Duetto Radio

We have a 1995 Duetto. The radio is a standard Ford radio/cassette. It worked when we first got the van back in September, but now although the lights on the radio come on there is no sound from the speakers, in radio or cassette mode, not even a hiss.

Our local Ford specialist suggested fitting a new aftermarket radio, which we thought a good idea as we have no cassettes any more, and we could get a radio we could plug the iPhone/ipad into.

However, at the back of the standard radio the speaker wires exit via a plug that the garage chap had never seen before, is not the normal Ford plug/socket,and is not compatible with the lead I was sold in Halfords, with the new radio. The Ford chap suspects that the wires go from the radio to an amplifier somewhere under the dash to power the speakers in the back - the standard Transit only had door speakers apparently, but we also have speakers in the back, which look like a standard AS fitment. 

Any thoughts? Has anyone had a similar problem changing the radio? is there an adaptor that can connect a new after market radio? Is there some kind of additional amplifier and if so how do you get to it?

Any assistance gratefully received.

It should be possible to source an adaptor from the (presumably) DIN connector on the new radio, to the Ford specific wiring, worth a look on ebay or Google images to look for pictures.

I think it's unlikely that there's a separate amp, but I might be wrong (someone here will probably know).

I suspect that the garage chap simply hasn't seen that specific plug.

Could you post pictures of the new radio connections and the original ones?

On my Duetto the standard Ford radio had output for 4 speakers. The first two were the Ford fitment in the doors and the second two were wired to the AS fitted speakers in the back. There was no separate amplifier. You could balance the sound front to rear as well as left to right. In all my later vans AS have just parallel wired the back speakers to the front ones.

Peter Brown wrote:On my Duetto the standard Ford radio had output for 4 speakers.  The first two were the Ford fitment in the doors and the second two were wired to the AS fitted speakers in the back.  There was no separate amplifier.  You could balance the sound front to rear as well as left to right.  In all my later vans AS have just parallel wired the back speakers to the front ones.

Seriously?  I suppose they don't expect us old duffers to blast out the AC/DC and Soundgarden at high power. Well, they'd be mistaken in my case and I have our aftermarket media system wired properly so that it won't blow the output stages like their wiring might.

Hi  

Can't help directly but my van has a Sony radio fitted so it's certainly possible.  My rear speakers have not worked since I had the van, 6 years ago now. It's on the list to be sorted but I haven't got around to it yet, partly because I haven't got a clue how to extract the radio. I don't know if the defunct rear speakers are anything to do with the radio change or not. Somebody else had the same problem judging by the screwdriver gouges around the facia.

I also don't know if there is a ready made converter plug available but there probably is, after all the Transit was one of the most common vans on the road. You may have more luck going to a car radio specialist rather than Ford. They would probably have more experience of fitting non-Ford equipment.

meanchris wrote:I think it's unlikely that there's a separate amp,

Peter Brown wrote:On my Duetto the standard Ford radio had output for 4 speakers.  The first two were the Ford fitment in the doors and the second two were wired to the AS fitted speakers in the back.  

I agree,  I'd be surprised if there was a separate amplifier fitted, most radios of the era had outputs for four speaker outputs even if only two were used. It may be worth calling the AS service centre  for confirmation.

In the Haynes manual (if you have one) there is a diagram of the radio wiring for "1995 on" models on page WD.32. According to that diagram the speaker wiring colours are:

Left Front     brown/red
                  white/red
Left Rear      brown/white
                  white/violet
Right front    white/black
                  brown/yellow
Right rear     brown
                  white

Have a look at the back of the radio and see if that makes sense (Ford were famous for changing things, a bit like AS really). If so any new radio should come with wiring information so you can make your own wiring adaptor if you need to.

The only worrying thing from the Ford diagram is that there is an input to the radio marked "Alarm".  Best ask either Ford or a car radio specialist what that does before delving in (unless somebody on this forum knows).

Brod

Hi

meanchris wrote:Seriously?  I suppose they don't expect us old duffers to blast out the AC/DC and Soundgarden at high power. Well, they'd be mistaken in my case and I have our aftermarket media system wired properly so that it won't blow the output stages like their wiring might.

Just seen that comment! I agree, it reminds me of the days when I had hair!

Brod

brodco wrote:Hi

meanchris wrote:Seriously?  I suppose they don't expect us old duffers to blast out the AC/DC and Soundgarden at high power. Well, they'd be mistaken in my case and I have our aftermarket media system wired properly so that it won't blow the output stages like their wiring might.

Just seen that comment! I agree, it reminds me of the days when I had hair!

Brod

Be proud, rockers without hair are much more intimidating than the girly ones with long hair.

Edit: Draw a fake tattoo on yer 'ead with a sharpie, nobody will tell you to turn the music down then.

meanchris wrote:Draw a fake tattoo on yer 'ead with a sharpie, nobody will tell you to turn the music down then.

Achilles......you are better off getting rid of the standard Ford radio. They were never any good and if still with the Ford speakers i'd definitely advise replacing those as they were even worse than the damn radio!

I fitted a set of Alpine speakers in mine and the difference is amazing. At the same time i took the opportunity to fit acoustic padding to the door panel inside.

