Sub-Woofer with amp. in trunk dosen't work ?

[warren]

Only 1689 happy miles on the 03MM !!! What a roll!!!

Has anyone had problems with the lg. 10" sub. woofer in the trunk on the left side ?
Mine gets 8.75 volts in and out to the big speaker but dosen't work. Any Ideas?

Taking car in to Diablo Lincoln Mercury, Concord, CA. on Tue. to address-----
Rear bumper pushing out due to air pressure & poor paint job on left side
Water running down firewall over cat. converters.
Sub woofer not working.
:rolleyes:

Warren B.

[Logan]

My subwoofer works fine...

[Wags]

I thought that that box was just the power amp for the sound system. Is there really a separate sub-woofer there?? If there is, then mine is not functional either. There is def. not a subwoofer on in my car.

[tetsu]

Originally posted by Wags
I thought that that box was just the power amp for the sound system. Is there really a separate sub-woofer there?? If there is, then mine is not functional either. There is def. not a subwoofer on in my car.

My sub thumps like mad. You do have to listen to music that has a bit
of bass though. If your CDs are all old Sinatra they might not even
invoke the sub.

Johnny

[GarageMahal]

Be sure to keep us posted on what the dealer says about the water running onto the converters. I really want to know if this is something bad that needs to be fixed.

Thanks
jta

[JFB]

I notice when I wash mine when its hot, the engine sounds like it is cracking. I found it was from the water dripping on the hot converter also.

[Fourth Horseman]

My subwoofer works, but pops like mad with anything mixed with lots of low end. I'm really not very happy with it. At some point I think the sound system in the car is going to have to come out and be replaced.

I want "boom boom boom" not "pop pop pop." :rolleyes:

[tetsu]

Originally posted by Fourth Horseman
My subwoofer works, but pops like mad with anything mixed with lots of low end. I'm really not very happy with it. At some point I think the sound system in the car is going to have to come out and be replaced.

I want "boom boom boom" not "pop pop pop." :rolleyes:

It sounds to me like you guys got defective systems. Mine subwoofer sounds great. Mine booms *too* loud I think I'm gonna go deaf soon.

I'd take it back and demand that it be fixed if mine didnt boom out the
bass.

Johnny

[Jim]

On my car, the popping noise was actually the package shelf rattling; remove the inside C-pillar trim, lift out the package shelf and put in some foam padding between the metal of the *actual* car, and reinstall the package shelf.. It'll be tighter in there, and won't rattle any more.

If that's too much effort, just remove the CHMSTL, and open up those little seat anchor covers; stuff in some foam rubber thru those holes; same effect, but tricky to get the package shelf to look 'level' that way.

BTW, being kind of a Hi-Fi guy, I've found the stereo in this car to actually be pretty darned good; not as good as the JBL system in my old Mark VIII, or the systems I've had installed in other vehicles, but more than acceptable for a factory system...

-Jim

[Fourth Horseman]

Hmmm... I'll try the foam padding trick to see if that fixes the problem. I certainly wouldn't characterize the sound it puts out as booming, though. I'm starting to think maybe something is wrong with it, as tetsu suggests.

Wish I lived near one of you guys so I could hear your system with the same music.

[mccaffw]

I did the padding under the deck 1 week after I got the car, I couldn't STAND the pop, pop, pop, and it worked real well. Deck still looks straight too. If you really want to hear a CD sound better when playing, turn on the compression button. It really makes a difference on most CD's!

[Fourth Horseman]

Isn't "comp" automatic volume leveling? On my '97 T-Bird the stock system had this and it tried to normalize the volume so that discs that are mixed unusually hot are brought down to a more normal level.

Could either of you guys post some digital pics of the mods you made to your subwoofer assembly?

[mccaffw]

The comp button on the MM jacks UP the sound on about 75% of my CD's and makes them sound real good. It doesn't seem to work like a standard compression switch.

[warren]

:mad: Got the word on my 03MM today. I can pick it up from Diablo Lincoln Mercury, Concord . CA. tomorrow. Dennis Guila the service writer said the Sub-woofer is OK and that they can hear music. However when I tested it over the weekend ( put sound to the back only and disconnected the two rear speakers )---- nothing came out of the sub-woofer 10" speaker hidden under the back shelf !!! I had to ask my sales expert Geo, Trap to check it out in the morning before I pick it up. I hope it works. More after 11:00 ....:rolleyes:

Warren B.

