Very timely thread for me. I have 2 factory units for me 03 and neither cd player works. I have tons of music on my ipod and can't stand to listen to the radio for more than 10 minutes. I'm struggling with whether to have Best Buy put one in for me or do it myself. My only real experience is switching out the factory units. I'm worried that BB might fark it up since it's not as easy with the 460 system to just plug a new HU in. Then again, I don't want to get in over my head by doing it myself either. I found these instruction on another site. Anyone have any comments about it? Should I trust BB on the installation? Thanks for the advice on the units also. Will definitely keep those in mind when I purchase one.
Integrating AM Head Unit w/ Mach 460 (00-04 Mustangs) - Mustang Forums
2002 Mustang GT Sound System Write Up.
By: Mixedbreed02GT
Step By Step Tutorial For Integrating an Aftermarket Head Unit with your existing Mach 460 Speakers and Amplifiers
What you need:
Aftermarket Head Unit (preferably 20+ RMS Watts, and 50 Watts x 4 Channels, 3 pairs of RCA Jacks on the back of the unit to connect your sound system)
Metra 99-5026 2001 - 2004 Mustang Dash Kit
Metra 70-5519 Wiring Harnesses (only works on 2000 - 2002)
Tools:
Wire Crimpers
Wire Cutters
lighter
zippy ties
Socket Ratchet and 9/32” socket
Electrical Tape
Soldering Gun
Solder
And you need some patience as well!
Ok you should have 3 wiring harnesses. 2 from the metra package, and one from your cd player.
Take these three harnesses, your heat shrink connectors, and your tools to
a table with plenty of work space. This way you are in a relaxed place, not in a big hurry,and aren’t in doing this in the cramped front seat of your car, dropping tools, and connectors down the sides of your seats, and having to stop to look for them.
On the Factory Plug metra (should be black)...there are a bunch of wires.
Right Rear Speaker
Purple
Purple/Black
Left Rear Speaker
Green
Green/Black
Right Front Speaker
Gray
Gray/Black
Left Front Speaker
White
White/Black
Red – Accessory
Yellow - Battery
Black - Ground
Orange - Illumination/Dimmer
Orange/Black - Dimmer Ground
On your second Metra Adapter (should be white and have RCA plugs attached to it) there are the following wires
2 wires that have RCA Plugs on the end (these go in the back of your cd player)
2 Blue/White wires - These power your Mach 460 amps
2 Black/White Wires - These are your Mach460 amp grounds
CD Player Harness.
You should have the following wires may vary for different cd players)
Right Rear Speaker
Purple
Purple/Black
Left Rear Speaker
Green
Green/Black
Right Front Speaker
Gray
Gray/Black
Left Front Speaker
White
White/Black
Blue - Remote System Control/Power Antenna
Red - Accessory
Yellow - Battery
Black - Ground
Orange - Illumination/Dimmer
Yellow/black – mute
You want to connect all the regular wires normally. Now here's where it gets a little tricky. Take the 2 Black/white amp grounds on the RCA plug harness, and solder these, plus your dimmer/illum. ground (orange/black)and solder them to the metra adapter ground along with your radio ground, now take your 2 blue/white amp wires on the RCA plug harness, and your blue remote system wire and solder all three of these wires together.
Avoid using connectors if you can, solder works better, and ensures a better connection. (make sure to tape off the connection so it won't ground out, or short circuit anything.
Now you're ready to install the head unit.
take your new head unit which should be mounted in the dash kit and awaiting installation, and your 3 wiring harnesses and tools, and go out to the car.
Pop your hood, and disconnect the battery! Do this before starting any electrical work…no exceptions!!! Factory battery requires a 5/16" socket with ratchet.
Also while you're at the battery take a wire brush and clean off both of your posts by scrubbing them really hard until they are bright again..this will help the battery terminals conduct electricity from the battery.
if you have a drill or air tools, take some tape and tape a piece of sand paper about 9 or 10" long to a drill bit, then wind the sand paper around the drill bit really good...stick the drill bit w/ sand paper through the battery terminal ring, and then release sandpaper and let it fill the ring terminal, now squeeze the power trigger, and sand the inside of the ring terminals out until they are shiny, as this will remove the dirt and grime, and help conduct electricity better.
remove your shift knob, and firmly pull up on the shifter bezel, and it
should pop right out.
now pull on the trim plate that surrounds the radio and a/c panel...it too
should pop right out, make sure to unplug the 3 plugs on the back of the
panel...now put both the shifter bezel and trim plate in the back seat so
they are out of the way.
now using your socket ratchet and 9/32 socket, remove the 2 bolts that hold your factory head unit in place. now carefully slide the mach460 forward(you may have to play with it a little bit, but it will come out).
unplug the antenna, and the 3 plugs from the back of the radio, and take the head unit and put it in the backseat so it's out of the way.
take your wiring harnesses and plug the 2 metra harnesses into the factory
harnesses. now connect your cd harness plug to the back of the cd player. Put the 2 RCA's from the metra harness into the "Front Output" RCA Jacks on the back of your aftermarket unit. Connect your antenna.
Now go reconnect your battery. Now go turn your aftermarket head unit
on and make sure it works. Listen to a radio station, then put in a cd.
Make sure the bass sounds good...if you think it's not working, unplug the
RCA's from the back of your aftermarket head unit. If you hear the sound
quality and loudness decrease dramatically, then it was working properly
when the RCA plugs were in the back of the head unit. If you hear no change,check your wiring as you probably have something connected wrong, or not connected at all.
The RCA for the mach amps, should go into the middle set of inputs on the back of your head unit (if it has three sets...if not refer to your cd player's manual). Amp rca's should go in the bottom set, and if you have an EQ, then the RCA's from that should go in the top set.
Now unplug battery again (5/16" socket)
Make sure you connect any accessories, such as Ipod, Sirius Satellite Tuner, Bluetooth Interface, Amplifier RCA Cables, Etc.
Once you're satisfied, use some zippy ties and tidy up your wiring harnesses. No need to super tighten the zippy's, just enough to hold the wires in place.
Now put your head unit/dash kit, into the hole, and secure with the 9/32 bolts.
Grab your trim plate, plug in your 3 plugs (defrost, TCS, Fog lights) to the
back, then firmly pop it back into place.
Now get your shifter bezel, and pop it back into place, and put your shift
knob back on.
Now get that manual out for your head unit, and set your settings to your
liking and enjoy a killer sounding Sound System for the price of only
an aftermarket head unit, a wiring harness, a dash kit, some heat shrink
connectors, and a little bit of your time.
Contrary to popular belief, if you follow this you should not hear any popping sounds when you turn your radio on. If you do, you either don’t have a built in crossover, you have a bad connections somewhere, or you have a bad ground.
What Did I Use For My Install?
Metra 70-5519 Wiring Harnesses
Metra 99-5026 Dash Installation Kit
Pioneer 5900IB Aftermarket Head Unit
20 GB Ipod.
Pioneer CD-i200 Ipod Interface Cable
SIRIUS Satellite Pioneer Tuner/Receiver Model# SIR-PNR2
Alpine MRP-M850 Amplifier
Once I got everything wired up, and installed, I couldn't believe how great the sound was. It was probably 50% better sounding and louder than the factory Mach 460 Head Unit. The good thing about this setup is, it saved me from having to remove all the Mach 460 Amps, and the speakers, and having to rewire the entire car. This was a simple solution, that provided a quick, efficient, and affordable way to get great sound without having to spend big money.