Sunday, March 27, 2011

00-03 Ford Focus Aftermarket Stereo Install

Installing an aftermarket radio on a 2000-2003 Ford Focus is fairly easy or if your factory radio looks something like this, you can still follow this procedure to remove it from your vehicle.




You only need to have the ford key to remove the factory stereo. The Ford key looks like  a U-shaped tool.






If you don't have one, a good coat hanger will do but you must be very careful as not to damage the tabs on the factory radio as they will be very difficult to remove once bent. Insert keys to the holes on each side of the radio until you hear a click, now push keys outward while pulling radio towards you.


The radio should come out easily, if not try and push keys further in until it stops, push outwards and pull radio towards you. Unclip harness from back of radio and remove antenna plug.
Prepare your harness and your dash kit. You have the option to either solder or crimp your wires together with a butt connector. I used the butt connector on this project because I don't have the shrink tube. The harness and dash kit can be bought from any car audio retail store in your area.


Attach the wiring harness and antenna adapter to the factory plugs.


Install the dash kit.


Attach your aftermarket Din cage on the opening and bend metal tabs using the flathead screwdriver, inward to secure radio onto dash kit. Plug the harness and the antenna plug into your aftermarket radio. Test radio before sliding it into the Din cage. Replace the radio trim and you are done.


If you just need to install an aftermarket radio in place of your factory one which looks just like the picture I posted, just follow the simple steps outlined. If you have any questions on this one, please just ask and I will try and get back to you as soon as I can.

By the way, you may start wondering why there are two rca's hanging out of the dash kit, those are to be attached to the subwoofer out of the aftermarket deck. They are in preparation for the amp and sub install I am doing for this car. It will be my next blog. See you soon.



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22 comments:

  1. NickAugust 2, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    Great post I'm still a little confused on how the wiring is done however. I've got a 2000 Focus and just bought an aftermarket stereo and I'm trying to get an idea for what I'm doing before I go and start trying to put it in. Do you think if I sent some pics of the stereo connections that you could point me in the right direction as far as wiring goes?

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  2. singleparinzx5August 4, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    Sure, just send them here. Just a tip, NEVER CUT OFF THE FACTORY WIRING HARNESS. Go to your local car audio store and give them your car year and model, and they will give you the correct wiring harness and antenna adapter for your car. Just attach the wiring harness kit to the wiring harness of your aftermarket deck. You can crimp them or solder them, just match all the colors and whatever is in excess, don't bother with it, it could be for another model. Plug in the wiring kit to the Factory harness and the other end your aftermarket deck. Also plug in your antenna adapter.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 20, 2014 at 10:30 AM

      Hi does the 2000 focus have a factory amp? when turned up with factory or after market radio it sounds ad if it is crossing out or going static like. There is no crossed wires an when faded to front, back, left, right it crosses out the rest of speakers with static an sounds like a burnt channel as if the is a factory amp gone bad. Thanks for input if you reply an if there is a factory amp where is it so I can bypass it an just hard wire from the stereo deck

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  3. NickAugust 5, 2011 at 6:38 PM

    Thanks for the reply. I was really exited to get the thing installed so I kept researching and found that the wiring harness was the piece of the puzzle I was missing, but a trip to best buy fixed that. I just soldered the connections to the stereo connections basically just matching colors like you said. There was one exception on the illumination lead where orange ended up matching with orange/white stripe. They were both labeled illumination but just to be sure I called the stereo manufacturer and they confirmed it. Thanks again for the great post and for your reply, I'm really enjoying the new stereo and the satisfaction from putting it in myself is awesome.

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  4. laiboAugust 11, 2011 at 11:47 PM

    Hi!
    Nice post and good and detailed instructions! However I'm still wondering how the steering wheel buttons are connected to the new aftermarket stero? This how-to doesn't cover that part. Could you do a tutorial on that subject as well? That would be awesome! :)

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    Replies
    1. singleparinzx5February 2, 2012 at 12:32 PM

      Hi Laibo,

      I'm sorry bout the late reply, if you haven't done it already, go to a local car audio dealer and ask for a steering wheel module, it would be around 100 dollars if I am not mistaken. And most people won't bother about it because in some cases, it can only do the basic functions. Programming it will be different for every module and car model, but the programming instructions can usually be found on the manufacturer's website. Hope that was helpful. Good luck on your project.

