Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

I have my factory set up apart right now. Would it help if I posted a picture of the factory plug wires?

For some reason, the CD player I installed about 13 years ago won't turn on.  I haven't looked into it much yet but I am thinking about putting the factory radio back in anyway.  I mean, everything else in my car is stock, so the radio may as well be, too.  Plus, I don't listen to CD's anymore.  Everything I listen to is either on the radio or on the iPod.

So I am thinking about dropping one of these in so I can use the iPod: http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-FM-MOD02-Universal-Modulator-Satellite/dp/B001QBG614/.  I'm sure lots of you guys know about these already, but I had never heard of it before.  It is similar to a py FM transmitter, but it plugs in line with the antenna cable, which SUPPOSEDLY improves the performance.

What I like about it is I can easily keep using my factory equilizer and factory amp.  I'm not expecting miracles from it, but hopefully it will perform well enough to keep pace with a 26-year-old factory audio system.

Just curious if anybody else has any experience with a wired FM Modulator.  Thanks.

Go for it.  Ford markets this kit through it's dealer parts departments and accessory catalogs as "triptunes"  I've installed somewhere like a dozen of them and they really do work very well.  The difference between this and other modulators is that this is hardwired into the antenna and it blocks the set frequency so you don't have to compete.  This will work better for you than Pacerized's mod is going to work for him.  There's no reason to reinvent the wheel here. just pop it into the back of the deck, plug the antenna into the unit, wire it to power and ground with the cigar lighter and fish the remote switch/port into the console or glove box and peel and stick it to the side.  tune to the set frq and rock out.

I had a FM modulator for awhile and it was junk. I actually found a overpowered (illegal) wireless unit that worked much better. With both though, I think the major problem is that FM has a very limited frequency response. Everything sounds led compared to a direct line in. For me being in vehicles that I don't own that have no inputs, FM works fine, but it can't compete with line in any way. For things like talk shows/podcasts, FM is fine.

I think there was a thread on here of someone modifying the stock radio to have a line in.

That's me but I still haven't found a switch for a reasonable price.

I'll attempt to post a picture of the eq plug below. The wiring on the stereo side of the plug matches this one in color. If you need the picture of the stereo plug let me know, I don't have the stereo out but it would just be 4 screws at this point, so no big deal.
The factory plug is considerably different the the picture you posted which I assume is the aftermarket cd plug adapted to your wiring.
The factory plug is 2 tier with 6 pin slots in both the top and bottome tiers and is color coded as follows from left to right as viewed from back of plug.
I think the orange/light blue is the power. The pink/light blue, pink/light green and black/white are speaker wires.

Top tier of plug
pink/light blue, black/white, empty slot, green, blue/black, and a black jumper wire contecting slot 2 to slot 6 on the plug which I think is the common speaker wire.
bottom tier of plug
pink/light green, empty, orange/light blue, light blue/red, white/red, purple/white.

No, I think there was someone that soldered some rca wires into the inside of a factory radio, or perhaps it was into the factory EQ. This was years ago.

When I was searching the board about my issue I found a post related to this, but in the one I saw, the guy wasn't doing the work himself, he had found someone on Ebay who was selling factory radios that he had modified to include a line-in wired directly inside the radio.  If anyone is interested and can't locate the thread easily, I can help hunt it down.  There were a couple links to Ebay that were expired, but they still help you find the seller.  He has a couple radios posted now, but I don't think they were exact fits for our cars.  Maybe he'd be willing to do it for you if you sent in your radio.

I also found a couple other websites that explain generally how to do this yourself.  It is probably beyond my ability since it looked like it requires soldering on a circuitboard, but that could be an option if you have some knowhow in that area.

There will be no difference.  Where do you think Ford gets them from?  It's rebranded, repackaged, sold to the dealer for around $35 and marked up so the dealer can make a little money.  The more times you sell something as new, the more it inevitably costs in the end.  Good find on Amazon.

Thanks man.  That picture helped a lot.  I had the 3 wires on the plug that goes to the amplifier exactly backwards.

I had to spend most of my weekend putting in flooring in our kitchen, but I was able to get outside long enough to try everything out.  Kind of fun to get the old factory radio back in there after almost 15 years!  Until I figure out how I want to arrange everything I just spliced an old cigarette lighter plug into the modulator wires for power.

As far as audio quality, my first impression is similar to what I've heard from others.  It is better than an FM transmitter, maybe slightly better than some radio stations, but not as good as a cd player.  I think it will do the job for what I want, but if you have high expectations it might disappoint.  As I keep using it I will update if anything changes.

By the way, this FM modulator is also available from Walmart online for the same price.  It has free shipping from site-to-store (at least at my store).

I didn't even get to start on the sunroof.  Another job for for another day . . . . .