You don't need spend a fortune!; 
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Radio i fitted is a Pioneer DEH-X3500UI which has probably been updated by newer models now but i bought that model specifically as it has a USB output (very useful).

You need an ISO adapter connector to fit an after market radio but it sounds like your wiring has been "fiddled" with so you need to get that sorted first.

brodco, depending on the radio, you'll need one of the tool pairs from this.

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Sony is top left.

Thanks to all for your responses; I have copied this thread to the garage, which by the way is Blue Oval Services in Cheltenham, who I have used a couple of times now for work on the van, and they certainly know their stuff.

Our 96 Duetto had the original ford Cassette Radio. We binned that when the front fell off and fitted a JVC CD Radio. The standard plugs didn't match the Ford wiring loom.
 I think I might have mentioned the cure for this problem but it will save looking for the article.
 A friend of mine who fits very loud car sound systems had a sus and boggle session with mine. Under the tray from the n/s top of the dash was a silver box fastened to the inner wing. This was an Amplifier fitted by Ford because our Duetto was based on the German Tourano. They have rear speakers as standard because they were a mini bus not a van .He manged to by-pass the amplifier and leave me with plugs that matched the JVC. This cost me a donation to there tea fund.

 The only down side was the front door speakers rattled if I got a bit carried away with the volume. The cheapest cure was to set the fade more to the back speakers.
The Rienza we have now had the back speakers disconnected when we bought it.
Next alteration is to fit an auxiliary input to the CD player.

Hi  

PLOUGHLIN wrote:brodco, depending on the radio, you'll need one of the tool pairs from this.
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Sony is top left.

Thanks for the info Peter, I didn’t realise there were so many different types of extractor. So far every radio I’ve had to extract (and that’s not many) has used the round tool so I sort of “assumed” that was standard and didn’t go looking.
The Sony tool looks really thin so maybe it fits into the small gap around the edge of the radio. Ah well that’s another job I’ve got no excuse not to do.

Brod

I think it was a Sony I put in my Duetto, but whatever, the desirable feature was that it had a remote control.

Dave 418 wrote: Our 96 Duetto had the original ford Cassette Radio. We binned that when the front fell off and fitted a JVC CD Radio. 

 The only down side was the front door speakers rattled if I got a bit carried away with the volume. The cheapest cure was to set the fade more to the back speakers.

Dave, this is common with vans as most are built primarily for commercial use and have zero sound deadening. I solved it by layering some adhesive back acoustic matting on the inside of the door panel. It's not cheap stuff....but it works very well.

That was the easy part. Fitting the door speakers was another story though! In the Mk5 they are 5 x 7 elliptical which i assumed would be a straight swap over for my replacement Alpines.

WRONG!!

Ford pulled a crafty move. The original Ford ellipticals are set in their own 'basket' frame which is not elliptical even though to the eye it appears to be. Also the four mounting screws are not equidistant. The speakers are moulded into the 'basket' so you can't separate them. Ford obviously went to extreme lengths to do this and the only possible purpose being to dissuade owners from fitting after market speakers. It took much fiddling and fettling to get around this and really frustrated me....the Mk3/4 footwell speakers are a straight exchange which take five minutes!

I made up battens from 9mm MDF using the original Ford 'baskets' as a pattern. Soaked those in thinned down yacht varnish then fitted four M6 Tee nuts to each batten before mounting it to the door panel....the Tee nuts to mount the speaker.

If it seems long winded it's because it is! But i now have a cracking sound system i can wind up full bore without any annoying rattling or panel vibration.




The acoustic matting (black) can be seen stuck to the panel and these are the Tee nuts used to mount the speaker; [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That looks good Bulletguy, does the sound matting make a difference to noise levels from the doors as an additional benefit?

Strange how things seem to follow a pattern. I mentioned the radio issues in our Duetto. I have now been offered a Ford radio CD Player from a Mk7 Transit, with Aux Input. I think it should be one for one swap for the one in our Mk6 Transit. I will consult with loud music friend. I can then plug my I Player thingy in and reduce the amount of CD,s we carry.

meanchris wrote:That looks good Bulletguy, does the sound matting make a difference to noise levels from the doors as an additional benefit?

It does in my opinion.....that plus the speakers now being mounted on MDF. The standard Ford speakers were absolute rubbish and made awful buzzing sounds, i even thought one of the cones might have gone yet once i had the door cards removed i could see both speakers were in perfect condition. They are just rubbish quality!

Thanks again for all your replies.

The upshot is that there was a corroded wire - the main power feed - to the amplifier, so naturally it cut out. The garage re-soldered the connection, and we now have a working radio. 

I took the new aftermarket one back to Halfords and got a refund.

We bought a "Belkin" gizmo, basically a cassette body with a lead on it, to play the music on my iPhone through the car radio. £9 well spent.

The only worry now is, what caused the corrosion. It could be an old water leak, or a current one; next time it rains I'll take a closer look. The amplifier can be found by lifting out the "gubbins" tray on the n/s dash, and the amp is revealed.

Achilles heel wrote:
We bought a "Belkin" gizmo, basically a cassette body with a lead on it, to play the music on my iPhone through the car radio. £9 well spent.

HOW MUCH??????

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PB