- Joined
- Mar 25, 2021
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 190
- Reaction score
- 218
- Location
- Apple-at-cha
- Vehicle(s)
- Saleen
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
Intro
So you bought a Bronco without the Lux/B&O stereo system and you're not happy with the sound. Maybe you're like me and tried replacing the fake sub with the Fusion Amp and Kicker 48CWRT674 but still weren't happy with the sound. Or maybe you really miss having HD Radio.
Join me on my journey as I slowly attempt to add back capabilities from the Lux package to my 2023 4-door Badlands.
If your goal is to keep all your cargo space and you want to try a 3-way active front sound stage, you'll probably want at least 50 watts per channel and 300 or more watts for your sub, plus a DSP to tweak the signal and tie it all together. You'll find after may hours or days of research that having 9 or 10 channels of amplification at the right power levels that fits in the Bronco is hard, though you do have a few options - mostly strapping something to the underside of the rear seat.
I took my Bronco to a couple of local stereo shops and besides the fact that they were all booked for the next 2-3 months, none of them offered me any solutions that didn't require giving up some cargo space in the rear, plus they gave me estimates that all started over $7k and went up pretty steeply. To be fair, for some degree of custom fabrication plus tuning and all the required quality components you should expect a pro shop to cost in that ballpark.
Then I read the announcement of both the Stealthbox and the mObridge K2 amp. Every shop I talked to said they doubted they could build something in the OEM space that would sound better than the Stealthbox, and mObridge amp not only had DSP capabilities and enough channels to drive everything including the sub, it fits in the same space the OEM DSP/Amp would have taken up. The only problem is that the mObridge only works with the B&O system because it uses the digital A2B signal.
Well since waiting was obviously part of the picture no matter which path I choose, and the local shops made it relatively clear they weren't interested in installing gear they didn't sell (mOBridge) I decided to start placing orders and wait for parts to arrive and I'd just DIY things myself, I might even save a few hundred bucks or so.
I want to say up front that Fraser with mObridge went way above and beyond, he was immensely helpful in researching pre-sale and supporting post sale. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another mObridge product in the future.
B&O Retrofit Research
I had already been researching if it was feasible to swap the ACM for one that had an HD tuner, however for Ford that also meant having to swap to the B&O DSP Amp and speakers. People have successfully done these swaps in Mavericks, Rangers, F series trucks, and Mustangs. For just HD Radio it wouldn't be worth the effort due to all the other requirements, however, to have a single DSP Amp that fits in the OEM space to power everything it would be, gaining HD Radio back is just a nice bonus. Fraser with mObridge gave me some leads on possible ACM options that should work as well as some info on an A2B compatible cable I could use. In theory you can use a USB Mini-B male to Mini-B male cable as well even though spec wise the Ford A2B cable is not actually a standard USB cable it will work. The programming can be done with Forscan. It will also be necessary to run a twisted pair connection for the HS3 CAN bus signal that the amp will need.
The cable that Fraser suggested had the right connections on them however it wasn't long enough for the Bronco install, I was able to find an OEM cable long enough (actually too long) for the Bronco. The actual Bronco A2B cable is in 2 parts , and while I figured out those part numbers (M2DT-14F662-KC - footwell to DSP & M2DT-14202-AA - ACM to footwell) I could never find the coupler that goes in the passenger footwell to tie the 2 cables together, plus the combined cost of the cables was more than the other solution I found.
The ACM model of any Ford that has SiriusXM and HD Radio from a late Sync 3 or Sync 4 system is likely to be compatible for this swap, the important elements are that it has the A2B output, the 2 fakra connections for radio antenna and the SiriusXM antenna (although many will have a 3rd for DAB in Europe), says HD Radio on the compliance label, and that the middle part number is 18K810. I don't have a definitive list of compatible modules, but it's likely that anything from a 2019+ Lincoln Corsair, Aviator, Ford Escape, Bronco Sport, F-Series, or Explorer would work. The actual Bronco part number is M2DT-18K810-FEE, but if you find one it will probably be listed for over $350.