[drobin]

It helps to depress COMP button on radio panel for somewhat impoved sound effect. Try it!

[Fourth Horseman]

I don't notice a huge difference. On the right discs the subwoofer still pops. I'm going to try some foam rubber between the deck and the subwoofer assembly this weekend. Hopefully that'll help as others here have suggested.

[gto69home]

I've noticed the same problem w/my MM with the deck vibrating as well. I'll look into the foam idea. Sounds like a factory issue to me with most of us noticing something. The compress button seems to work better on the new CD's than with the old ones. Thanks guys!

[Wags]

I noticed yesterday that the comp switch is no longer working on my unit. It used to really boost the sound of the cd's, now it does nothing! Has anyone else had a problem with this feature? I know that it will have a varing effect depending on the cd encoding, but for some disks, it REALLY boosted the range, now nothing. And I still think that the subwoof isn't functioning right. I'll compare it to bozobill's on Friday.

[Fourth Horseman]

Please let us know what you discover in comparing the two, Wags. Based on those results I might just take my MM to the dealership service center and start bitching. :)

[Jbojo]

My subwoofer works fine.
I have CDs by a Group called The Fabulous Hubcaps (Fifties/Sixties Music) when I play them slightly cranked up, you can not only hear but feel the bass.

Taking it in Friday to get the windows tinted that should make a nice difference. I will post some photos when it is done.

[warren]

:rolleyes: Picked my 03MM up at Diablo Lincoln Mercurn, Concord CA from my sharp service consultant Dennis Guila.
He had the talented service mechanic Chuck Hall go over the sub-woofer with me and weeeee
found that indeed the speaker cone was not working. We disconnected the speaker on that side and felt the sub-woofer for vibrations and there were none soooo Chuck quickly ordered a new one. It looks like I will be in business with the good sound in about a week. :D :D :D

Warren B.

[eng1neer]

I replaced my factory radio with aftermarket and if U are going to try this, get ready to do some work.

First: Noone and I mean no one as of a month ago makes a wiring harness adapter for after market radios for 2003 Alpine Audiophile system. Pics of the plug were sent to the the 3 main adapter manufacturers (Metra, Schoche, and AI international) they had not seen anything like them. They all 3 also said that it would be at least 6-9 months before anything can be engineered and built.

I pulled the pins out of a ford harness and shrink wrapped and stuck the pins in the right places.. if anyone needs the wiring colors I can post them along with pics of my install. Its not the secure install but I have not had any problems with loose connections or shorts YET??? No reason to go thru the trial an error thing more than once. I have a JVC after market MP3 (sh99) and a cd changer in the trunk.

As a side note the factory radio and cd changer will read CDR and RWs and does recognize a data disk. Of course they did not want to spend an extra 3 bucks for an MP3 decoder chip or I would have left everything factory. But for 30,000 what do U expect, EVERYTHING????

The SH99 has a subwoofer out put and I wired all the speakers and have the sub working. Ford uses around 7-8 volts to switch the subwoofer amp but I have been switching it with the ant output on the aftermarket radio (12V) and have not had any problems. Trying to trace out all the wiring was a royal pain in the ass. The sub in my car has always sounded pretty good for my needs and I wanted to make sure that I utilized all the ford had put in the car instead of spending a lot of needless money on an extra aftermkt sub. I don't really need to go thumping down the road but it does have enough power to add good depth to my tunes.

Hope this info helps and if someone needs it Ill post the wiring colors and pics of what I did to get it working

[Fourth Horseman]

So I got in my trunk this afternoon to look at my subwoofer. I was thinking of putting some foam rubber in to stop any vibration. As soon as I pulled the spare tire out (I hadn't taken it out before) the subwoofer fell right into my hands. The damn thing wasn't even secured properly!

The two aft bolts are holding it up, but the forward bolts weren't even screwed in. To make matters worse the nuts they screw into are floating loose between the rear deck and the carpet covering it.

Nice installation job, Ford. :rolleyes:

I'm going to take it to the dealership and have them fix it. I'm hoping they don't have to take the rear seat out to get to it. What a pain in the backside. Assembly quality on these first run cars seems to be leaving a lot to be desired. Especially for a $35k car...

