iDatalink Maestro + Aftermarket touchscreen?

[James McGill]

I'm encouraged by the idea of an aftermarket touchscreen system.

 

http://maestro.idatalink.com/

 

Has anyone ever done this to liberate an Edge from MFT?

[Bobcajun]

I'm trying to found a solution for my 2013 Edge SEL with Sync. I'm considering these parts :

 

• iDataLink Meastro RR-F02-DS
• Nav System that works with the Meastro like Apline, Pioneer or Kenwood
• 8" OEM Control Panel for upgrade from 4.2" from ebay

I'm just not sure if everything will plug and play like a charm.

 

Does anyone already did this kind of setup?

 

Thanks!

[James McGill]

I'm trying to found a solution for my 2013 Edge SEL with Sync. I'm considering these parts :

 

• iDataLink Meastro RR-F02-DS
• Nav System that works with the Meastro like Apline, Pioneer or Kenwood
• 8" OEM Control Panel for upgrade from 4.2" from ebay

I'm just not sure if everything will plug and play like a charm.

 

Does anyone already did this kind of setup?

 

Thanks!

 

Apparently, nobody. I'm ready to drive this car off a cliff instead of trying to fix the stupid radio.

[akirby]

What's wrong with it?

[IWRBB]

Is your name really James McGill?

[roots57]

Is your name really James McGill?

 

 

Haha...slippin' Jimmy!

[James McGill]

What's wrong with it?

 

I love the car, but I absolutely hate the MFT touchscreen. I want to rip it out and replace it with something aftermarket. The problem is, I feel that I will be the first person to ever try this, and also, that there will be at least one important function that won't work (climate control, seat heater switch, door security code update, what else?)

 

I'm frustrated enough by the (failing) touchscreen and poor sound system that I honestly regret having the car.

[Spree]

Will a 2013 fit? I haven't had a problem with mine. It's perfect. At least I like it!

[IWRBB]

I feel for ya- there was no way I was buying a 2011 or 2012 with that damn touchscreen controlling everything. Our 2010 Edge still has old school buttons for everything. Ford wised up and went back to buttons for most stuff. My 2013 F150 has buttons for everything except the heated and cooled seats. For some stupid reason, that's on the touchscreen only.

[James McGill]

OK, almost a year later and I haven't driven the car out to the desert and walked away and I haven't driven it off a cliff.

 

Before I pursue either of those solutions, I'm going to try this:

• Scosche FD6205B Dash Kit. These are discontinued, but I've got one on the way.
• iDatalink Maestro RR
• Pioneer AVIC-2300NEX (Selected for compatability with iDatalink, the particulars of the head unit are the least of the problems here)

Disappointing that I can't find a report of anyone in the world successfully upgrading a 2011 Edge with an aftermarket radio. One success report would go a long way toward boosting my confidence.

 

Note to anyone who is also considering this. There isn't enough space behind the factory MFT screen for a Double-DIN unit in the upper section. That means that modifying the bezel and sticking a radio in there isn't an option. You have to relocate the HVAC controls, which either means a radical DIY hack or using a Scosche (halfway decent, but long discontinued) or Metra (flimsy and ugly but widely available) dash kit. There are plenty of Mustang owners claiming to be happy with Scosche dash kits, and that reputation is the only thing giving me a shred of confidence about this.

 

I'm also not sure that there's actually enough depth at the bottom (where the factory HVAC controls are) for a DIN stereo.

 

It would be absolutely thrilling to me if anyone could say they replaced the Ford MFT screen with anything else, and/or used one of these dash kits, and/or used an iDatalink Maestro on a 2011 Edge.

 

Anybody? In any case, wish me luck.

[onyxbfly]

There are peeps on the FEWW group on FB that have a variety of aftermarket head units with full steering wheel controls etc.

 

HTH

[enigma-2]

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_143985_Pioneer-FH-S700BS-SiriusXM-Tuner.html?id=143985&Product_page=2&afg%5Byear%5D=2011&afg%5Bmake%5D=Ford&afg%5Bmodel%5D=Edge&afg%5Bbody%5D=&afg%5Btrim%5D=SEL&afg%5Baudio%5D=with+Sony+Audio+System%3B+with+8%22+LCD+Screen&afg%5Bproduct_model%5D=

[IWRBB]

Wow, that looks like something out of a 1986 Buick.

[Tacyon]

Well .. I can tell you from the other way around. I just did a sound system buff with the iData Maestro RA which a keep the "head unit" (which is not really a head unit) but replace the anemic stock Sony amp and DSP.

