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Kicker Sub Install Tutorial

WhiteLightning19

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Hello 5gRanger community,

I have been on this forum since I purchased my '19 Lariat in April of 2019. After lots of research and notes from various posts on these forums I have successfully installed a 10" Kicker CompVT subwoofer paired with a Kicker Key 500.1 Mono block amplifier.

Parts Required:
Plug 'n Play Ford Harness (FOR-11CK-) Amazon
9 Conductor Speed Wire Amazon
8ga Amplifier Install Kit Amazon
1/4" and 1/2" Nylon Braided Cable Sleeving Amazon
Ferrule Crimping Tool Kit Amazon
3:1 Heat Shrink Tubing Amazon
Tessa Tape Amazon
Kicker Key 500.1 Amplifier Amazon
Kicker CompVT 10" 2ohm Subwoofer Amazon
Ford Ranger PX PX2 Under Seat Sub Box eBay

Tools Required:
Wire Strippers
Wire Cutters
Soldering Iron
Heat gun/Hairdryer/lighter
Trim removal tools
metal coat hanger/fish tape
drill with assorted bits
10mm socket
7mm socket
Socket wrench
Needle nose pliers

Total Time: 8 Hours

Step 1: Solder speed wire to Plug 'n Play harness
I basically used the harness to acquire speaker level inputs at the back of the stereo. I soldered in all 8 wires (FL, FR, RL, RR) so that I would have all 4 signals back at the amplifier in case I had issues with ANC/Fake Engine Noise. Once Soldering was complete I completely wrapped the harness up in Tessa Tape for a factory appearance leaving the black and yellow wire separate in-case I ever need a ground and switched source of power.
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Step 2: Disassemble the dash and trim panels
I started with gaining access to the factory radio. This involved removing approximately 7 panels. @OC4095 has a very detailed post on this Here. Then I proceeded with removing both from kick panels and floor boards both front and rear to allow running the wiring.

Step 3: Pull amp power wire from battery to amp location
As some know the ranger is extremely difficult to pull accessory wiring through the factory grommet on the driver side above the brake pedal. I was successful in doing this by using a straightened metal coat hanger and 8" piece of the braided nylon sleeving. Insert the nylon sleeving over the red 8ga power wire approximately half way. Then with a pair of pliers bend a small hook on the end of the coat hanger and attach the sleeve to the the hook and then wrap in electrical tape ensuring the entire hook is covered to avoid it getting snagged. You will then want to punch the coat hanger through the grommet near the hood release cable and then have an extra set of hand to assist with grabbing the hanger in the engine compartment. Prior to complete installation I wrapped the entire power cable in 1/4" Nylon sleeving to protect the wire and to give it a nice factory look. Fuse holder is attached to the battery bracket with a self tapping screw (picture missing).

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Picture of make shift Chinese Finger Wire Ferrule installed before fuse holder Battery terminal crimped and heat shrunk Wire path through grommet

Step 4: Amp location
For the amp location I chose to mount it to the back wall behind the seat where the factory amp location would be. I used a 3/4 ABS board I had laying around and self tapping screws to attached to the brackets. Note: If I were to install this again I would recommend going with 1/8" or 1/4" ABS to give a bit more clearance between the amp and the back of the seat.
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Step 5: Run Wiring
For the actual running of the wiring I ran the power wire down along the driver side floor board and back behind the rear seat to the amp location. I grabbed a ground location at the driver side LATCH anchor and ran the wiring behind the carpet. The speed wire runs down through the center of the dash under the HVAC panel and exits on the passenger side, across the floor board up near the blower motor and then down along the floor board on the passenger side. Once at the subwoofer box location is was a bit tricky to get the wire tucked in and not be in the way but it was doable. Speed wire then runs under the carpet at the back wall of the cab over to the amplifier. I used the rear speaker wires as the high level inputs on the amplifier. All wiring comes up through a slot in the carpet that I assume is there for the factory amp.
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Step 6: Install subwoofer and enclosure
Start by removing the existing storage cubby with a trim removal tool (3 clips). Then pull unit straight up to remove. Then installed the Kicker CompVT subwoofer in the enclosure and wired directly to amplifier. Note: This sub requires a minimum of .8cu ft and the subwoofer enclosure is approximately .6cu ft. I had to remove the subwoofer and add Polyfil to trick the sub into thinking it was in a bigger box to get the correct bass response from the sub.
20200603_203150.jpg

Step 7: Tuning System
I used the provided tracks from Kicker to tune the gain and DSP for the factory stereo. Turning the DSP on/off you can definitely tell that the stock system is cutting bass response in the higher volumes. At this time I have not modified the low level output setting in Forscan that others have had to do. @Ed Venture posted the Forscan value that needs modified in this post

Step 8: Enjoy your new stereo sound with some actual bass response!

