Stock radio MP3?

[BritMarauder]

Gents,

My Marauder still has the stock radio in it (Infinity? not sure...). Anyway, I have a lot of MP3's on my PC, so burnt a disc to see if it would play.

The display read CD ROM MUTE, and there was no output, but the track time came up & started playing. It also searched tracks OK i.e. the track time acted as I would expect it to playing a normal CD.

So, is there a fix anyone knows about to allow the unit to play MP3 discs? The hardware inside looks capable but the output is muted.

Si.:help:

[jimlam56]

I don't believe it will play mp3s.
However there are several oem ford radios that will.
Available on ebay I think, and a 10 minute swap with the right tools.
Cheap too, cuz lots of folks upgrade to aftermarket.
Mine came from a Ford Ranger.

[Bowman9]

My Marauder still has the stock radio in it (Infinity? not sure...). Anyway, I have a lot of MP3's on my PC, so burnt a disc to see if it would play.

The display read CD ROM MUTE, and there was no output, but the track time came up & started playing. It also searched tracks OK i.e. the track time acted as I would expect it to playing a normal CD.


I did the same thing and got the same results.
Is there a software update???

[merc6]

beleve it was one of the focuses. with this will you lose rds? The curent radio has ability to scroll the radio station and artist/song if you figured it out.

[BritMarauder]

i THINK THAT IT MUST BE A SOFTWARE OPTION, SET TO STOP YOU USING IT FOR mp3'S, SO fORD SELL MORE OF THEIR OTHER SETS. jUST GOT 2 FIND THE RIGHT MENU.

BY THE WAY, THE MARAUDER LOOKS GREAT IN SILVER! MINES BLACK & I LOVE IT BUT SILVER MAKES THE FRONT LOOK MORE PURPOSEFUL.

CAN YOU STILL USE THE STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS WITH THE NEW RADIO FROM A RANGER?

REGARDS,

SI.

[Drock96Marquis]

beleve it was one of the focuses. with this will you lose rds?yes, the MACH MP3 unit doesn't support RDS....

Details on all of the Mach MP3 untis features, and functionality here: http://www.p71interceptor.com/radio/machmp3owners.pdf

*Note, link is to an Adobe .pdf file.

[fastblackmerc]

Per the owners manual the optional 6-CD changer will not play MP3's either that's why I got an OmniFi which I upgraded to a 60GB hard drive.

[merc6]

so these units are direct replacements? I already purchased the radio removal tools long long ago since they were cheap as hell ;)

[jimlam56]

so these units are direct replacements? I already purchased the radio removal tools long long ago since they were cheap as hell ;)
Yes they are.

[Breadfan]

Where do people typically source them from? Junkyards are a good spot, I see they're out of focuses, do we have other cars the typically had them we can use as a search point?

[Rider90]

My girlfriend drives a Focus, a 2000 IIRC. Their radio face is curved with the dash board.

[Breadfan]

I can't say with certainty but I searched on an '05 at a local yard and it lists the radio as an MP3 unit. $250. No pics of it though. But yes the older Focus's (Foci?) had curved dashes. But, I never saw the interiors on the new ones

EDIT: Yeah, looks like they did redesign and it's a std. unit:
http://www.automotive.com/features/auto-shows/59/2005/laas/2005-Ford-Focus-ZX5-interior.html

[merc6]

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|location is somewhere in falls church/arlington area
where around here is a j yard?

[MENINBLK]

05 Focus is not a standard radio.
Its a Double DIN but not a standard size face.

[Breadfan]

/\
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|location is somewhere in falls church/arlington area
where around here is a j yard?

M&M is a huge yard north of Fredricksburg / south of Stafford on Rte 1. They don't let you browse the yard (which sucks) but their website does have some limited search capabilities. http://www.mmauto.com

Sounds like the '05 Focus may not be a great bet though as it uses a non-standard faceplate?