 

I used the iData Maestro HRN-AR-FO2 T-harness, iDatalink Maestro AR Universal Amplifier Replacement Interface, Kenwood Excelon XR600-6DSP Advanced Integration Amplifier.

 

For those who don't know, what happens with this gear is that until last year (2017) There was no way to get the "control signals" from the stock system to tell a 3rd party amp what to do. You were stuck with the high 2 low level converted which did nothing for the neutering of the sound envelope that Ford/Sony did to protect they factory speakers and the children's ears. Since my ears are shot, I want to feel the music via SPL.

 

What iData did was to work with Kenwood and iData takes the CANBUS computer signals that normally to the Sony amp in the back passenger side of the Edge (2013) and tell it what to sound like and how loud, and send to instead to the Kenwood AMP that was specifically designed to be a DSP that only works with the iData products. What you get is 6 channels of 100w sound to the factory location AND two channels of real honest to goodness low level outputs for say ... oh, 1200 watt sealed subwoofer box that you've been dying to install in your Edge.

 

I'd already replaced the factory speaker .. and they can handle the 100w (300w peak) but I wanted the "window delamination" amp option. Oh yea ... this works.

 

So, now a few weeks later and I'm still tweaking and tuning and discovering what is not working. Like, I have collision avoidance, when I'd trigger it (false alert) it would mute the phone or music to almost zero so I could hear the BONK-BONK, BONK-BONK, BONK-BONK. Now that mute no longer happens .. not sure if I like this or not.

The screen press sound feed back is also gone. Same here, I was accustomed to that feedback. hmmmm.

 

I've see the iData Maestro RR with Kenwoods and Pioneers and its basically the same thing in reverse. Only from your Pioneer's head unit, there will be a screen icon called ... car ?? and pressing it takes you into the car's functions like, HVAC, Seat controls etc. Looks similar .. but not 100% copy.

 

If your research hasn't brought you to these guys .. check them out. I like their personalities and they do top notch work. And they're entertaining to watch. .

You'll be interested in this video

This is their main channel.

[enigma-2]

Wow, that looks like something out of a 1986 Buick.

Well, there are others .... here's one with all the bells and whistles.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_151293_Kenwood-eXcelon-DDX9905S.html

[TheWizard]

Buying stereo equipment from Sonic Electronics may not be a good idea. They are a "grey market" dealer not authorized by the manufacturers and as such provide no factory warranty on those items. In fact, both Pioneer and Kenwood specifically disclaim warranty coverage on their websites for any items purchased from Sonic. So buy from them at your own risk.

[James McGill]

Well .. I can tell you from the other way around. I just did a sound system buff with the iData Maestro RA which a keep the "head unit" (which is not really a head unit) but replace the anemic stock Sony amp and DSP.

 

I used the iData Maestro HRN-AR-FO2 T-harness, iDatalink Maestro AR Universal Amplifier Replacement Interface, Kenwood Excelon XR600-6DSP Advanced Integration Amplifier.

 

 

I think I should have been clearer in my message. The radio itself is the least of it. The issue is that the AC/heat/seat-heater controls have to be relocated in order to make a hole for a DIN/Double-DIN head unit. Using the factory head unit isn't an option, it's failed on me six times, usually comes back on after a day or two, and the last time was two weeks ago. I am not replacing that with another factory radio -- I won't keep the car if that turns out to be my only option.

 

I have an iDatalink RR and the harness, a nice Pioneer head unit, some good speakers, and AVLIS-CO camera, and now I'm just waiting for the Scosche 6205B dash kit (which appears to have been shipped by horse-drawn wagon).

 

The only thing that's really giving me much anxiety is that Scoshe dash kit. This thing: https://www.cnet.com/products/scosche-fd6205b-car-stereo-installation-kit/

 

Unless I find someone (anyone, anywhere) who has used that in a 2011, not the one with the 4.2 inch screen and not the Sony system, I'm going to have anxiety over this. There are other dash kits that are supposed to leave the 4.2 inch dash kit in place. That confused me until I realized that not every Edge from my year has an 8 inch screen.