For the most part, the different part numbers seem to have more to do with the mounting ears that may be attacked to the case than any functional differences between the modules as long as the necessary connections are on the module.
The mObridge Bronco kit assumes you are installing into a B&O equipped system and comes with connectors designed to be plug and play with the factory harness that my Bronco, but with going 3-way active I need additional wires for the front speakers anyway, so I will be replacing the harness connectors that come with the amp to make a custom harness for my own speaker wire runs. I was originally going to try to use the mating connector for what comes with the amp harness, however the max wire gauge those connectors will accept is only 20awg so I'll be replacing the connector for something beefier I already have on hand from another project. I'll also replace the K2 amp's power connection to match the 7-speaker's subwoofer amp harness. The K2 harness I received actually didn't have the proper 20 circuit connector on it for a Bronco, which ended up not being relevant for my install obviously, but Fraser had offered to send a replacement harness with the correct connector installed if I needed it.
Bill of Materials
Here are the audio system things I purchased and their source, and approximate price at the time I purchased.
You'll also need a soldering station, heat shrink tubing, a variety of socket bits including a deep well 10mm, 10mm, 7mm, 8mm, Torx Plus 30, a 10mm combination wrench, plastic pry tools, panel/rivet pulling tools, wire cutters, crimpers for the space connectors.
Speaker Plate Modifications
The speakers I decided to try for the front are the STEG ML653c, because I could never find a dealer that had the Morels, Stereo Integrity or Audiofrogs I wanted to audition, the STEG speakers are common in sound quality installs in Europe, and they were less than half the cost of the other models I was considering when purchased on eBay from a dealer in Germany. Having said all this, I have since been able to listen to the Audiofrog demo car recently and I would 100% have bought all Audiofrogs instead, despite them being 2x the price.
One of the downsides of going with the STEG is that MTI only had their published specs to use when making the speaker plates and couldn't test fit them since they are not a STEG dealer. They did a really good job and the speaker plates I received looked very nice and the speakers almost fit perfectly. However it turned out that the tweeter has a pretty tall dome and the 3" mid has a trim ring that's slightly taller than the surround. I had to remove the built-in grills from the mid and tweeters which was expected, but I also had to remove some material from the plate the speakers fit into. I ended up removing about half (~1mm) of the material which helped but I felt like I still needed slightly more clearance so I ended up using some washers between the mounting plate and the speaker grill for an extra ~1mm of space. I firmly believe if I had shipped the STEG speakers to MTI for them to test fit with I wouldn’t have had to make modifications.
Here you can see the dome of the tweeter is almost in contact with the grill of the unmodified MTI speaker plate.
Here you can see that the grill doesn't sit level because the mounting ring on the mid speaker doesn't have enough clearance to fit fully under the grill.
After removing about 1mm of material from the mounting plate, this is what I had for grill fitment.
but I was still a bit nervous about interference from the mounting ring, so I decided to add some small flat washers (Everbilt #12) between the magnets that secure the grill to the mounting plate, this is the final fitment.
Harness Prep
Since I didn't have the B&O that the K2 harness was ready to plug into, I needed to rebuild the harness for my installation. I used a 16awg wires for each of the front speakers, which would not have fit into the "factory" sized harness that would match what was on the K2 harness, so I cannibalized some parts from a previous project I had built for my Land Rover LR3 that the Bronco replaced. As a bonus it kept me from having to crimp and install the terminals 36 times and the LR3 connector actually had 4 slightly larger terminals that I used for the sub channels. I also changed the power connector on the K2 harness to I could use the existing 7 speaker harness's power wires (the K2 amp has 2 power connections) and wired the pair for the "center" channel into the front speaker harness so that all the connections from the front were on a single harness. Each wire was soldered and protected with heat-shrink
At the time I ordered the parts I had to order a different polarization 14 circuit connector (7-speaker sub connection), all I had to do was use a chisel to knock down two of the keys blocking the Bronco harness from fitting.
You can see where I removed the key ridges from the now power connector.
The final amp harness ready to go.
