fairly well, but now I'm thinking of replacing the just the head unit with an inexpensive, single-DIN Digital Media Receiver with USB/Bluetooth connectivity for my iPhone.



But first, I have a question for anyone else with the '04-'05 Adrenalin system who's replaced the head unit but retained the factory speakers/sub/amp. One of the units I'm considering is linked below. Will the accompanying wire harness adapter kit work with the OEM speakers, and sub/amp?



All I'm really looking to do is swap out the head unit to get better connectivity with my phone. I don't want to spend too much (i.e. new speakers/sub/amp) because I'm probably getting rid of the Trac in a year or two.



Thanks in advance for any help. :grin:

 

[TrainTrac]

bump

 

[Richard Toms]

Hey I have upgraded my radio in my 04 adrenalin but I didn't do it personally. I had a shop do it for me. At first I had them just replace the head unit so it retained the original speakers but it didn't sound as good. So then, I had them replace the amp with an aftermarket amp and I also added 2 head rest TVs.



I can't get you a better answer on what they used for it though. But I would say it would be kind of a waste of money if you have in mind of getting rid of the trac.



I still have mine and it is still running strong at 166,000 miles.

 

[Matt Stehle]

I just did this a couple months ago. There are 2 quirks, the first being getting low level inputs to the amp, since you can't just connect line level inputs to it. The main speaker wires that come out of the receiver's harness are already amplified, so they can't be used. The factory amp doesn't have RCA inputs on it like aftermarket ones do, so you have to improvise. Make sure the receiver has got 6 preamp outputs. I installed this one:



http://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDA735B/JVC-Arsenal-KD-A735BT.html?tp=5684&tab=review&mode=review&remail=mjs3350%40gmail.com&vehicle=18139#customer-reviews-tab



You'll then need 5 RCA connectors (if you have some spare RCA cables you can cut the ends off and use those). Also, you'll need to get a hold of the stereo wiring diagram for your trac. Unfortunately, I printed it out and tossed it after the job was done and don't recall where I got it. Inside the RCA connector one wire is connected to the center prong, hook it up to the positive speaker wire from the trac. Hook the other wire (that connects to the outer ring of the plug) to the negative speaker wire in the trac. This wire is typically wrapped around the positive wire as a shield in RCA cables. Repeat for the remaining 4 connections (5 altogether - right-front, left-front, right-rear, left-rear, woofer). One of the woofer connections on the receiver will remain unused.



The second quirk is that the trac uses 5v for the factory remote turn-on wire. Your aftermarket will be sending 12v, since that's what pretty much all stereo systems use (besides ours of course!). This will cause an annoying pop noise when the amp turns on (or off, or both, not sure because I was told about it ahead of time and installed the fix, which is this:



http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062599



Also pick up the matching heat sink and some thermal grease. Sure, it's cheap to replace the voltage regulator if needed, but it's a pain to get in there and the heat sink is cheap insurance. Hook the ground prong to ground, one of the other prongs to the blue remote wire from the receiver, and the last prong to the remote line that goes to the amp.



Not the easiest install, but certainly not too difficult once you figure out how. I can't believe I waited so long to add blutooth connectivity. Now I have all the music on my iPhone, turn-by-turn GPS directions through the trac speakers from my phone, hands-free calling through the trac, everything I wanted. The adrenaline system unit was pretty sweet back in its day, but the head unit is pretty primitive by today's standards. Good luck!

 

[M Rondeau]

If you do upgrade, I'd be interested in your stock radio.