[warren]

:mad: Looks like my dealer Diablo Linc. Mer. didn't go the extra mile. There must be a place they can call to get advice on new cars from Mercury or Ford !!!
Called Alpine Mfg. Co. and they said sub-woofer is Panasonic, however I can test the woofer speaker by touching it's leads (2ea.) to a 9volt battery and if goes snap, wamp it's ok. Well guess what it's ok. Looks like the 2leads for it coming out of the amp. have 8.74 volts each and the leads going into the amp. have 14.74, 2ea. 8.74, 2ea. and 5.41 volts. Now I am thinking that perhaps it's the radio or may be the amp. Maybe I should take it to a professional radio place to test the system ???
Do any of you have any thoughts or have you had your's tested.

:confused: Warren B.

[Fourth Horseman]

My dealership fixed my sub woofer mounting yesterday. They had to pull the rear seat out of the car to do it, but they did a nice job. No damage to the leather or anything.

The sub woofer does definately sound better now. I still wouldn't classify it as "booming," but at least I can hear and feel the bass.

[Black Terror]

Did the dealership do anything about the rattling/popping sound from the package tray? My subwoofer works correctly but some music causes a popping/rattling sound intermittently, I can correct by pushing down on the package tray near the subwoofer.

Does anyone have pictures of mods they did to package tray for problem correction? Would be interesting in seeing any mods before letting dealer try to fix it.

[Fourth Horseman]

No, they just finished the work that should have been done at the assembly plant. :) I never heard rattling, to be honest. I didn't even know the damn thing was loose until I took my spare tire out and it fell down. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I'll give it a test with some heavy bass music and see if it still pops or does any of the rattling you describe.

[warren]

;) :D :) Got tired of waiting. Diablo Lin. Mer.
Concord CA. AsI mentioned they had ordered a new sub-woofer speaker without testing. I tested and it was OK. Emailed Ivann Berger (Techno wheels colum Auto World Mag.) for some super advice and after more of my own testing took Black Beauty my 03MM to Custom Car Alarms in Pleasant Hill CA. 2hrs later we have super sound, the whole car vibrates with OEM richness. They found that the two red wires with zero voltage going to my sub-woofer amp. should have been grounded. Now they are and bingo GREAT booming sound. Great base, super sound. I'll take my bill $105 to the dealer Diablo and hope they pay.
BOY DOES IT SOUND GREAT!!!

Warren B.

[Fourth Horseman]

Was your subwoofer driving at all before the red wires were grounded? I can feel mine moving air, but it certainly does not seem as awesome as everybody here is saying theirs (and yours) sounds.

I'm just wondering if yours worked at all before, because maybe mine needs the same thing done. How did they ground out those wires, just run them to the body somewhere?

[warren]

4th Horseman,
It was actually the Black wire with a green stripe coming from the radio in the front that was not grounded going into 2 Red wires on a 14" extension from the trunk wall into the amp. and no it did not work at all before. Now when you turn the base up and the volume, the car rocks.

Happy Sound,

Warren B. :D

[Fourth Horseman]

Cool. Thanks for the feedback.

[Brian]

In troubleshooting complaints of Marauder subwoofer sound absent or muffled, you may want to try the following

1) No sound from subwoofer:
First, you can verify whether or not your subwoofer is producing sound. Tune in a radio station, preferably one with some bass content. Simultaneously press and hold the "3" and "6" station preset buttons for several seconds. When the radio switches over to test mode, release both buttons. The radio will automatically sequence sound through speaker positions, displaying 'SPEAKER LF', 'SPEAKER RF', 'SPEAKER LR', 'SPEAKER RR', 'SUBWOOFER I', and 'SUBWOOFER II', respectively. Note that Marauder uses one subwoofer, and it is connected to the 'SUBWOOFER I' channel. The 'SUBWOOFER II' channel is not used in Marauder. You should hear sound coming from the subwoofer when the radio is in "SUBWOOFER I' test mode. If you do not hear sound from the subwoofer, then some type of repair is needed to get the system working.

As the repair may become involved, you might want to take the car to your dealer.

One thing to check first for inoperative subwoofer, is the subwoofer ground wire to sheet metal connection. The connection is located at the bottom of the metal reinforcement panel behind the rear seat back (seat back strainer). To get at this area, you must remove the rear seat cushion and the rear seat back and then gently lift the mastic pad up. There is a ground bolt connection near the bottom right of the seat back strainer about 1/3 to ½ way between centerline and the right side of the seat back strainer. That bolt should have TWO grounding eyes connected to it. One lug is from a wire coming from the right side of the car, and a second lug coming from a wire that connects to the subwoofer module, which mounted on the left side of the car. Make sure that both grounding eyes are properly bolted to the metal seat back strainer. If the subwoofer still does not function, then the problem lies elsewhere.


