[BoiCSt8Escape]

First of all... HI EVERYBODY! I'm new here! My GF and I just purchased an 08 Escape XLT (we totally dig it) and of course now she'd like me to install her stereo in it (this is the 3rd car I've had to put it in :lol: )....

My question is this: I know for sure we didn't get one with navigation and I'm 90% sure it does not have the factory sub. So what harness would I need to install a middle of the line single din Alpine HU? In the past it's just a simple factory to aftermarket adapter that I've needed to get the job done and sometimes an ant. adapter. Her last car was an 06 eclipse though and the upper dash LCD display never worked after I installed her stereo so I'm trying to not have that issue this time around. Do I need that $130 PAC harness thing that crutchfield has to do this or will it work with just a regular stereo harness? There are no radio controls on the steering wheel, I believe it's just cruise that's located there.

Also, when looking at the dash kit's themselves it looks like they come in silver or black. Our central dash area is sort of a golden/silver color, but more silver than gold (not sure what the actual color is called). Does the aftermarket silver dash kit match this exactly or is it a tiny bit off??

Thanks in advance for any help! Nice boards you guys have here, I'm really glad I was able to find them! :rockon:

 

[oskerb]

I used the straight wiring harness, but I lost the center info display. A couple people here used the PAC and they still have use of their display. Now for the color of dash kit, never new they made a goldish silver, only silver, black, piano black, and flat black that I was aware of. But I have only,seen silver or black kits.

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

Thanks for the reply oskerb. I picked up a silver dash kit and it matches the interior just fine so I'm not sure if it was just the lighting when I was looking at the dash initially or what, but as I suspected it was I who was mistaken on that one. All is well on the color. I also picked up a regular harness but I haven had a chance to install the stereo yet so I'm not sure how that's going to work out.

It does seem like 95% of the info diplayed on the upper display screen is radio info so losing that doesn't appear to be a major issue. Can you tell me what other info (if any) is shown up there that I might actually care about??

Nice Escape you have there too, I really dig that shade of red. In fact I used to have an SVT Contour that was the same color. Looks like you've done a nice job with your mods as well.

 

[oskerb]

Thanks I appreciate it. Once the center info was gone I really didn't miss it as all the info is on my dvd screen. What Is kept on the screen is the compass and temp. All else is gone. Wont be hard Install eithier

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

Ok that's cool then, we should be able to live with that. I have just one more question for you if you've got the patience, haha. When you ran your power wire for your amp, did you have to drill a hole in the firewall or was there a suitable hole near the battery to pass through? I'm not gonna run anything huge, probably just some 8 gauge. Other than a possible firewall issue, I think you're right this should be a pretty quick install. Although I'm also gonna have to drill a hole somewhere for the iPhone connection cable, but that shouldn't be too bad either.

 

[sinister mob]

There is a HUGE rubber gromet hole in the firewall to pass wire through. Look on drivers side. Also I highly recommend you run 4 AWG wiring if you can. If you upgrade to 2 amps or a better system, having the 4 AWG will be an advantage. I did 8 AWG my first time and then replaced everything to 4 AWG. Pain in the you know what. Also run good loom for that power wire through the engine bay and tie it up to something.

Here is mine when I had the 8 AWG (Disregard the winter salt residue!!).:

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

Nice! 'Huge rubber grommit' is music to my ears. I hear ya on going 4 AWG then splitting at a dist. block, but this thing is primarily my GF's driver and she's just fine with her 1 RF 12" and 300 watts going to it so I'm not that worried about having to redo anything in the future. I assume you guys both ran your RCA's down the opposite side then?

 

[sinister mob]

I did. Ran all 3 sets on the passenger side.

 

[oskerb]

Yup

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

Cool. Thanks for the input fellas. :thumb:

 

[oskerb]

When u make the hole In the grommit make it smaller than the cable for a nice water tight seal. I used a drill to make a hole.

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

Thanks for the tip man! I was just getting ready head out into the garage to do the install after getting the wiring harness all soldered.

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

So I ran into a couple of hiccups during the install process and I'm hoping maybe you guys could throw me a bone here one more time... Two nights ago everything was going perfectly, amp wiring installed, ipod cable installed and hidden, ect... but the dude at the stereo shop gave me the wrong damn wiring harness. A problem I didn't discover for myself until I went to plug the already soldered connector into the the dash. Although the receipt said it was for 86-up fords, the package said 86-97 fords, so I have to take some stupidity credit for not making sure I was given the right parts to begin with. So the next day I cut the harness from my head unit and took it back for what I was pretty sure was the right one (since I'm not planning to use that PAC connector, everybody I talk to seems unsure of the right connector to use), essentially though the difference was that the first harness I tried split the wires into two connectors that plugged into the dash (which matched what plugged into the factory head unit, just not exactly because they didn't fit)) while the second one (which says 03-up ford and also came with a factory amp harness that I don't need) is just a single connector to be plugged into the dash. The second one does fit like it is supposed to but the alpine HU I have won't do anything when I plugged in.