Disassembly
I won't waste space re-documenting how to pull the Bronco apart, but you will need to remove almost all of the interior trim to run wires and the lower part of the center console stack to access the ACM. All of the panels in the rear cargo area, the wire tray covers/door sills, the b-pillar trim and the kick panel trim needs to get removed. You can expect to lose one or more of the panel clips, or even tear the part of the panel where the clip attaches to and that's with the use of panel removal tools - if you don't then be thankful for your luck to the plastic gods. You should have replacements on hand.
As part of disassembly, you will want to disconnect your negative battery terminal. You will be working around the airbags, making electrical connections and in general just don't want any surprises that can simply be avoided by making sure you disconnect the battery while you have everything disassembled.
Sound Deadening
Since I had everything pulled out panel wise, I took the opportunity to install sound deadening material in the rear cargo area. I have a soft top so I don't really expect it to do a whole lot, but there was a lot of buzzing even with the "factory" sub enclosure and the Kicker sub. I had picked up a box of Resonix CLD when it was on sale earlier this year so that's what I used.
Wiring
You're probably wondering why I listed a network cable in the BOM, well one of the wires you need to run is going to be a twisted pair for the CAN connection between the mObridge amp and the ACM. I happened to have plenty of unused CAT 6 handy, including some with the stranded wire. I simply stripped the CAT 6 cable of its outer jacket so I could use one of the pairs as my new CAN bus connection - you could buy a spool of twisted pair wire or make your own. This wire was ran down the passenger side cable tray along with the front speaker wires and A2B cable. The driver's side had the power wire and the driver's side front speaker.
The speaker wires are a single 6 wire cable to make it easier to pull the wires through the vehicle. In the back, it all goes into the 20 pin connector harness. At the speakers I used XT60 connectors as quick-disconnects in case the speakers need to be removed. For the mid and tweets you should alternate the male/female connection between your speakers so that it's not possible to accidentally plug the tweeter into the mid signal. I soldered these on in the vehicle, I used a piece of cardboard to help protect the dash from any stray solder or accidental soldering iron contact.
To help pull the wires up through the dash or under through the b-pillars for the wiring tray you might want to go buy a pack of the 36 or 48 zip ties from your local hardware store and cut off the locking end. You can get a 10 pack of those heavy-duty zip ties for a cost of a single "wire worm" from Crutchfield and it's basically the same thing.
I secured the wires I pulled at various points using hook and loop zip ties that you can cut to length. You can use interior tesa tape or regular zip ties, but I prefer the reusability of the hook and loop variety, plus the hook side sticks to the factory tesa tape wrapped harnesses pretty well which helps keep things in place. Tesa tape is great, but it's a PITA to remove later if you need to.
At the ACM you will need to tap into the appropriate wires for the CAN signal. I use Posi-Taps for these types of connections because they are reliable, reusable and don't require you to strip the wire or cut the wiring of the OEM harness. I do not recommend the scotch-lok type connectors.
There are two square connectors on the ACM unit, a grey connector and a black connector. The CAN bus signals are on the black one. Fraser provided this useful picture to identify which wires need to be tapped. You will find there are actually 2 wires connected to each of these positions, it doesn't really matter which one you tap into.
This picture shows the CAN wires being tapped.
You can see I had some extra A2B wire I just coiled it up and secured it underneath the ACM. You could also secure the excess under the dash area if you prefer.
ACM Swap
Depending on which donor ACM you get, you may discover that it has riveted mounting ears attached to it. That was the case for me with my Bronco Sport sourced ACM.
On the left is the Bronco ACM case, on the right is the Bronco Sport ACM case. You can see that the mounting ears for the Bronco Sport are riveted on but the Bronco's are screwed on.
What I did was disassemble the ACM so that I could drill out the rivets to swap the Bronco mounting ears over. You wouldn't want any metal shavings to get onto the circuit board. After drilling out the rivets, I thoroughly cleaned the casing to make sure there weren't any stray shavings. Do not mess with the thermal material (the blue gum like stuff), it helps to keep the amplifier part of the ACM from overheating. Ideally this material would actually be replaced.
After drilling out the rivets, you can swap over the Bronco mounting ears. The screws are strong enough to self-tap in the mounting holes without damage.