 

The other thing that's giving me anxiety is that I think I might now have to choose between the iDatalink and whatever the Scoshe does for wiring. I'm desperate enough to do something about this car, that I've bought all these parts without knowing for certain that they will work. Plenty of people used a Metra dash kit but only with that 4.2 inch screen, whatever that is.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with the dreaded APIM failure and a previous owner who didn't replace it: https://ford.oemdtc.com/1745/12m02-warranty-extension-covering-accessory-protocol-interface-module-apim-software-and-hardware-2011-2014-ford-lincoln

 

Anyway I don't care about Sync or MFT or the APIM or anything related to taht, but I do care about HVAC+Seat heater controls and this Scoshe kit seems to be my only hope.

Edited May 4, 2018 by James McGill

[James McGill]

Buying stereo equipment from Sonic Electronics may not be a good idea. They are a "grey market" dealer not authorized by the manufacturers and as such provide no factory warranty on those items. In fact, both Pioneer and Kenwood specifically disclaim warranty coverage on their websites for any items purchased from Sonic. So buy from them at your own risk.

 

Consumer car stereo stuff is easily available, no need to go grey market for a Pioneer AVIC*NEX head unit or iDatalink stuff. There's so many options at that end of things that I'm spoiled for choice.

 

I should have been clearer in my rant. My question is really only this:

 

Does the Scosche FD6205B dash kit work in a 2011 SEL with the 8 inch non-Sony touch screen?

 

If nobody knows, I'm about to find out and I'll certainly post about my install. What I was hoping for is a reason to have confidence that it will work, from anyone who has ever used this dash kit. I hate the feeling of being alone in uncharted territory.

 

One thing I've learned from this experience is that I will never again own a vehicle that doesn't simply have a 2-DIN owner-upgradeable radio that's fully decoupled from all other vehicle systems. If that means I'll never own another car made after 2005 or so, I'm ok with that

[James McGill]

Well, there are others .... here's one with all the bells and whistles.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_151293_Kenwood-eXcelon-DDX9905S.html

 

 

I apologize for not being clear in my problem statement. For the sake of argument, let's say we have that high-end Kenwood, or your average Kenwood or Pioneer or Alpine head unit. FWIW I have a Pioneer AVX-2300NEX ready to go.

 

The issue is sticking it in this dash:

 

Hopefully the solution is a a combination of the Scosche dash kit I posted earlier and iDatalink Maestro.

[TheWizard]

 

Consumer car stereo stuff is easily available, no need to go grey market for a Pioneer AVIC*NEX head unit or iDatalink stuff. There's so many options at that end of things that I'm spoiled for choice.

 

I should have been clearer in my rant. My question is really only this:

 

Does the Scosche FD6205B dash kit work in a 2011 SEL with the 8 inch non-Sony touch screen?

 

 

My comment was related to links to Sonic Electronics that had been posted elsewhere in the thread rather than about your specific situation. I wanted to let readers know that using them for information is cool but actually buying from Sonic is not a good idea.

[James McGill]

There are peeps on the FEWW group on FB that have a variety of aftermarket head units with full steering wheel controls etc.

 

HTH

 

There's one user in the FEWW group who used a Metra kit which retains the 4.3 inch touch screen. My posts there about the possibility of replacing an 8 inch non-Sony touchscreen didn't yield any promising responses. I'm scared.

 

(edit 5/7/2018)

The Crutchfield support folks told me that the Metra 99-5848CH kit won't work either, and that there's no solution.

 

Now that I understand the reason nobody has installed an aftermarket radio in a 2011 Edge with the 8 inch non-Sony touchscreen is because it can't be done, I am going to sell the car. I'm devastated by this news.

Edited May 7, 2018 by James McGill

[James McGill]

I installed a (2018 Explorer, I think) Sync3 APIM and screen. Much, much better than Sync2.

 

Next phase will be a JL Fix86, amp speakers and sub.

 

Who has fit a 6.5" door speaker in a first gen Edge?

Edited May 15, 2018 by James McGill

[Meglow000]

Just saw this after looking all over the Internet for this same subject. I just finished installing a Pioneer Dmh-C2550nex in my wife’s 2013 Edge. I bought a used Ford Bezel for the dash off eBay and it works but I still have to work out the kinks. I used the idatalink maestro rr with the f02 ford harness. Later today I’m going to find the factory usb to retain that in the center console and try to get the climate control to display on the stereo. It works but no way to view what the temperature is on. Some things I learned in the install is a true double din will fit in the top factory location with using the 8 inch display bezel even with the car having the old 4 inch screen. I would have gone with a short chassis unit rather than the modular Pioneer I bought. I’ll try to remember to check in later this week once I work on and test a few things later today.