      Delete
  5. tomJune 22, 2012 at 10:33 AM

    can you put a link to where you got the wiring harness?

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    1. singleparinzx5July 6, 2012 at 6:36 AM

      Hi Tom,

      Depending on your location, but if you are in North America, Bestbuy would be one of the sources you might want to go to, that is where I got mine. Some other car electronic stores have them too but might be of a different brand. You can try this website if you are just trying to figure out what type to harness you might need. http://www.bestkits.com/

      Delete
  6. claydon under 15'sSeptember 9, 2012 at 8:21 AM

    Hi, I have purchased the harness kit and connected it to the factory harness when I plug into the Sony head unit I hear the sound of the c d eject but nothing else happens no power, no lights nothing I would appreciate if you could shed some light on this problem .

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  7. singleparinzx5September 9, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    Hi Claydon, check your connections make sure it follows the right color connections. The cd sound is normal when you first connect the harness, but the stereo will not turn on until you turn the key to either the accessory or on position. I hope that helps.

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  8. claydon under 15'sSeptember 10, 2012 at 9:26 AM

    Hi , I have the iso adaptors connected with these harness wires matched with the adaptors corresponding coloured wires 12v orange/black (thick) + radio
    Radio Ground blk/yel & blk/grn - radio
    Radio Ignition yellow/green + radio
    Radio Illumination orange/black (thin) + radio but nothing happens, I tried to put a cd in the slot and the head unit tried to pull it in so there must be some power getting through .This is getting very frustrating as all I want to do is replace factory ford cd player with the Sony but really can't figure out why it will not work.

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  9. UnknownDecember 14, 2012 at 9:14 PM

    I was wondering since the stock radio in the focus is so big and the new radios you buy are smaller then that, how to you get rid of that extra space? Do you need to buy an aftermarket radio like the one in the last picture or do they all come with a space to put ipods and stuff like that?

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    Replies
    1. NickDecember 14, 2012 at 9:45 PM

      Hi Nick, you're going to want to get a "double to single DIN adapter" it's basically a plastic fitting that fills the entire double DIN space the factory stereo takes up. The new unit fits inside that. When I replaced mine the the adapter I ended up getting had a nice little storage nook under the stereo that fills up the rest of the space a single DIN unit leaves open.

      Delete
  10. UnknownDecember 18, 2012 at 11:36 AM

    I have a 2003 focus and I installed a new stereo, but it won't store any presets. There are two yellow and green stripped wires on the factory wiring harness but only one yellow on the new adapter. Can I spli certain the two stripped wires to the single yellow?

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    Replies
    1. singleparinzx5April 15, 2013 at 3:48 PM

      Hi Kash,

      1st of all what kind of aftermarket stereo did you buy, as it is different in each and every one of them, until then I could not answer your question. As you may know I am also an enthusiasts working on my car trying to help out other diy enthusiasts.

      Delete
  11. UnknownJanuary 28, 2013 at 2:42 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. UnknownJune 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM

    My car is a focus lx 2002 and look very the same as your pics, what brand and mod of harness and dash you are using?

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  13. singleparinzx5June 1, 2013 at 8:17 PM

    I am using the bestkit brand from either bestbuy or futureshop. I believe you can buy them on ebay also. Hope this helps.

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  14. UnknownJune 18, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. UnknownMay 16, 2014 at 9:26 AM

    hi guys
    i haved already cut the wire from the car focus 2002

    it is to late


    i connect all the wire but nothing ... no power

    n

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  16. UnknownJuly 24, 2014 at 8:12 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  17. UnknownDecember 3, 2015 at 7:22 PM

    Hi I have a 2000 for focus base model, I installed a pioneer radio, I purchased the necessary harness and dash kit, after the installation there is no sound, i ran a set of jumper wires to the cars harness and to a random speaker and it plays, need to know if there is a factory amp in the vehicle that could be causing this problem or are there any suggestions as to what may be wrong any help would be great thanks

    ReplyDelete

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