Subwoofer question

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Logan97

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Do the subwoofers only come on the el's? I want to buy one and put it in the same panel on my 07 but I don't think I have the space. Can anyone tell me if they've added an aftermarket one and where they put it. I usually have lots of stuff in the trunk for work and don't have the space to put a large subwoofer back there. I'll take any ideas as to how you'd put one in too, I have a few ideas for this but want to hear if anyone might have a better one.
 

Trainmaster

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At least in 2008, the subwoofer came in all but the XLTs. They came in both the regular and EL size trucks. The Eddie Bauers and Limiteds got the premium radio which included the subwoofer, its amplifier, steering wheel controls and the harnesses.

I installed an OEM one in my XLT along with the navigation radio. The radio years are all different, some easier than others. Some plug-n-play, some not so much so. I had to make a harness for the steering wheel control and one for the subwoofer amplifier signal and power. And I had to install an OEM woofer grille in the rear quarter panel trim.

The Ford subwoofer amp is in the rear quarter with the speaker. Aftermarket should be easy.
 
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Logan97

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At least in 2008, the subwoofer came in all but the XLTs. They came in both the regular and EL size trucks. The Eddie Bauers and Limiteds got the premium radio which included the subwoofer, its amplifier, steering wheel controls and the harnesses.

I installed an OEM one in my XLT along with the navigation radio. The radio years are all different, some easier than others. Some plug-n-play, some not so much so. I had to make a harness for the steering wheel control and one for the subwoofer amplifier signal and power. And I had to install an OEM woofer grille in the rear quarter panel trim.

The Ford subwoofer amp is in the rear quarter with the speaker. Aftermarket should be easy.
I have an xlt as well, good to know there's enough space in there for the sub. I was looking into the oem one but wasn't sure if that was just for the el's. If you don't mind can you take a picture of where you put the grille? Want to make sure I'm putting it in the right spot.
 

Trainmaster

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Look at stock photos of the interior. The location of a stock one is determined exactly by the mounting bosses which are behind the quarter panels for the Ford enclosure. When you remove the quarter panel, it's imprinted with the location.

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Trainmaster

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Here's the speaker, enclosure and amplifier that's installed in the rear quarter:
 
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Logan97

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Exact same one I was looking at. I took a look today and none of the wires for that are back there for mine, so since I have to wire it anyway I think I'll add some more speakers for the third row so my kids stop asking me to turn it up.
 

Trainmaster

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If I remember correctly, the woofer requires five wires - the sound signal from the radio, a heavy wire for power from the fusebox and a 5 v control wire from the radio that goes hot when the radio is turned on, along with a heavy ground.

If you are considering the Ford woofer and amplifier for an aftermarket radio, you must know that the Ford system uses an uncommon impedance for its speakers and amplifier. I forget what it is, perhaps 10 ohms. You can outfit an aftermarket woofer in the Ford enclosure, but I understand that's not quite easy either. It's an odd size.

The Ford radio heads must be programmed properly to recognize a woofer. Many of the older ones have inoperative CD players by this age. Some models are furnished without the woofer connector, some have the connector but it is dead unless programmed. Some are programmed for a rear sear DVD player. They all vary by year and truck. Other car models use the same radio head, but the programming actually varies the wire pin configuration so the proper one is a necessity even if they look similar and have the same part numbers.

I used an ebay Ford GPS radio head that was from my year Expedition (08) and a Ford woofer/amp. I made a harness to connect them (as they are generally not included in the XLT) and one for the steering wheel controls which I added to the wheel. I didn't bother with the voice activation which requires a microphone-equipped mirror and chose a steering wheel switch that did not have a voice control button.
 

Ellison Brown III

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I have a SWB ‘04 Eddie Bauer. I removed the factory subwoofer enclosure. Replaced the factory sub speaker with a Rockford Fosgate. I also stuffed as much polyfill inside the as I possibly could (makes the speaker think the enclosure is larger than it actually is; the Fosgate sub had a minimum enclosure size requirement). Ran power to it from a Memphis Audio amp. MIUCH better than factory. Should’ve done it long before the factory speaker took a dump.

Anyway, was shopping for a replacement enclosure for the ‘16 EL. Only found one but it’s expensive ($979), and usually not in stock. After my daughter pissed me off (she drives the old Expedition) I took the speaker, and amp, out of the truck. While sitting around one day I thought to myself, “Wait a minute… put that stuff in the other Expedition!”.

So, just gotta get pre-amp device and o connect to the new truck before throwing items in. I said all this to say… yes, the short wheel base truck did come with a factory sub (believe they still do in the proper trim). Correct me if I’m wrong.
 

muskytom

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Great advice from everyone so I won’t repeat! Couple call outs that I encountered from my ‘02 EB as it had a factory enclosure like one member listed above other than passenger side ( my 2013 is drivers side but same approach).

I kept the enclosure with a Rockford Fosgate that fit right in without the grill. I also did a small footprint aftermarket amp as factory is weak and low SQ. Pitfalls to avoid; 1. Keep the factory amp and have it feed the new one using the high level inputs - sounds like a hack, but simplifies wiring. 2. Ford’s switch turn on voltage for amp in my 2002 was not 12V and I had to use a relay. Ultimately replaced the factory head and ran new signal wire and RCA to aftermarket amp alone.
 

Mark B

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I installed a JVC KW-V940BW head unit hooked up to Infinity Kappa speakers in the factory door holes. It sounded fair, better than stock. I added a 4 channel amp and a powered sub. That made a big improvement. If I were to make any changes and I probably will, I would budget higher for a better quality amp and sub unit. Here are pictures of the install.
 

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