So, the Ranger may be an option...but, hard to be sure it has an MP3 deck if searching junkyard parts online without pics. :)

BTW, there is a Brandywine Auto Parts branch on Rte 1, south of Belvoir, right at the Rte 1/95 split. However, this yard never seems stocked all that well. The big Brandywine is in MD off Rt 301.

[twolow]

The factory system is Alpine btw, not Infinity.

As far as it saying CD ROM mute that is to prevent you and your speakers from hearing nothing but pops and ticks that could damage your speakers. The radio don't not know how to decode MP3's so the mute is not a way they are 'blocking' you from listening to them, its just a failsafe to protect your speakers from blowing from gibberish popping them.

[Marauder2005]

The factory system is Alpine btw, not Infinity.

As far as it saying CD ROM mute that is to prevent you and your speakers from hearing nothing but pops and ticks that could damage your speakers. The radio don't not know how to decode MP3's so the mute is not a way they are 'blocking' you from listening to them, its just a failsafe to protect your speakers from blowing from gibberish popping them.

My car has AudioPhile stock sound system(according to my 03' brochure) . I confused when people

say they have Alpine. My father has Alpine in his stock 05 TownCar but it

says Alpine on the radio. Maybe its an 03', 04' Marauder thing, mines an 03'

[twolow]

My car has AudioPhile stock sound system(according to my 03' brochure) . I confused when people

say they have Alpine. My father has Alpine in his stock 05 TownCar but it

says Alpine on the radio. Maybe its an 03', 04' Marauder thing, mines an 03'

Alpine is the brand, Audiophile is the series.

Here are some quotes from various reviews of the MM to clear it up:

"...Floor-mounted shifter; Alpine Audiophile sound system; Electronic automatic climate control. Wherever you go, the 2004 Mercury Marauder will get you there..."

"...leather-wrapped shift knob and 140 watt ALPINE ® AUDIOPHILE sound system..."

"...Moving to the center console area, we note the Audiophile sound system (sourced from Alpine) with 4 channels and a sub..."

[Breadfan]

That brings up another point, the MACH MP3 may support MP3's but it's only rated at 80watts. What is our headunit rated at? (I'm betting the sub amp counts for some of that 140w)

Just trying to decide if this is worth doing for MP3 funcitonality...might be better to just do the ipod-thing.

[twolow]

That brings up another point, the MACH MP3 may support MP3's but it's only rated at 80watts. What is our headunit rated at? (I'm betting the sub amp counts for some of that 140w)

Just trying to decide if this is worth doing for MP3 funcitonality...might be better to just do the ipod-thing.

Sub is 40w if I remember correctly, then 25X4 on the mids/highs channels. The Mach radio would work out to be around 20 watts a channel.

Now, let me throw this idea in there. Does the factory changer (which is Alpine) support MP3s? I have the changer and may test this tonight after work but my guess is it does not.

And if not, what if you get a MP3 compatable Alpine changer, which all of them are nowadays, and buy the adapter cord to make it work with the factory head unit (sold at any car stereo shop), would it then work?

[merc6]

thats something I would wanna know as well. also for the ones who are still not in the loop of what rds is I shot a vid.
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Da%206/vids/IMG_0390.ASF

[Marauder2005]

Alpine is the brand, Audiophile is the series.

Here are some quotes from various reviews of the MM to clear it up:

"...Floor-mounted shifter; Alpine Audiophile sound system; Electronic automatic climate control. Wherever you go, the 2004 Mercury Marauder will get you there..."

"...leather-wrapped shift knob and 140 watt ALPINE ® AUDIOPHILE sound system..."

"...Moving to the center console area, we note the Audiophile sound system (sourced from Alpine) with 4 channels and a sub..."

This makes sense, this always confused me. Thanks...

[Drock96Marquis]

say they have Alpine. My father has Alpine in his stock 05 TownCar but it

says Alpine on the radio. Maybe its an 03', 04' Marauder thing, mines an 03'
Are you sure of this?
Since 04' (03' was the Alpine Audiophile system) the premium sound system in Town Cars has been the Lincoln SoundMark Audiophile system. 150 watts, 8 Audiophile speakers, and a subwoofer. And printed on the Radio is SoundMark
:confused:

I liked it better when it said Alpine on the radio......