Great.. So I messed around with all the plugs to make sure everything was connected solidly, that pins were making contact behind the plastic, ect and all looks well there. I checked my solder points and they are all fine (I'm not new to soldering so this usually isn't an issue). I checked fuses (both on the radio and in the vehicle), all was well on that front. Lastly I plugged the factory unit back in to make sure I hadn't shorted something out somehow that wasn't fused.... factory unit works perfectly. The alpine unit was last functioning in my GF's eclipse just a couple weeks ago and it has always been cared for (about a year and a half old) so I doubt the issue is internall to the HU.

Could I have the wrong wiring harness again? Is there supposed to be two decent sized connectors coming from the stereo to the dash like the factory radio? You guys who have used the straight connector like I'm using, what did yours look like?? Thanks a ton for any help here.... I really hope I can figure this out before having to break out the multimeter.

EDIT: So did a search of the forums for "wiring harness" and I found a few interesting bits of info that may pertain to my situation. From what I'm gathering it looks like you need to wire in a separate switched 12V line with a relay if you aren't using the PAC adapter. Or you can just use the PAC adapter and forget it. Is this likely my issue? I'm not scared of relays, but I'm not interested in spending 2 hours running the wiring either so if this is my issue and it's not all that time consuming could somebody point me in the direction of the best place to tap in for the switched 12V signal as well as what type of relay I need to wire in?

EDIT AGAIN: Nevermind, it looks like that relay is to bypass the auto-shutoff on the DVD if you're wanting to watch while driving. The Alpine I'm installing does not have a DVD player.

 

[sinister mob]

The older wiring harnesses do not work with 2008+ models. The newer vehicles use impulse bus turn on (or whatever the correct verbiage is) for power. That is why you should get the PAC harness. They retain that impulse bus power and provide the constant and switched 12v source. I suspect that is the issue. You will have an extremely hard time tapping into the factory wiring to gain a switched 12v lead - and probably voiding the vehicle warranty.

I suggest getting the PAC adaptor for 2008+ models. You don't need the one like I got for Sync if you don't want to retain it.

 

[BoiCSt8Escape]

Yeah I figured that was likely the issue... thanks for the input sinister mob.

 

[oskerb]

I think I know what It is. You need to 1 of 2 things. First Is, splice into the 12 volt constant and attach It to the 12v switch on the radio. This should fix it however, you will be in charge of turning on and turning off the HU after getting In and out of the truck. Or 2nd find q 12v switch and tap into and connect to the 12v switch line.

 

[bunter99]

re: 08 escape wiring harness, would this same harness work for 2009 escape w/o sync,nav & factory sub.
I want to put a new cda 117 alpine in my 09 xlt escape. also were and what brand of harness can I purchase,
do I need a radio antenna adapter?. Can I use the factory sirius radio antenna for my alpine. :doh:
please help

 

[fourthmeal]

re: 08 escape wiring harness, would this same harness work for 2009 escape w/o sync,nav & factory sub.
I want to put a new cda 117 alpine in my 09 xlt escape. also were and what brand of harness can I purchase,
do I need a radio antenna adapter?. Can I use the factory sirius radio antenna for my alpine. :doh:
please help

Might want to contact Metra for details.

 

[sinister mob]

re: 08 escape wiring harness, would this same harness work for 2009 escape w/o sync,nav & factory sub.
I want to put a new cda 117 alpine in my 09 xlt escape. also were and what brand of harness can I purchase,
do I need a radio antenna adapter?. Can I use the factory sirius radio antenna for my alpine. :doh:
please help

Not sure what the 2008 factory plugs look like, but I thought 2009/2010 plugs changed from 2008. For my 2010, there are 2 plugs- 1 large and 1 small. I purchased the PAC MS-FRD1 adaptor:

http://www.pac-audio.com/productDetails ... egoryID=26

If you don't have Sync or other stuff you can use a normal adaptor. The one I chose was to retain Sync features. Consider calling Crutchfield to get the exact PAC adaptor you need. I previously purchased a Metra kit but it looked VERY cheaply made so I returned it. The PAC I used also allowed for the plug-n-play steering wheel adaptor to be used (if you have steering wheel controls). No soldering or splicing.

As far as the antenna adaptor, the newer vehicles have the new mini FM plug. Depending on your reciever, you probably need the "J" connector adaptor. You can use the factory Sirius radio antenna with a Sirius tuner.

 

[Ecks662]

Can someone please help me? I am looking to put an aftermarket sterio in my 08 escape. I can not for the life of me track down a wiring harness for the install. I don't have sync or anything fancy just the plain sterio. I already have the din kit, and found a basic plug locally but it was the wrong one. I went to another local install shop and was told that I need a module wiring harness in order to keep my truck running properly. I guess it's $90 cnd so like $20 american lol but no local shops have them in stock. Does anyone know where I can get one online? Any help would be great