upgrading radio in 15 xlt non nav truck

charles henson · Apr 15, 2015

I have got a 15 xlt sync equipted non nav rclb truck & am looking into head units / speakers & such.I am leaning towards kenwood with their built in gauges and high definition nav,but am interested in hearing what successful routes others have taken.
I would also appreciate all input concerning speakers,amps boxes & such.I would like not to clutter up the area behind my seat so boxes that might fit under the passengers seat yet be effective would be nice.
I seen one with an 8"speaker w 150watts but didnt think that would deliver much.thx in advance.

Buck1 · Apr 16, 2015

I went the Pioneer route 8500 iirc. Just upgraded stock speakers and such. Retained use of steering wheel controls and such with proper harnesses. I skipped the Nav, as I use my phone for that.

charles henson · Apr 16, 2015

How you like it,i usually use my phone but i think it may help to have a larger view when by myself in traffic.thx for the input

Buck1 · Apr 17, 2015

I like it. Sync not as fully integrated as I would like. I ran separate mic for the phone to radio, but other than that all good.

charles henson · Jun 25, 2015

Finally installed one & what a pita,ended up going with a Kenwood ddx5901hd & used an idatalinkmaestro to try & use sync & no luck with that but the steering wheel functions but i would never recommend this pos.
The thing does allow the rearview camera & dvd to function properly but i have a hit & miss with the hands free phone now.
I'm sure i'll end up upgrading this headunit as the glare from the sun makes it impossible to view so a unit with a tilting screen is highly recommended.

CWAY6.7 · Jun 25, 2015

I had no issues with my maestro module for over 2 years? Everything works fine? And you cant access the OEM rear camera on tailgate without wiring it yourself which is a nightmare and requires more time. The DVD function is a wiring issue for sure.

Have you tried changing brightness? My screen had no glare in the sun and was set to autodim at night. Was running the dnx570hd

Be aware that full functionability depends on the initial programming of module done by you and the wiring. It is hell to get it going but when done right you should have no issues

charles henson · Jun 25, 2015

I actually had the backup camera & dvd functioning fine doing it myself,i think the friend i had program the idatalink may have not done it the right way & i will hook it up & check & i will play with the dimmer but the way the dash is angled led me to understand why ford puts a different one in the trucks originally equipted now.
I definitely need to upgrade the speaker's as im fairly certain the factory has 2ohm & the Kenwood is a 4ohm,but it wasnt as simple as it use to be back in the day lol.

charles henson · Jun 25, 2015

What are you running speaker wise since its hard finding anyone else with a reg cab these days.

CWAY6.7 · Jun 25, 2015

I made a thread a while back relating to the idatalink stuff, Ill have to dig it up. Did you wire yours to the OBDII like I did?

I ran Hertz 5x7s all the way around and 9-wired it to a 760watt Hertz 4 channel. All that stuff is gone and my stereo and sync is stock now. If I ever do it again, I can say I'd run focal or sundown audio followed with a different amp. Not bashing on hertz or even JL speakers, but as crystal clear as I'd like my music to be, I will go a different route next time.

charles henson · Jun 26, 2015

CWAY6.7 said:
I made a thread a while back relating to the idatalink stuff, Ill have to dig it up. Did you wire yours to the OBDII like I did?

I ran Hertz 5x7s all the way around and 9-wired it to a 760watt Hertz 4 channel. All that stuff is gone and my stereo and sync is stock now. If I ever do it again, I can say I'd run focal or sundown audio followed with a different amp. Not bashing on hertz or even JL speakers, but as crystal clear as I'd like my music to be, I will go a different route next time.

Yes sir,i did wire it up to the obd & it also caused my tuner to not be able to communicate with my truck,so i had to unhook it in order to clear a recent cel.I appreciate the info & all the help,thx.I am still undecided on the speaker's,sub & amp as you know our space is limited,but i will @ least know not to use hertz.

CWAY6.7 · Jun 26, 2015

charles henson said:
Yes sir,i did wire it up to the obd & it also caused my tuner to not be able to communicate with my truck,so i had to unhook it in order to clear a recent cel.I appreciate the info & all the help,thx.I am still undecided on the speaker's,sub & amp as you know our space is limited,but i will @ least know not to use hertz.

Yeah, you cant run them at the same time. If you want to watch gauges, its one or the other....unless you get a splitter, which I never got that far to check into it. As long as you have communications disabled on the headunit, your tuner will communicate just fine. The auto-disable setting doesnt work, therefore you must choose to completely disable it.

charles henson · Jun 26, 2015

I wonder how that splitter would work,i may just run some bullet connectors in order to disable with out pulling the head unit,thx for the help really appreciate all i can get.