After transferring the Bronco mounting ears, I reassembled the ACM. If you're curious, here are the two circuit boards, the Bronco version does not have the HD Radio decoder and has an extra amplifier IC, there are definite hardware differences.
Bronco ACM Circuit board
Bronco Sport ACM circuit board
You may have noticed the nub on the back of the Bronco Sport case, it's also riveted on, but it's not necessary to remove it for it to fit in the Bronco.
Once the mounting ears are swapped over, the ACM swap itself is pretty straight forward, all of the connections are the same except for the additional A2B connection.
Dash Modifications
Here's the only permanent change I made to my Bronco as part of this install…. In order for the new speakers to fit it is necessary to cut away parts of the under-dash that the factory speakers were secured to. This means you can never reinstall the factory speakers without replacing the upper part of your dash. Using the speaker plates without the speakers installed in them, I used a paint marker to mark the areas I needed to remove, then I used a Dremel with a rotary cutting bit to remove the material. Not for the faint of heart for sure. Be sure to remove the shavings with a shop vac - including the stuff that makes it into your floorboard.
Rear Pods
For the rear speakers, I elected to install the SSV 6.5" speaker pods and having been impressed with the Audiofrogs after finally hearing them, I ordered a set of GS62 to install in them. Since they won't be powered by the factory ACM I ran new wires to them by repurposing the K2 T-Harness wiring that came with the amp.
The Audiofrogs come with grills, but you can't use the Audiofrog mounting solution for holding the grill. For now I simply used some mounting putty to hold the grills in place and away from the speaker to allow for cone movement. If that doesn't work out too well, I'll figure something else out.
I added some resonix CLD to the interior of the pods before installing the speakers.
Reassembly
At this point, all of my wiring was done, the speakers were installed, the sub and amp are mounted. I reinstalled all of the panels *except* for the one that would cover the subwoofer. This is because if I need to access the amp or address any rattles in the sub area I don't want to need to remove the sub trim panel multiple times. To facilitate tuning the DSP in the amp, I will leave permanently installed an extension USB cable that will be secured behind the soft-top bolt panel.
At this point since I won't be messing with any more wiring, I can reconnect my battery and move on to the nearly final steps.
Forscan Programming
You more than likely will not have any audio once you reconnect power and turn your Bronco into accessory mode. Before anything will work we need to reprogram some settings in the ACM and APIM using Forscan. In theory the ACM is probably already programmed to work since it came out of a vehicle with B&O and HD Radio already configured. However I had issues and had to have a troubleshooting session with Fraser to get it all worked out - I had no audio and wasn't sure if I was getting A2B or CAN at the amp. I ended up just loading a as-built config I downloaded from a 2023 Badlands with Lux to jump start things, but I went back and worked out the specific settings needed to get it all working and remove most of the ACM/APIM DTCs I was getting. As of this write up, the only DTC I have is "U0238:00-0B" which is a digital audio control module lost communication error.
The Ford As-Built Tool and the Cyanlabs As-Built Database were both useful in figuring out what needed to be changed.
A note on convention, an X means to leave the existing value, a # means ignore this value because it will be auto-calculated.
ACM: 727-01-01
My Value Before: 382B-16F1-009A (4 Door Badlands non-sasquatch with Tow, High package)
My Value After: 30FF-FCFD-00B8
X0XX-XXXX-XX##
0 = Enable HD Radio
XXFX-XXXX-XX##
F = Disable internal amp, No Speaker 1
XXXF-XXXX-XX##
F = No Speaker 2, No Center Speaker
XXXX-FXXX-XX##
F = Disable internal amp, No speaker 3
XXXX-XCXX-XX##
C = No speaker 4, No Sub output, No Center Channel
XXXX-XXXD-XX##
Enable A2B Output from the ACM
ACM: 727-01-02
XX00-XXXX-XX##
Disable built-in EQ curve (probably not necessary)
APIM: 7D0-01-01
My Value Before: 2001-0802-FC00
My Value After: A081-0802-FC00
AXXX-XXX-XX##
A = Expect DSP Messages, No Auxillary Audio Module, Expect SDARS messages, No Rear Seat Entertainment
XX8X-XXXX-XX##
8 = Enable HD Radio UI
Initial Impressions
Overall this process took me about 4 days over 3 weekends to complete, if I'd had all of the stuff I needed up front and the pre-existing knowledge of what needed to be done in Forscan I could probably have done it all in a single 2-day weekend. I did also take care of some other mods for my Bronco as well as cleaning the interior more thoroughly after a very dusty trip to Uhwarrie earlier this year.