2) Muffled bass sound from the subwoofer, usually accompanied with annoying buzz or rattle when a heavy bass track is played at extremely high volume:

Background.
Between the carpeted package tray trim and the package tray sheet metal is a sheet of foam-backed mastic sound absorber. That sheet is used for applications that get a package-tray mounted subwoofer and also in applications that do not get the subwoofer. There is a knock-out that should be removed at the factory for all applications that get a subwoofer. On non-subwoofer applications, the knock-out is left in place, to block the road noise in the trunk from getting into the passenger compartment. In applications that use a subwoofer, the knock-out should have been removed, so that the sound from the subwoofer mounted under the package tray has an unobstructed path into the passenger compartment. If the "knock-out" is accidentally left in the car on applications with a subwoofer, the subwoofer sound is attenuated, and the air pumping action of the subwoofer turned up to high volumes may push the mastic sheet up against the bottom of the package tray trim, which is made of a pressboard-like material. The slapping of the mastic against the pressboard can cause a rattle or popping sound.

First thing to check is if the "knock out" for the subwoofer in the package tray mastic damper has been removed. One easy way to do this is to make a tool with a common paper clip. Take a paper clip and straighten out two bends so that you have about 2 inches of straight stiff wire, with the remaining bends forming a handle to hold on to. Go the left side of the package tray, inboard of the left rear speaker and outboard of centerline. Lightly push down on the package tray trim carpet, and you should be able to feel circular holes in the pressboard underneath the carpet (holes are maybe 3/8 inch in diameter). Find the area where these holes are, and choose one near the center of the hole pattern. Gently try to push your 2 inch paper clip wire through the carpet and the hole. If the mastic knockout has not been removed, you will not be able to get you paper clip in more than about ½ inch and it will definitely feel like you are hitting the rubber mastic. If the mastic knock-out has been removed, you should be able to push the paper clip in all of the way. DO NOT USE A TOOL LONGER THAN 1 OR 2 INCHES. You do not want to push a tool in so deep that you puncture the subwoofer speaker cone. A 2 inch tool provides plenty of clearance to the cone. Note that there is an open-cell foam "plug" at the top of the subwoofer, and this may provide some resistance to inserting a paper clip. Try wiggling the clip around with a gentle insertion force. If the knock-out has been properly removed, it won't take much force to get the clip to go deeper than ½ inch. You may want to try this on several of the round holes in the package tray trim panel, if you can't seem to get through the first hole. Note that some of the holes around the perimeter may be blocked by the mastic pad if there is not perfect alignment between the mastic pad and the trim panel, so it is best to try holes closer to the center of the pattern. Having blockage of some of the perimeter holes does not seem to be an issue, so long as the majority of holes are "open" to the subwoofer.

If you find that the mastic pad knock-out has not been removed, then it needs to be removed. (Since this is a fairly involved process, you may want to have your Dealer perform it.) To get at the knock-out, you have to remove the rear seat cushion, rear seat back, both C-pillar trim panels, the center high-mount stop lamp, and the carpeted package tray trim. The mastic pad is now exposed, and the circular knock-out has a pre-stamped cut pattern, and can be easily removed. While you are at this point, you may as well check torque on the fasteners that hold the subwoofer to the package tray, and the fasteners that hold the left and right speakers to the package tray. You MAY also want to consider adding a little extra foam between the mastic pad and the package tray pressboard, as some of the previous posts in this forum have suggested. Re-assembly is the reverse order.

[mtnh]

Hey nice job on that post, Brian. Obviously, this must have presented a problem to some units, so the paper clip tool trick is probably going to get a nice workout soon.

I was wondering if there was any bias or volume adjustment available for the subwoofer. For such a nice radio setup, there are still some shortcomings, and a subwoofer volume adjustment would be a fine addition (set it only once, but set it to how you like it) as well as a speed-sensitive volume control on the radio, like my Lincoln LS has. The radio actually allows you to select how much speed sensitivity the volume control gives you. Most folks use it at the "2" setting, where I prefer the "3" setting. It allows all the way up to "9", I believe. It is the best. Stopped, the radio sounds just right. As your speed increases, so does the radio volume, to counter road and wind noise. In "3", it gets the radio louder than at rest. "2" maintains just about the same sound level. The sad part is that the Marauder radio probably has the same level of circuit sophistication, but the feature is probably just not used or implemented.

