99 Ford Focus Stereo

sham69

hi,
Need some advice as I know nothing about cars.
I want to buy the missus a decent car stereo for her 99 ford focus.
Can I just buy a stereo off the net or is there something special I need to buy?
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers.
Sham

useless

You could buy a standard Ford RDS6000 CD player. Or an RDS6006 which is the standard Ford 6-disc in-dash CD changer. You should find both on Ebay.co.uk.

If you decide to buy a DIN-size ('normal' size car stereo), you'll need a 'convertor kit' (dont know the proper name for it) which will let you connect the Ford radio cables to the back of the new radio, as well as a blanking plate which will cover the hole in the dash left by the new, smaller, standard size radio.

bazz26

The factory stereo in the Focus is an integrated unit so if your buying an aftermarket unit then you will need to also buy some sort of bracket for it to fit correctly.

To be honest the aftermarket stereo will look out of place fitted in the dashboard. I would have a look on ebay or a scrap yard for an original Ford Focus cd player unit instead. At least that will be a straight swap with the existing tape unit.

Just did a quick search and found lots of them:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=ford+focus+cd+player

sham69

Cheers for the quick replies.
Ideally I would love to get seomthing that plays mp3 cds and has a jack for an ipod etc so that makes life a little tricky.
If I bought the stereo and a bracket for the dash would a shop be able to install the rest with the cables etc?
Cheers.

TychoCaine

I changed out the stereo in my old Focus a few years ago. You need two bits of kit, a fascia adapter and a loom kit, and you can also buy an adapter to make the remote work. The facia adapter clips into the large hole left by the old stereo and has a standard 1 DIN size slot to receive an aftermarket stereo. There are two types for the Focus. There is one that just blanks off a 1" strip above/below the stereo but you can get one that give you a little storage cubbyhole instead that's perfect for a couple of CDs or an iPod.

There is a standard ISO socket that you use to plug stereos into power, speakers etc. in the car, but car manufacturers usually have their own proprietary connectors. You need to either buy an adapter cable or start butchering up your car's wiring.

If you want your factory fit steering wheel remote to work with the new stereo you need a loom adapter for this also. This will be specific to the stereo manufacturer and the Focus.

sham69

cheers for the reply.
Gonna have a look on ebay now for something decent.

S.I.R

you need a converion kit , its a PIN converter and a facia

gumtree.ie has one floating about... car parts and accs. section.

Run_to_da_hills

You can buy a blank plate for less than e10 in most auto shops that will fill the gap when you remove the ford stereo and fit the standard head unit. You will also need a converter to adapt the cables. All Ford head units are dated and crap and I don't understand why they even bother fitting them, I came across a 03 Transit recently that had a tape deck!!. DA Autostore in Stillorgan should have all the conversion kit accessories.

bazz26

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

All Ford head units are dated and crap and I don't understand why they even bother fitting them, I came across a 03 Transit recently that had a tape deck!!. DA Autostore in Stillorgan should have all the conversion kit accessories.

The newer Sony units are not that bad to be honest but they are expensive to buy.

pontovic

On the flipside, I recently got a ford focus '99 LX and I love the car, but not the stereo that's in it. Would it be handy enough to take out the CD player in it and find a head unit that has a CD player from an old ford focus and install that ? I have the stalk that has the volume control but that's not working as it's a non-standard CD player. Since I am in England now I'd pick one up on Ebay and install it. Is it something a mechanic can do or is it easily done ?

Thanks

Shamo

I literally did this a few days ago.

Wanted the steering wheel controls working as well so needed a stereo that supported wired remote control.

You only really need one adapter and that's the Ford Steering Wheel adapter and that comes with the Ford > ISO connectors as well. Then also the tool to unlock the Stereo from the car which is 2 x U shaped prongs.

The shop I bought it off on ebay asked for the stereo brand because they also send an adapter for the model to connect into the wired remote connection.

I got a facia off ebay as well that had a space in the other Din for cds etc so was pretty good.

I'll get the shop username later, lunchtime!

skywalker_208

Shamo wrote: »

I'll get the shop username later, lunchtime!

Any chance of getting that username Shamo? I am in the same boat myself and would like a decent cd player in my focus

Shamo

Oh yeah forgot about this!

It's passion_automive but I had a quick look and I can't find the same item for sale now. Can't find anything on ebay that relates to a Ford steering wheel adapter/stalk adapter either.

The auction I won was here maybe you could send him an email and see if he could get you another one?