[Marauder2005]

These are the days I wish I had a Digi cam. Gonna have to buy one.

Im 100% on the TownCar, it seem like it sounds 10x better then my

Marauder. But I guess AudioPhile is Alpine. Either way the stock Marauder

systems are less then perfect :)

[Drock96Marquis]

These are the days I wish I had a Digi cam. Gonna have to buy one.

Im 100% on the TownCar I'm Not doubting you, Ford is known to do some 'quirky' things. :P

[Drock96Marquis]

BTW, so you don't think I'm crazy or something here is a picture of the premium radio from an 05' Town Car Sig Limited on ebay. *Note Sound mark on cass door

http://home.comcast.net/~catmorton28/ss2530/20.JPG

More pics available at the auction, here: eBay Linky.. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-TOWNCAR-SIGNATURE-LIMITED-SUNROOF-BLACK-ON-BLACK_W0QQitemZ4603827784QQcat egoryZ31851QQssPageNameZWDVWQQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

According to the brochures the only higher level system than this is the Navigation with integrated Audiophile system, which has the same Audiophile speakers, sub, etc.

[twolow]

Most likely they did a midyear change. 300a and 300b Lincolns with slightly different radios :rolleyes:

[Marauder2005]

Maybe your right? I will have to take a look next time im there.

Who know its Ford after all, they make no sense. BTW I love

your GM, that thing is MINT! Thats one of my favorit years for

the GM. :coolman:

[magindat]

Gents,

My Marauder still has the stock radio in it (Infinity? not sure...). Anyway, I have a lot of MP3's on my PC, so burnt a disc to see if it would play.

The display read CD ROM MUTE, and there was no output, but the track time came up & started playing. It also searched tracks OK i.e. the track time acted as I would expect it to playing a normal CD.

So, is there a fix anyone knows about to allow the unit to play MP3 discs? The hardware inside looks capable but the output is muted.

Si.:help:

ALPINE makes (or designed) the stock unit

[merc6]

thats the radio I had in mine before it was swapped out before sale :( I did assume the new one had a diffrent rds button.

[Drock96Marquis]

ALPINE makes (or designed) the stock unit
I think Alpines part in it (other than speakers) is designing the audio processing part of it, and the rest is designed by Visteon, who is also the manufacterer of the unit(s)


BTW I love

your GM, that thing is MINT! Thats one of my favorit years for

the GM. Thanks a lot, I do my best to keep it so :)

[BritMarauder]

Well guys I still have my stock radio, but I've trashed the (pathetic) stock sub in favour of a JL 500W RMS mono-block amp and two twin voice coil 12" JL subs in a custom box.

The stock ICE is easily good enough for the mid / highs and now I can get a back massage on the way to work!

Even with a 1.5 Farad cap the lights dim on every bass kick, but the noise makes spending the money worth while!

Regards,

Si.

[Rider90]

Well guys I still have my stock radio, but I've trashed the (pathetic) stock sub in favour of a JL 500W RMS mono-block amp and two twin voice coil 12" JL subs in a custom box.

The stock ICE is easily good enough for the mid / highs and now I can get a back massage on the way to work!

Even with a 1.5 Farad cap the lights dim on every bass kick, but the noise makes spending the money worth while!

Regards,

Si.
500w across two JL 12's? That enough? I have 1000w RMS x1 across my 12w7 and a one farad cap, I still can't keep the lights up :shake:

[RCSignals]

Gents,

My Marauder still has the stock radio in it (Infinity? not sure...). Anyway, I have a lot of MP3's on my PC, so burnt a disc to see if it would play.

The display read CD ROM MUTE, and there was no output, but the track time came up & started playing. It also searched tracks OK i.e. the track time acted as I would expect it to playing a normal CD.

So, is there a fix anyone knows about to allow the unit to play MP3 discs? The hardware inside looks capable but the output is muted.

Si.:help:


Did you try pressing the mute button to see if mute turns off? Try turning RDS off?