If there is a way to tweak the subwoofer power level, please post it here.

Thanks.

[GarageMahal]

Thanks for writing that up!

jta

[Logan]

That post is so detailed, it's going in the reviews section... Good work Brian!

[Brian]

I just hope the post helps out some of the people who have been frustrated with their sound system.... In my opinion, the sound system is pretty good, when everything is working right!!

[Black Terror]

Great Post, Brian. This is just the info I have been looking for, my subwoofer works but not as good as I think it should. It also rattles/pops at high volume settings, I can manually push down on package tray and rattle/pop goes away.
Thanks.

[Brian]

mtnh asked about subwoofer volume control.....

To the best of my knowlege, the subwoofer volume and EQ relative to the rest of the speakers are set by the manufacturer, and there is no way to get in and adjust those settings. The only adjustment would be the Bass control, which affects subwoofer and the other speakers as well.

I'm also sure that the speed sensative volume feature that you described in your LS is not present in the Marauder radio.

[Logan]

Nope, no speed sensitive stereo.

[Wags]

Brain,

Very good info. That is exactly what I needed to know. My subwoofer is functioning, but very muffled and rattled. Checked with the paper clip, and the mastic is there. I am going to bring it back to the dealer.

Thanks alot,

Wags

[Ken]

Brian, Thanks for the detailed info. Finally got annoyed enough with the rattle, since my 3 girls are back in school, and not always in the back seat, so Dad can crank up the volume, without blowing their eardrums. Didn't feel like wasting a day with the car in the shop. Removed rear seat and back, looked under package tray, no mastic, checked screws, then added strips of 1" thick foam rubber wherever I could. Was able to squeeze hand under tray, did scratch back of hands on speaker covers, but they'll heal. Didn't have to remove C-pillars. Seemed to get rid of all but the deepest and loudest bass vibration rattles. Took less than an hour to do.

Now my question, Has anyone played with the DSP button on the radio? (see page 29 of Owner's guide) I'm able to select ALL SEATS, DRIVER SEAT, or REAR SEATS. Haven't been able to find JAZZ CLUB, HALL, CHURCH, STADIUM, or NEWS. Has anyone been able to access these last five? What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance.

Ken

[Logan]

The manual is misprinted, the Alpine deck no longer support the "JAZZ CLUB, HALL, CHURCH, STADIUM, or NEWS" features...

[Ken]

Ok! Thanks, Logan

[warriorprophet]

When I get mine I"ll notice if the sub works. The CD I took to my test drive hit hard enough for my tastes on the stock setup. And I have two 8" subs here on my computer speakers so...


Mmm, linkin park remixes.

[Gaylon Harwell]

After reading the forum and inserting foam in every orifice I could find <ouch!> ... I realized that the primary pop/rattle was still there... and was coming from the package tray vibrating against the rear window. I decided the best fix would be a 1-2' piece of black moulding installed on either side of the brake light. You know what worked Real well....?

...don't laugh...

Coax TV cable! Yeah, I know, I was afraid it would look really cheap and crappy... but when you take your time and wedge it in carefully, you can't even see it. Rattle gone. Low-end base sounds great now.

[drobin]

After gutting rear seating to check for ground, I could only find 1 (one) black/green ground wire properly grounded. I was advised thru the forum that two wires were grounded but I don't think that is correct. I took vehicle to audio shop and bottom line resulted in a defective amplifer. Went to dealer and was advised that before one could be ordered, they would need to check system to verify. I couln't leave vehicle and set up appointment. Man, what a rush.

[Andrew10AE]

Anyone rip the entire sound system out yet? I did a search and I didnt see anyone who had done that... I have a new Kenwood Excellon X-859 plus the Sirius Satelite receiever just begging to be installed... I get my MM tomorrow... maybe next weekend I'll start with the wiring and see what I find... any previous experience would be helpful!

