96 taurus hard wiring a head unit

[gmanguy 10+ year member]

just wondering if anyone has done this before. i have a 96 ford taurus with the digital climate control. since the radio and all the wires are in the trunk, is it possible i could hard wire a cd player into it and find a way to mount it somewhere myself?

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[nateberrier 10+ year member]

I have done a few of these, my brother just made the mistake of getting a 98 taurus. Both times we just disconnected the speaker harness and ran new wires out to each speaker. There is a suitable ACC and Power in the front as well, the problem comes to putting the hu in the dash without buying th crappy 80 dollar harness/bezel package. you could always try to glass it. My personal suggestion is to just buy the kit or try to find one without the wires and run new wires to the speakers. Running that harness to the back is a waste. For the power and ACC that should be easy. Grab your multimeter. You can mount it somewhere else but you might have to get creative. We put one in the console, but my brother's beast has a different console and no space for underdash mount. If you need help, lemme know and Ill tear his apart and do it with ya.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Just buy the kit man. It may seem expensive but it will look the most professional when your done (unless you can fiberglass). It usually comes with the wiring kit that has like 10' leads on it so you can plug it in to the factory location in the trunk. I did an install for my girlfriend in her old taurus and the kit made it a piece of cake.

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

Depends on what youre doing with it. I keep forgetting that not everyone is willing to rip their car apart and cut/fiber away.

Stereo Install Dash Kit Ford Taurus 96 97 98 99 - eBay (item 110113618903 end time Apr-24-10 14:01:56 PDT)

 

[x1le 10+ year member]

Just buy the kit man. It may seem expensive but it will look the most professional when your done (unless you can fiberglass). It usually comes with the wiring kit that has like 10' leads on it so you can plug it in to the factory location in the trunk. I did an install for my girlfriend in her old taurus and the kit made it a piece of cake.

There is no kit for taurus' with the digital climate controls.

If you wanted to install a 2nd headunit and keep your factory one functional, yes it's possible.

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

Ohhhh shii, those are the ones with just buttons right?

In that case, either find a good spot for it and bypass or buy one at a junkyard and go to town on the top half till the radio fits.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

There is no kit for taurus' with the digital climate controls.
If you wanted to install a 2nd headunit and keep your factory one functional, yes it's possible.

Oh, I've never seen one with digital climate controls...but there's gotta be some way to do it...

 

[Johnny Law.Lulz 5,000+ posts]

Metra makes something for it i believe, you just have to look through their big *** catalog to find it.

 

[corto 10+ year member]

i concour this ops question about the digital climate there has tobe something to be able to bypass it

 

[gmanguy 10+ year member]

There is no kit for taurus' with the digital climate controls.
If you wanted to install a 2nd headunit and keep your factory one functional, yes it's possible.

thats exactly the problem n hence my asking this question. i just need some help on what wires connect to what. speakers are easy its just all the other fuctions to the HU im not sure what goes where. im not to worried about mounting it i can figure that out pretty simply (got some ideas in mind already) so basically im wondering if anyone could tell me what wires are what for the ford factory and where i should cut into em at.

 

[Jh8909 10+ year member]

there is only one way to add an aftermarket headunit to a 96-99 taurus with climate controls, and that is in the ashtray

see pictures here

1997 Ford Taurus Stereo pictures, videos, and sounds | SuperMotors.net

and here 1999 Ford Taurus Entertainment System pictures, videos, and sounds | SuperMotors.net

 

[gmanguy 10+ year member]

there is only one way to add an aftermarket headunit to a 96-99 taurus with climate controls, and that is in the ashtray
see pictures here

1997 Ford Taurus Stereo pictures, videos, and sounds | SuperMotors.net

and here 1999 Ford Taurus Entertainment System pictures, videos, and sounds | SuperMotors.net

think you could give me a run thru of what wires i have to use and what ones have to stay hooked up for the air to work

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

If you give me till tonight or tomorrow ill highlight them in a picture.

 

[gmanguy 10+ year member]

This is how i wired in the cd player i had. the wires dont cross all were they do here just for simplicity in the drawing.

the switch turns on both the amp and the cd player. the 12v constant for the HU is with the switch in the power terminal of the amp. the 12v acc for the HU is with the other wire of the switch in the remote terminal of the amp. the ground for the HU is in the ground terminal for the amp. the speakers are wire accordingly. i unplugged the speakers from the stock radio and unplugged the radio in the trunk. my car is the column shifter so my center console area is slightly different along with my ash tray. i simply removed the ash tray and the cd player aculy slid in there and held very sturdy. the sound quality of this over having a LOC to power the subs is tremendously better.

 

[Wingman0121 10+ year member]

I believe the ones with digital climate controls come with JBL premium audio systems? If so then you'll have to bypass the factory amp and hardwire the door speakers/tweeters as well. Yes they DO NOT make a dash kit for the ones with digital controls.