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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For those interested in installing this themselves, March 27, 2007
I just finished installing this a few days ago, expecting a simple plug & play. I was wrong. Still, the product was intelligently designed and included (almost) everything necessary to convert the dash to accept a standard 1-DIN head unit. Here some things you might like to know when considering this kit:
First off, MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL ALL THE WAY TO ITS COLDEST SETTING BEFORE REMOVING ANYTHING. I had to figure this out the hard way. The reason is, once you unplug the temperature control cable from the back of the faceplate, the knob spins freely and it's possible to misalign the knob position to the actual temperature position when reconnecting. The nice thing about spinning it to max cold first is there's a little notch that will hold it in that position when it's time to reconnect everything, making sure hot lines up with hot so it's aligned perfectly.
Anyway, that said, I can't tell you how relieved I was when I opened the kit and saw the 2-piece factory wiring harness adaptor in the bag. Nothing I could find would truly confirm it was included. Feel free to quote me, "the 2-piece factory wiring harness is included." Not only did the two parts plug perfectly into the existing factory wired radio harnesses (Grey and black plugs), they saved hours during installation, helped make the install reversible (if you ever decide to take it out or replace it), and even came correctly color-coded, eliminating the need to tediously match up wire-for-wire connections.
As for the installation, Saspus is also correct in that the one-folded-sheet for a manual isn't that helpful, but fortunately the faceplate was manufactured with simplicity in mind. The environmental controls were a snap (literally in come cases) to transplant from one faceplate to the other, and everything fit perfectly.
Well, almost perfectly.
The manual mentions that you'll need to cut away a small amount of plastic that blocks the new faceplate from inserting properly. It might be because work was done on this particular FORD dash beforehand, but there was no corresponding plastic to cut from the opening. Instead, I had to cut small recesses above and below the sides of the opening where the clips spring outward to hold it into the dash. The clips needed little tabs about ¾ an inch high and recesses above and below to allow the release mechanism to extend into. It's difficult to describe, and I'm doubtful you'll have to deal with it. Just be mindful that you may need to make a couple more logical cuts into the opening (covered by the faceplate of course) to get it to clip in.
When I finished the preparations and got the faceplate to clip into the dash, there were a few millimeters of play/looseness, allowing the whole thing to slide forward and backward in the dash. I suspect this was because of the undocumented cuts I had to make in the sides of the opening. Fortunately, once we slid the Head unit in, it wedged up against the insides and locked everything in place. It's plenty firm now.
Unfortunately, the kit does NOT come with the DIN removal tools necessary to remove the factory faceplate. You can either buy them for $10 on Amazon here [ASIN:B00063ZANS Assenmacher Ford Radio Removal Tool Set - 2040], or make them yourself out of a wire coat hangar. For instructions, search google for "Coat Hangar Ford DIN Radio Removal Tool."
The hardest part was getting the temperature cable reconnected. It's simply too short to reattach outside of the opening. You literally have to plug it in from behind once the new faceplate is installed. The only way I could do it was by removing the center console, removing the accessory / cigarette lighter bucket, and reaching up through the hole it was in while looking in from behind with my head basically on the gas petal. It's doable though, and certainly no fault of the Kit. The temperature cable in the FORD is just too damn short. Oh well.
The only other thing I was a little confused about was the labeling on the Red and Yellow wires on the Grey "power" harness adapter. Since the wording they used was unclear ("+12v memory" and "+12v power") and the instructions warn you that the colors MAY not necessarily match with your head unit, I was afraid that they might be reversed from the industry standard. I went over to Crutchfield and found in their hands-on-research that the colors are in fact correct - the yellow wire is "+12v always on" and the red wire is for ACC (on when the car is on). Just ignore the funky labels and you're good to go. Like I said, every color matched perfectly to my new head unit.
Overall,
Others might be right to say it LOOKS of poor quality and of cheap plastic out of the bag. But when all was said and done, I have to admit it looks pretty darn factory, fitting the interior well, doing a great job of replacing the environmental controls, and certainly free of any visible "hacks." Certainly not bad for the low comparative price.
Good luck!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't Secure and Poor Instructions and No Other Option, October 7, 2007
The Metra install Escort install kit suffers from two problems.
First up is the terrible instructions that they give you. There really is no way for someone to follow them all the way through and successfully install the radio without using a good bit of trial and error. For example, some of the cables in the included wiring kit are label, and some are not because the printing didn't hit "just right". The manual doesn't tell you what they are for, so your left to hope that they followed convention (they did, kind of). If you've never installed a car stereo before, you probably don't know what convention is (in this case, yellow is constant power (battery), red is ignition, black is ground, orange illumination and blue is antenna power). Also, they don't go into nearly enough detail on removing the factory climate controls and the instructions they do give are wrong (Micheal is right, turn the temp all the way to cold).
The second problem, and this is unforgivable, is that the clips that they use to secure the kit into the dash do not work. I know this because that's how my first car's stereo was stolen. Instead of taking the stereo, they probably just used their fingers to easily pull the whole kit off of the dashboard. The problem is that the spring steal clips on either side of the radio weren't designed like the factory's . They don't have a sharp edge touching the inside edge of the dash. Instead, it's a rounded bump, which results in merely "suggesting" that the radio counsel might stay in place if it so chooses. It's a terrible design and I have no idea why they made it this way. It would have probably been easier to provide screw holes to put the factory clips in place, which work so well that you actually need a tool to remove the kit, instead of just your fingers or a harsh bump.
Finally, the look of the kit isn't perfect, but you kind of expect that. It's not factory and designing something that doesn't look like it came from Radio Shack parts and a week in shop class would have priced this kit beyond the reach of people that drive Escorts.
But, it would have taken no extra expense to make use of the factory clips and minimal effort to flesh out the manual. So they get 1 star. Unfortunately, if you want an after market stereo in your beloved Escort, I think this is your only choice.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice way to upgrade, March 21, 2009
I have heard many things about this product, an aftermarket adaptation to allow the installation of an aftermarket radio.
I understand in the world of aftermarket that you want to deliver a product that is functionally sufficient for the need. It serves its purpose, this kit...and the addition of the harness was a big bonus.
But I would have molded the shell a bit more rounded to conform with the OEM product, had a flat surface matte rather than the type they used and used the same style of A/C control labelling....maybe a more expensive item, but one people like me would be willing to pay for.
All in all, from receipt of the kit to installation in my vehicle....a satisfactory product that looks alright in my vehicle.
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