Installing an Aftermarket Double-DIN Radio & Backup Camera Lead in a Ford Excursion

A brief walkthrough of how I installed a Double-DIN Radio into a 2005 Ford Excursion. In my case, I went with a Kenwood DMX907S mated to a "generic" backup camera (NATIKA IP69K Camera). I relied upon Metra for both the vehicle harness and mounting adapters.

I used crimp connectors because in mobile applications I prefer the physical connection of a quality crimp. However, if you are masochistic leet and prefer to solder and heat shrink your connections, please take photographs of your beautiful work and add them to the comments section!

Note: pinouts and wiring may vary between years, please consult the appropriate wiring diagram for your vehicle, and double-check pinouts and wire colors before hacking up your truck.

Gear to Purchase

• Metra Vehicle Harness for Ford/Lincoln/Mercury/Mazda 1998-2008 (70-1771)
• Metra Ford/Lincoln/Mercury/Mazda Multi-Kit 1995-2010 (95-5817)
• Maestro SW (for steering wheel control integration)
• Ford Radio Removal Tool (e.g. Metra 86-5618, similar, or a bent wire coat-hanger)
• Double-DIN Radio of your Choosing (e.g. Kenwood DMX907S)
• Backup Camera (e.g. NATIKA IP69K Camera)
• Backup Camera Extension (e.g. 4-pin 6.5' Camera Extension)
• Multiple Sizes of Butt Crimp Connectors and/or Closed-End Crimp Connectors
• Quick Splice T-Tap Crimp Terminals (e.g. this kit from Glarks)

Tools Needed

• Quality Ratcheting Crimpers (I cannot speak highly enough about the Tool Aid Ratching Crimpers like #18980)
• Sockets (at least an 11mm Deep Socket)
• Torx Bits
• Panel Removal Tools
• Oscillating Tool with a Soft Cutting bit (e.g. Bosch Oscillating Saw)

Connect all the obvious interconnects between the Metra 70-1771 harness and the Kenwood harness. These colors match one-to-one for everything present on the vehicle harness. With the exception of the Hot in Accessory/Run and Ground wires (see below), every other wire should splice one-to-one between the two harnesses. I suggest cutting the length to all be roughly the same as the other wires on the respective harness so that your completed adapter is less of a mess once completed.

The RED (Hot in Accessory/Run) and BLACK (Ground) wires I suggest including two additional wires in each connection:

1. The respective red or black wire from the Maestro SW. This will supply the SW with power when the truck is running.
2. A 12" lead of red or black wire of at least 18 gauge. This will be used for future expansion off the radio circuit, starting with any cameras that you add during this install.

Also, the Maestro SW "output wire" (pin C1, Blue / Yellow) should be connected to the Light Blue / Yellow wire on the Kenwood Harness.

Attach the mounting kit (e.g. Metra 95-5817) to the radio using the supplied screws (3x per side).

Note: with this Metra kit, once the head-unit is installed in the vehicle, you have to remove the dash in order to get the head-unit out again. I trimmed off the three locking tabs per side from this kit (red arrows) to allow me to remove the radio easily. The green arrows show what this looked like once I had them removed.

This was easily done using an oscillating multi-tool. The radio fits very snugly and still needs a good yank to be removed. However, once I'm done monkeying around with this install, I may replace this modified mount with a new one of the same model to secure the head-unit to the dash.

Follow the self-explanatory instructions on idatalinkmaestro.com. Once you install the software, key in your vehicle year/make/model, you'll be asked to program what actions you want your steering wheel buttons to perform.

These are not good components to short to ground. Disconnect your negative terminal from your battery (or batteries if you have a diesel!) before monkeying with your electronics.

Use the removal tool (or bent coat hanger) to remove the OE Radio. You may want to be sure to get your Blink 182 and Boyz II Men CD's out before you unplug this head unit for eternity.

On second thought, you may want to leave those in there...

1. Remove the two hex-head screws that secure the dash face to the underside of the dashboard. These interfered with the installation of my head unit, so I had to remove them.
2. Using your oscillating tool, cut off the top and bottom "lips" on the opening for the radio. I found great success using a mainly flat soft materials blade installed at a 90º angle on my oscillating tool. I could easily trim the ~1/8" of material on the top and the bottom this way. Mind the two metal supports behind the face on the top of the opening.

Connect the franken-harness you made on the bench in the above step to the 16-pin female connector from the OE head unit. Then cross-connect the following wires using T-Taps to existing wiring in the truck:

• Steering Wheel Input from Vehicle. Maestro SW Purple/Red wire to truck connector C290b, pin 14 (Light Blue / Red).
• Speed Pulse. Kenwood Harness Pink wire to truck connector C290b, pin 9 (Gray / Black).
• Reverse Indicator. Kenwood Harness Purple / White wire to truck connector C270f, pin 1 (Black / Pink).

These connectors may be different for your truck, and different across model years, but for the 2005 MY (at least) they work. C290b is the 20-pin connector that was also connected to the back of the OE head unit. C270f is the connector in the bottom right corner of the Central Junction Box (aka Fuse Panel) when facing it under the dash.

I pulled this connector from the radio-hole, down behind the glove box, then rearward under the passenger side door trim. Once I reached the C-Pillar, I removed the c-to-d pillar cover and ran the extension to just above the rear blower motor.

Crimp the red "trigger" wire that branches off the RCA connector in the radio-hole to the RED (Hot in Accessory/Run) extension left in the step above.

Be sure to cap off (with electrical tape or such) the two power leads (namely the red one) at the cable extension end that you left near the rear blower.

I was lazy on this, and placed it on top of the steering column and ran the connector behind the right side of the steering column, and up through the fuse panel cover to the radio-hole. It seems to be the best balance of minimal road noise and maximum voice pickup.

If you feel in the top right corner of the radio-hole (about ~4" inches behind the dash), you'll feel a nice little "ledge" that sits just below the top of the dashboard. I found this to be a perfect place for my GPS antenna. Clean the location thoroughly with something like Simple Green, then wipe it down with a 50-50 water-alcohol mix to ensure that it is clean and that there is no residue left behind.

Once dry, apply the metal base using the supplied adhesive, then apply then adhere the GPS antenna to the center (ish) of the metal base.

Most head units these days will have a USB extension for phone interconnections or playing music off a USB key. I ran mine down from the radio hole, coming out below the dash just to the right of the accelerator. Be sure to wrap these interconnects in the electrical tape where they connect to the head-unit (as the installation manual depicts).

Connect everything that you've got floating in the radio-hole to the new head-unit. This should include the following:

• Headunit Harness (built above)
• Bluetooth Mic
• Rearview Backup Camera
• GPS Antenna
• USB Extension(s)

Then slide the head-unit into the radio-hole and admire your completed work!

Reconnect the negative terminal(s), turn your key to ACC, and test out your new tunes!

• If your vehicle was equipped with a rear entertainment system, then you likely have to keep the panel at the rear of the center console connected in order for the rear speakers to work. I will provide a future Instructable of how to work around this if you want to remove that panel.
• The speakers in the rear doors and between the c-pillar and d-pillars are wired in parallel on each side of the vehicle. This means that the impedance of the speakers will be reduced (by a factor of 2 if they are the same impedance). Be mindful that most head-units are only stable driving 4-8 Ohm loads, so if you have 4 Ohm speakers installed, I'd suggest disconnecting the rear-most speakers (or powering them with a standalone amp).
• Installation of the camera in the tailgate will be provided in another Instructable.