How about not bypassing premium sound?

[yingsane]

I was wondering if there was a way to use an aftermarket head unit WITH the premium sound amp. I saw this on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/FORD-PREMIUM-SOUND-WIRE-HARNESS-1995-UP-N-R_W0QQitemZ270210045340QQihZ017QQcategoryZ32812QQr dZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q 2em118Q2el1247

I've bought several harnesses similar to that one and they didn't do anything. Now this second one looks like it has more wires, similar to the actual connector in the dash.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SCOSCHE-WIRE-HARNESS-1995-2000-FORD-PREMIUM-SOUND-JBL_W0QQitemZ370068071376QQihZ024QQcategoryZ32812Q QrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp163 8Q2em118Q2el1247

Would something like this work? Or will the premium sound amp just not work with anything other than the stock radio?

[dareall]

the first one you mention is part of the correct wiring to use if the car was originally equipped with premium sound. It is also offered at a very good price. The green plug only offers wires for the speaker leads to the amp, which is why it has less wires than the other one.

The reason that the premium sound units have an amplifier is because the premium sound headunits are not internally amplified. If you get a head unit that requires or allows the use of an amplifier, then you can route it through the ford unit. The ford amp is only rated at 80 watts though. If not, I would suggest buying the premium sound harness adapter at autozone. The autozone kit includes the plugs in the first photo as well as a bypass adapter for the amp and it runs less than $20.
:)

[Loser47]

what do you mean when you say they didnt do anything? and how many wires does the new head unit connector have?

[Loser47]

never mind lol

[yingsane]

Ok.. so are you saying I can only continue using the stock amp if I have a head unit that allows for it? I've been using it as sort of a preamp, and when I attempted to use an aftermarket radio with my sub/high amps the audio wasn't as loud as it was with the stock radio and premium sound amp.

So I guess the question again is, can I use the premium sound amp with my aftermarket head unit, if so, how?

[dareall]

an amplifier and a pre amp (pre amplifier) are two different things. A pre amp, as the name suggests, is a device that is used before an amp. It does what is is supposed to do then sends a low-level signal to the amp. From there, the amp takes that low-level signal and amplifies it. This is the sound you hear from the speakers.

Depending on what you are trying to do with your system, determines what you will need to get it that way. If all you are doing is trying to use an aftermarket headunit, then you can: (1) either bypass the amp with the adapters I previously mentioned, (2) get a headunit that is not internally amplified, (3) get a headunit that has both high and low-level outputs, (4) use a equalizer as a signal processor/pre amp or (5) use a crossover as a pre amp.

Bottom line, to use your factory amp you need to input low-level signals or risk ruining it. :)

[yingsane]

I understand what you're saying. You seem pretty knowledgeable about this so I thank you for your help. So, hypothetically, if I were to find some low level input, whether it be a head unit or just a mp3 player or whatever, what wiring or harness would I need in order to get audio to come out of this factory amp?

What I'm questioning is, is it even possible to have any kind of audio come from this factory amp without using the factory radio? If this is possible, what harness or what wiring will I need?

[dareall]

theoretically, any device that has a low level output could be used as the source for the amplifier. this would require making an adapter that plugs into the device and connects to the amp. The one in the first link that you mentioned would be the best one to start with. The only real downside to using an ipod/mp3 palyer is that your sound system will be reduced from 4 way to 2 way. If you desire to use an mp3 player with the stereo, I would use a cassette designed for this. It is less expensive and only requires that you know how to insert a cassette, very easy that way. There are also other devices that you can adapt to your system that will allow you play just about anything through your factory setup. If you choose to use an aftermarket head unit, you can get one that has auxillary jacks that will also allow you to do this.

[yingsane]

Yeah my cassette player is broke :P I've been using a stupid fm transmitter.

I've tried using an mp3 player with similar harnesses to the one in the first link. I used a headphone wire to rca converter plug, then cut the wiring from 2 rca cables to the bare copper wire and tied that into the harnesses. I then also tried with the wires from an aftermarket head unit.

I found 3 green little harnesses that fits on that amp harness in the dash, each of them with the wiring arranged different, upon connecting the audio source I heard nothing from the speakers each time. Now the thing I notice is that these harnesses, including the one in the first link I provided all have way less wires going into them than what is coming from the amp wiring it's connecting to, so something is getting lost. Does the amp have to receive a 12v power signal in addition to the 4 audio cables? Hence why i suggested the second link, looks like it has alot more connectors similar to that of what's going into the amp from behind the dash. Any ideas as far as wiring the audio source to the amp from the dash? I hope my description was clear.