Edit: Just to clarify with my install. I do not get any ANC/Fake Engine Noise coming through the subwoofer using the rear speaker wires. I have a '19 Lariat 500A w/o B&O Sound system. So not sure if only the B&O sound system has the ANC as I thought I seen others with XLT's reported having issues.
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micl9

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Nice write up!
 

jvm051

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Awesome and perfect timing as I was looking for this. About how much polyfil did you stuff in the sub box? I'm not looking to rattle the neighborhood, but does it feel like enough bass to really wake up the sound system?
 

jvm051

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Looking at your wiring harness did you also run an amp for the main speakers? And how are you dealing with the crossover settings if you tapped into the rears for the sub...Or are you still running full bandwidth on the main speakers?
 


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WhiteLightning19

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Awesome and perfect timing as I was looking for this. About how much polyfil did you stuff in the sub box? I'm not looking to rattle the neighborhood, but does it feel like enough bass to really wake up the sound system?
I couldn't get a ton of polyfil in the box as I didn't want the sub to overheat. But it has enough low end after adding it to shake the mirrors.
 
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WhiteLightning19

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Looking at your wiring harness did you also run an amp for the main speakers? And how are you dealing with the crossover settings if you tapped into the rears for the sub...Or are you still running full bandwidth on the main speakers?
I didn't amp the main speakers, just pulled signal for the subwoofer. I know in my post I said I used the rear speakers as my source. But now I'm wondering if I used the front speakers. If I set the stage mode to driver instead of normal I get much more bass response.
 

Iconic22

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What's the mounting depth of the sub box? Thanks
 

DangerRanger01

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Hey All!

Quick question for those of you that have installed an aftermarket sub and amp.

Recently purchased and installed:

- Hertz HCP1D
- Rockford Fosgate Punch P1 10" 4 ohm SVC
- power & ground wires are 4 AWG w/ 60A in-line fuse on power

I haven't done anything to the factory stereo, and I used the rear speaker wires as the hi-level input for the amp, as this amp has a built-in line converter.

But here's my problem, upon listening to the new sub, it's very quiet and is not producing what it should, I made sure the "driver seat" setting for sound and the speed compensation were both turned off in the EQ settings, and even with the BASS setting turned all the way up, the speakers are overpowering the sub!

I double checked to make sure my wiring is proper, and I don't have any loose connections (including ground, I sanded to bare-metal). Really disheartening to know that I've spent some hard earned $$$ to be dissapointed with the end result, I've read over every forum for a sub install, and I may try the Forscan setting that changes the low-level settings, but I'd like to see if anyone is also having issues with this.

20220529_135457.jpg
20220529_203735.jpg
20220529_203737.webp
 

Superspirit

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Hey All!

Quick question for those of you that have installed an aftermarket sub and amp.

Recently purchased and installed:

- Hertz HCP1D
- Rockford Fosgate Punch P1 10" 4 ohm SVC
- power & ground wires are 4 AWG w/ 60A in-line fuse on power

I haven't done anything to the factory stereo, and I used the rear speaker wires as the hi-level input for the amp, as this amp has a built-in line converter.

But here's my problem, upon listening to the new sub, it's very quiet and is not producing what it should, I made sure the "driver seat" setting for sound and the speed compensation were both turned off in the EQ settings, and even with the BASS setting turned all the way up, the speakers are overpowering the sub!

I double checked to make sure my wiring is proper, and I don't have any loose connections (including ground, I sanded to bare-metal). Really disheartening to know that I've spent some hard earned $$$ to be dissapointed with the end result, I've read over every forum for a sub install, and I may try the Forscan setting that changes the low-level settings, but I'd like to see if anyone is also having issues with this.

20220529_135457.jpg
20220529_203735.jpg
20220529_203737.jpg
Use forscan to remove the factory bass rolloff and send full signal to read speakers it's easy, lots of info in the forscan thread.
 

DangerRanger01

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Use forscan to remove the factory bass rolloff and send full signal to read speakers it's easy, lots of info in the forscan thread.
Do you happen to have the thread link by chance? I managed to get the sub to where I'd like it, but I know more oomph can be pushed from the stereo side of things and I know Ford's systems are my cap right now.
 

Superspirit

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DangerRanger01

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DangerRanger01

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Superspirit

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Use forscan to move the chimes to the ipc module speaker.
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