-Andrew

[Murader03]

There is a thread ruinning around on the board about the package tray. My sub-woofer sounded terrible. Check the package tray and the material under it with a paper clip as stated in the fix. The material that lays under the tray has a cutout for the subwoofer. My cutout was never removed until I did it Sunday. Did not have to go to the extreme of removing the c-pillar trim or package tray itself. With the back seat removed, there is enough give in the tray to gentley slide your fingers around the cutout and remove it. It's towards the front of the package tray, so it's not as though you have to reach back to do it. After I removed the cutout for the speaker, I cranked her up. What a difference. Put the seats back in and most if not all the bass rattle is now gone, at least to my hearing ability. Another tip from this great site saved a trip to the dealer.......

[Flash]

Look in the "Test Area" under the thread "cut-out" and there are pictures of the Package Tray cut-out removed. Did mine just like Maraurder03, pretty easy.

[LX-Sport-RI]

I own a 2003 LX Sport, not sure how different they are from each other in the trunk but I've done a complete system change. I have an Alpine phantom face deck, the front door and rear panel speakers were replaced with JL Audio 5X7's, the factory 6 CD changer was replaced with an Alpine 6 CD changer(in the same factory location), my bass comes from a 10" JL Audio W-7 sub in a custom box placed on the spare tire shelf, and I have two JL Audio amps, one 300 watts by 4 channels to power the inside speakers and the other 500 watts to power the sub. I also have an extra VTR deep cycle audio battery somewhere behind the sub box to help power my audio system (so my lights don't dim)
My system sounds very good and if you plan on adding some type of video/ DVD to your car, as I do, it makes it that much better (and easier)
Check out some pictures of my setup. (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=4)

[schuvwj]

Originally posted by Murader03
There is a thread ruinning around on the board about the package tray. My sub-woofer sounded terrible. Check the package tray and the material under it with a paper clip as stated in the fix. The material that lays under the tray has a cutout for the subwoofer. My cutout was never removed until I did it Sunday. Did not have to go to the extreme of removing the c-pillar trim or package tray itself. With the back seat removed, there is enough give in the tray to gentley slide your fingers around the cutout and remove it. It's towards the front of the package tray, so it's not as though you have to reach back to do it. After I removed the cutout for the speaker, I cranked her up. What a difference. Put the seats back in and most if not all the bass rattle is now gone, at least to my hearing ability. Another tip from this great site saved a trip to the dealer.......

Bob how did you remove the rear seat?

[Kelly]

I just pushed the #3 and #6 preset buttons and on sub-woofer I it had no noise at all, and the paper clip trick never got passed 1/2 inch, when it's warmer then 15 below windchill, I'll try the grounding and the material under the speaker. boy this sucks!!

[Kelly]

will I find one wire or two under the seat, for the ground

[schuvwj]

I just pushed the #3 and #6 preset buttons got no sound from sub-woofer I. I even turned the volume up to 3/4s and still had no sound coming from subwoofer-I.
My local LM dealer added foam around the subwoofer last week. I am hoping one of the ground wires is accidently disconnected during this fix.
Looks like I'll have to fix it myself.

[Murader03]

Originally posted by schuvwj
I just pushed the #3 and #6 preset buttons got no sound from sub-woofer I. I even turned the volume up to 3/4s and still had no sound coming from subwoofer-I.
My local LM dealer added foam around the subwoofer last week. I am hoping one of the ground wires is accidently disconnected during this fix.
Looks like I'll have to fix it myself.

Bill: Once you pop the bottom rear seat cushion off, lift it out. The back cushion is held in place by two large nuts that anchor the outboard seat belts. remove these two nuts. Lift the back up to unlatch it from the mounts across the top, and lift out. The sub woofer can be seen by slightly lifting the package tray. If you can't see the speaker, then the cutout is still in place and must be removed. I still have some vibration, but I'll take care of that a another time. I don't run the stereo loud enough to be a problem anyway.

[schuvwj]

Originally posted by Murader03
Bill: Once you pop the bottom rear seat cushion off, lift it out. The back cushion is held in place by two large nuts that anchor the outboard seat belts. remove these two nuts. Lift the back up to unlatch it from the mounts across the top, and lift out. The sub woofer can be seen by slightly lifting the package tray. If you can't see the speaker, then the cutout is still in place and must be removed. I still have some vibration, but I'll take care of that a another time. I don't run the stereo loud enough to be a problem anyway.

Thanks Bob!

[drobin]

Guys, had the same problem awhile back, there's only only ground wire behind the seat if the vehicle has one woofer (which it does), my salivation was that my dealer changed the radio out and everthing worked fine. Good Luck......;) ;)

Donald

[derik]

Just finished checking my subwoofer. Cutout was removed but a piece of packing foam was in the center of the sub cone. Removed that and the sub sounds much better. Slightly muffled before. Metallica sounds like they should.

