wkevingossett

Check this thread

Is that a removable cap on the front? Almost looks like an aftermarket USB port... Just a guess

I'm guessing he used the Mute wire as part of the bypass for the Emergency Brake, so video could be watched without it being engaged

I did this exact thing a few months back, very simple. The light unit pulls straight down, no screws. Unplug the light harness so you don't have the whole assembly hanging in your way. Tap into the green/yellow wire for power and ground the other wire onto the frame. I used the antenna bolt conveniently located right above the light assembly. I had to scrape the frame to expose the metal a little bit for a better ground. Loosen the bolt just enough to slip the wire underneath and then retighten. I tucked all the wires up there and ran the power wire down with the mirror wire and used black cable ties to keep it together. Easy!

What model DVD/nav are you installing? It's a fairly simple process connecting everything, but you'll most likely need multiple harnesses to have everything integrated (steering wheel controls, etc) Check out my install here

Why are you wanting to go backwards? If you don't mind me asking...

Will this key work on a model without the auto liftgate?

This might be a stupid question, but can the emblems themselves be painted? i.e. Paint the blue to black, etc...

I didn't even notice they were there until one went missing. No clue where it went to... Probably got sucked up in a vacuum. Oh well.

If they had the auto climate control, they wouldn't be able to add the chromed STEEDA control knobs, would they?

I would probably be interested in this... Are you talking about the front or back? Or both? Can't wait to see the pics!

Has anyone else successfully baked their headlights (for painting or mods)? I would like to paint the chrome black, but would like a little more information on the ridiculousness of Ford's adhesive. Also, is this possible to do with the tail lights? I've read on some other forums that the tail lights are fairly brittle and will break.

If you want the locks to lock faster, get over 12mph faster. The longer you take to get over 12mph, the longer it will take for your locks to lock. Is this really that big of a concern?

I really like the look of the "bumperets" that she sleazebag had shown in the pictures (on the ripoff thread)... Has anyone seen these anywhere else?

Car headunits have two different types of remote control, wired and IR. The factory headunit has wired remote control, so the the steering wheel control module plugs directly into the back of the unit. Some aftermarket units have IR, allowing for a small handheld remote to control playback. The PAC SWI-X works with IR units, so if the unit you are looking at has IR control you can use that interface to regain your steering wheel controls. But if the unit has a wired remote input, then you might be out of luck because PAC makes each of their units compatible with certain brands.

If that unit has built in IR remote control, you can use the PAC SWI-X, but other than that PAC does not make a unit compatible with that brand

After installing my new headunit last weekend I decided to go back and pull everything out so I could take pictures and share with the forum. Removing the center panel is a breeze... just grab the trim located right above the pocket storage on either side and gently lift up and out. Should pop right off I used a metra wiring harness and crimp connectors to do all the wiring. Eventually I'll go back in and solder everything for a sturdier connection. The only downside to this unit is all the accessories that don't come with it (ie. iPod cable, bluetooth adapter). You can find these on Amazon or ebay for pretty cheap though, so it wasn't too bad. The bluetooth adapter plugs right into the back of the headunit, and I spliced the ground and power wires right in with the wiring harness. The adapter comes with a mic, which I integrated into the center panel. Just popped out the left set of "buttons" that are not in use (I don't have the message center option) and drilled a hole for the mic to fit into. Looks almost like it belongs there! I also made a relay bypass for the parking brake wire so that I wouldn't have to mess with it. It was pretty simple to make... Using a standard relay (bought at Radio Shack for $6) attach ground wires to pins 86 and 87, the remote wire from the Pioneer wiring harness (blue and white stripe) to pin 85, and the parking brake wire (light green) to pin 30. With these units you can't just ground the parking brake wire because it detects the constant ground. So the relay creates a "pulsed" ground simulating the parking brake being engaged and disengaged. Works perfectly! The dvd slot is hidden behind the touchscreen, revealed when you hit the eject button, giving you a bigger screen than its predecessor (P3100DVD) For iPod integration, the cable plugs into both a USB port and AUX in on the back of the unit, allowing for both audio and video from your iPod. I just ran the cable into the center shifter housing and dremeled a hole big enough for the dock connector to come through (underneath the removable rubber tray liner). May have been easier to run the cable all the way into the center console, but I had already done this mod for a previous iPod system. Finally, I am still waiting on a PAC SWI-PS unit to arrive so that I can regain steering wheel controls... Should be doing that this week! All in all, I'm pretty happy with the unit and the install, and doing it myself saved me some serious cash!

By the way, what unit are you looking at?

The reason you lose steering wheel control is because an aftermarket headunit has different connections than the stock vehicle harness. In order to hook up the new headunit you can splice the wires together or buy an aftermarket wiring harness specific to your vehicle. The wiring harness, however, doesn't allow for the bundle of wires which has the steering wheel controls. That's where the PAC Steering Wheel Integration comes in (www.pac-audio.com). This unit bridges the steering wheel control wiring to the aftermarket headunit (with a wired remote control port). As for the iPod integration... all wires are hidden. You can customize this (as far as where the wires go) however you like. I modified my center console tray (just in front of the shifter) and the dock connector comes out of there so I can easily plug in/unplug my iPod. As long as the headunit you choose supports iPod control onscreen, you will have all functions of the iPod at your fingertips. If you choose to have the wire hidden in the glove box, that would be the easiest thing to do. Lastly, the unit I installed has multiple A/V inputs and outputs to allow for multiple devices. I don't know specifically if a TV could be hooked up, but I wouldn't see why not. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I'll pull everything out and take pictures of everything so you can see exactly how everything came together this weekend.

Just ordered the PAC SWI-PS unit to regain steering wheel controls with my new HU (Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD). Has anyone installed/programmed one of these before? Any tips would be appreciated

Sounds like you're asking for quite a lot of integration in one unit that I'm not sure exists... Most likely you'll have to give up something (which I'm guessing will probably be SYNC functionality). There are several aftermarket headunits however that offer quite a few of the options you're looking for. Do you have just the basic stock headunit (without touchscreen nav)? I just installed a Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD this weekend and I'm pretty impressed with it. It's a 7" touchscreen DVD unit with optional iPod compatibility and bluetooth (via extra accessories). There is also an optional unit (PAC SWI-PS) that allows you to retain steering wheel controls. I'm going to pull everything out and take some pictures this weekend and post on here.l

So apparently it was just a matter of changing a few settings on the unit... All is well now!