97 Mustang HU

[Devin]

I got a 97 Mustang HU from my brother and I hooked it up. All I ended up getting is power. There is not sound either from the radio or tape. After looking through the pinouts and some searching I wonder if it is because the stereo might not be able to turn the amps on? Supposedly the blue wire on the end of the gray connector is the amp turn-on but if it isn't being turned on I'd get no sound from any speaker, right? Is there a way I can test this theory?

Is there a way I can have the amps turn on automatically or should I just get a premium sound aware HU?

 

[RickieFrat]

If the mustang HU is not for the MACH 460 your wasting your time. That radio will not put out the right volts to the amps and you will cook them over a period of time. Its not worth it. Plus you will have a wiring mess.


Get a aftermarket HU with the correct wiring harness to splice into and save yourself the trouble and money in the long run.

 

[Devin]

Eh, I was just hoping to get a Ford HU in there. I don't like the looks of most aftermarket units, plus they just don't seem to play well with the amps. You are probably right though.

A Mach unit should work though? Plug and play?

 

[hawkeye18]

I have to ask; if you're going to spend the money on an A/M HU, why would you use the stock amps? They're 15 years old. Most HU amps perform better than the stock amps at this point.

 

[Devin]

Partially because I wanted to stay stock, but it looks like it'll just be a PITA. The factory amps drive my sound pretty well but maybe I should just bypass them and lose the weight.

 

[Team Dave]

I ran into a similar problem in my old 91 Plus. I threw in the stock stereo from my old 98 Cobra, and it acted the same way. Came to the conclusion I either needed to bypass the amps (and enjoy worse sound quality), or use the amp bypass harness and wire in an aftermarket amp.

I threw the stereo into my 93 and it worked fine. It won't power my factory sub setup, but my car didn't originally come with one, so I'm not mad about it.