[LincMercLover]

There is a foamish thing in the sub that protects from little things getting in it and cause rattles.

[mtnh]

I wouldn't pull that foam out; like LML said, it keeps the horizontal surface of that sub pebble-free. Even a grain of sand would bounce up and down on every woofer excursion, resulting in much angst.

[schuvwj]

Took my MM in to the Dealer yesterday , Sat. 1/4/03, and I did the 3 and 6 button to show them how no sound is coming out of my woofer. After tearing it apart they are going to replace the whole woofer and amp. assembly. They said it should be in Tuesday.

[drobin]

Bill, hope you have better luck than I did. My dealer diagnosed the same problem by replacing the amp but still didn't have sound from woofer. They had to replace the complete radio.... Good Luck and let us know the results...

Donald

[schuvwj]

Originally posted by drobin
Bill, hope you have better luck than I did. My dealer diagnosed the same problem by replacing the amp but still didn't have sound from woofer. They had to replace the complete radio.... Good Luck and let us know the results...

Donald

Thanks Don I'll make sure they look at the radio if the amp/woofer dose not do the trick!

[Kelly]

I'am making an apointment to have in looked at, I think I'll print this thread for them to read as well.

[Kelly]

If you are having this problem you can check the power plug behind the back seat as well, mine was left unpluged. It is a 6 pin grey connection by the back of the sub-woofer.

[warren]

Be sure to check to see if it is grounded - This was my origional problem,
however the Linc. dealer did not check for that ( ground is inside car behind seat back ) and just wanted to replace things and ordered a new
sub-wolf speaker. I took it to a car auto alarm place and tested for ground and low and behold I had great sound !!! Sooooooo beware
sometimes our dealers are just not used to new things or performance
cars.

Warren B.

[djcwardog]

I checked my sub and it was inop, but I went ahead anyway and added XM radio to my factory system. Using a new aftermarket radio adapter harness from Crutchfield as a template for figuring out which wires to use, I tapped (soldering my connections) into three wires up front in the factory harness for ground, memory 12v, and switched 12v for use by my Alpine FM Adapter. Using info gleaned from similar posts on this forum, I tapped into two of the subwoofer amp input wires for memory 12v and a ground connection for my Alpine TUA XM tuner box. I ran the cable for the XM controller head unit under my console and it comes out of the top of the console where the opening handle is - so I can chuck it in and close the lid. In this fashion, no thieves are tipped to the goodness. I also had to run Alpine's AI-Net cable from the Alpine XM adapter up front in the car down the right side, pulling out the rear seat, and into the trunk to connect with the Alpine XM Tuner which is now screwed onto the bottom of the sub box. The install looks very tidy. XM radio sounds fairly good - it is playing through the FM Stereo radio and therefore limited to 30-15,000 HZ frequency response.

However, I had no subwoofer sound. Here's what I tried and learned:

1) There is voltage (12v) on both yellow wires coming into the sub amp - that's where I got the power for the XM tuner box. The ground on that harness appears to work as I got a solid 12v reading on my multimeter when testing out the harness to find which two wires to tap into. Does the unattached ground strap behind the rear seat issue affect other wires on the amp input harness?

2) I hooked up a known good sub box temporarily and got nothing out of it either. I took the stock box out and confirmed that the speaker is wired properly - then I put it back in.

3) When I was soldering up front, I ended up blowing the 15A fuse (#1 I think) from the heat of the soldering? I replaced that fuse, plugged in the radio and all was well except no sub! I checked fuse #2 and #13 and both were fine. Are there other fuses that could cause this problem?

As you can see below - I solved the problem with your excellent past threads!

Thanks!

:up:

[djcwardog]

Fellow MM Fans,

I posted up the reply above and then thought, "why not at least check...?" So I went out to the garage and pulled the back seat out (took all of 5 min now that I know it's only 2 bolts for the seat back!). I looked for the unattached ground wires and voila! The long wire from the left, up to the sub amp was connected, but the very short (maybe 2" long) wire coming from the thick harness on the right side was not. As the radio was playing, I just touched this loose wire to the grounding bolt - and I got instant sub woofer action! This subwoofer has obviously never been operated since the car was new! I pulled the bolt and attached both wires. The sub works great now, but I hear a little bit of other channel noise coming through it. Sounds like a whine but it is actually program material making it past the factory crossover. I know that because I turned the volume way down and could make it out. The noise is constant in level, independent of volume control or engine rpms. However, I sure can hear it! Any way to filter that out? It makes no difference which of the two ground wires is below the other on the bolt as it is cinched down does it?

