factory sub amp wiring identification

**o2mounty** · 11-14-2006, 02:18 AM

ok, here goes, i am looking to replace the factory amp and sub in my 02 mountaineer. the amp has 5 wires coming in to it, which i assume are power, ground, remote, and left and right channels. i located power, and ground. my question is how do i id the other 3? i tried the test meter routine and didn't get decisive results. i have spent too much time trying to locate a free wiring diagram that has the info i need online. where can i locate that info? Also i've been told that the signal from the hu to the stock amp is already a low level signal, and that i can cut and solder male rca ends to the factory inputs and be able to go straight to the new amp inputs, rather than buy and use a low level line converter. any info, ideas, suggestions, useful anecdotes, etc. would be much appreciated, I'm so close and just want to get bumpin. Thanks

**sheepy** · 11-14-2006, 01:42 PM

I live in the uk so this might not apply to american cars, but we shall give it a go. On some headunits the wires at the back are labeled i.e Rear leftect. . If the channels are RCA format on both ends i.e amp and headunit just have a look at the back of the HU to find out which ones is left and right and the one thats left is the remote output. This of course doesn't help if the wires arn't coloured, unless you are going to follow each one to the amp to find out which is which. Which more hassle than its worth.

**walky_talky20** · 11-18-2006, 02:25 AM

Here is the radio wiring diagram for your 2002 Mercury Mountaineer with Premium Audio System. This diagram is for the Early Production 2002 models. Apparently they changed some things mid-year.
Early2002MercuryMountaineerPremiumRadio.pdf

Unfortunately the diagram does not specifically show the purpose for the wires going to the subwoofer amplifier (even though it does for almost everything else, go figure).

It appears there is ground and power (always on). Then there is 3 wires that are shielded (obviously low-level audio). I would imagine these are left, right, and common audio ground. If I were to guess I would say that the Brown/Orange wire is the common audio ground because of its color (the chassis ground to the amplifier is black/orange), but that is just a guess.

I would recommend using a voltmeter to check out the voltages on the shielded wires while the system is on, then perhaps using a small speaker or headphones to see where the audio is. I hope this is helpful.

Peace.