It was the great scoop on this board that got me going. Thanks to you all!

:beer:
:banana:

[rookie1]

Nope, no speed sensitive stereo.

Yes! Speed sensitive stereo on 04's. with radio on depress and hold volume switch and you will see it come up on the display, use the select button to adjust the amount of boost you would like with an increase in speed. I keep mine set at 4.

Also, i didn't finish reading all the posts so if someone else answered this already forgive me. The factory Subwoofer is a 6.5/6.75" woofer in an enclosure(the big black plastic thing). There are a gazillion posts on this including the easiest way to improve it by removing the foam piece that ford saw fit to put directly on the woofer itself. many folks here have changed the woofer to a Kenwood or rockford fosgate and kept the factory enclosure with dramatic improvement. Others like myself have pitched it all together and gone entirely aftermarket.

[djcwardog]

Folks,

Last night I realized that I had kept the ground wire from the Alpine tuner box soldered into the ground wire on the sub amp harness. Of course, now that I had solved the amp inop problem, I had probably just created a horrible ground loop, hence the noise. As a check I unplugged the power lead to the XM tuner box. The output of the subwoofer improved dramatically (now with CD and FM radio only...) and the noise was gone. Obviously the problem was related to the way I added the XM tuner box. Now I knew what to do. I took the back seat out again this afternoon and ran a third wire from the same bolt that grounds the sub amp (behind rear seat, etc...) and cut the ground wire of the XM tuner box off of the soldered splice I made yesterday. I attached the ground wire to my new third wire and left the 12v hot lead alone (still tapped from the input 12v lead in the harness to stock sub amp). With the XM tuner box now grounded with the sub amp, etc behind the rear seat, I turned on the radio. No more noise! Problem solved! I hope that this helps anyone else adding components to their factory stereo.

Lesson learned:

1) Memory (constant 12v power) connection: go ahead and tap into the yellow wire at one side of your stock sub amp input harness for power to your add-on trunk-mounted XM tuner box. Actually, as a related post on these forum pages taught me, there are two yellow wires side-by-side that carry a constant 12v - I picked the one on the end as it was easier to pull out far enough to strip some insulation off of with my one-hand wire strippers - you use these without cutting the wire in two, instead, you are just pulling insulation apart exposing a short section of bare wire to solder onto.

2) Ground connection - do not use the ground wire on that sub amp input harness unless you want to introduce a ground loop and noise! Instead, run a new ground wire from your add-on device (the XM tuner box in my case) directly to the same spot behind the rear seat where the factory has placed two ground straps under a bolt for you. While there, confirm that both ground straps are already under the bolt before adding yours! If have already added onto to your factory system and you kept your device(s) grounded to the wire on the harness, go ahead and give your stereo a critical listen. If you hear some noise, try my approach here. I plan to ground all my trunk-mounted devices to this spot - even main amps if I end up taking out the factory gear.

Thanks everybody for the great posts which got started and have now resulted in me having the stock subwoofer in operation and adding XM radio to my MM. If I decide that the sound needs improving, I can always go with my Alpine CDA-7998, MB Quart separate speakers, and Alpine V12 amps! I just want to give the stock system a shot. By the way, my factory wiring manual says the stereo is by Alpine. However, I read disputes over this information on these pages. Any updates? If true, I would love to see if Alpine would wire in an AI-Net adapter to the factory radio (take out and ship to them...) so I could use my Alpine XM box and plug it straight into the radio and eliminate the FM adapter... Maybe I could splice into the CD-Changer plug and delete the changer...? Any thoughts?

Last point - I held my power/volume button down on the drive in to work this morning - and I got the speed sensitive menu to pop up! I set it to "4" and I can hear the radio get softer as I slow to a stop. Very nice! Remember (assuming I have the original radio and not a dealer replacement) that I am driving an early production 2003 Marauder. So all you 2003 folks - check your radios. You may have this feature just like the 2004 folks... The owner's manual says nothing about this feature. Are there any other cool undocumented features on our radios?

Sincerely,