I haven't tuned the system yet, but after setting the crossover points in the amp it's a noticeable and significant upgrade over the "stock" 7-speaker system I had. I can turn the volume all the way up to 30 without any noticeable distortion or clipping, which I couldn't do with the stock system. I will need to spend a few days studying tutorials on using REW to tune the system and set proper time-delays and it will probably be a few weeks before I can tackle that. There is a rattle I need to track down and address in the sub area for sure and then I can re-install the rear cargo area trim.
I do wish there was some kind of "loudness" or low volume bass boost that could be enabled because even though at higher volumes it thumps pretty well, below 10 there's virtually no bass.
So you bought a Bronco without the Lux/B&O stereo system and you're not happy with the sound. Maybe you're like me and tried replacing the fake sub with the Fusion Amp and Kicker 48CWRT674 but still weren't happy with the sound. Or maybe you really miss having HD Radio.
Join me on my journey as I slowly attempt to add back capabilities from the Lux package to my 2023 4-door Badlands.
If your goal is to keep all your cargo space and you want to try a 3-way active front sound stage, you'll probably want at least 50 watts per channel and 300 or more watts for your sub, plus a DSP to tweak the signal and tie it all together. You'll find after may hours or days of research that having 9 or 10 channels of amplification at the right power levels that fits in the Bronco is hard, though you do have a few options - mostly strapping something to the underside of the rear seat.
I took my Bronco to a couple of local stereo shops and besides the fact that they were all booked for the next 2-3 months, none of them offered me any solutions that didn't require giving up some cargo space in the rear, plus they gave me estimates that all started over $7k and went up pretty steeply. To be fair, for some degree of custom fabrication plus tuning and all the required quality components you should expect a pro shop to cost in that ballpark.
Then I read the announcement of both the Stealthbox and the mObridge K2 amp. Every shop I talked to said they doubted they could build something in the OEM space that would sound better than the Stealthbox, and mObridge amp not only had DSP capabilities and enough channels to drive everything including the sub, it fits in the same space the OEM DSP/Amp would have taken up. The only problem is that the mObridge only works with the B&O system because it uses the digital A2B signal.
Well since waiting was obviously part of the picture no matter which path I choose, and the local shops made it relatively clear they weren't interested in installing gear they didn't sell (mOBridge) I decided to start placing orders and wait for parts to arrive and I'd just DIY things myself, I might even save a few hundred bucks or so.
I want to say up front that Fraser with mObridge went way above and beyond, he was immensely helpful in researching pre-sale and supporting post sale. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another mObridge product in the future.
B&O Retrofit Research
I had already been researching if it was feasible to swap the ACM for one that had an HD tuner, however for Ford that also meant having to swap to the B&O DSP Amp and speakers. People have successfully done these swaps in Mavericks, Rangers, F series trucks, and Mustangs. For just HD Radio it wouldn't be worth the effort due to all the other requirements, however, to have a single DSP Amp that fits in the OEM space to power everything it would be, gaining HD Radio back is just a nice bonus. Fraser with mObridge gave me some leads on possible ACM options that should work as well as some info on an A2B compatible cable I could use. In theory you can use a USB Mini-B male to Mini-B male cable as well even though spec wise the Ford A2B cable is not actually a standard USB cable it will work. The programming can be done with Forscan. It will also be necessary to run a twisted pair connection for the HS3 CAN bus signal that the amp will need.
The cable that Fraser suggested had the right connections on them however it wasn't long enough for the Bronco install, I was able to find an OEM cable long enough (actually too long) for the Bronco. The actual Bronco A2B cable is in 2 parts , and while I figured out those part numbers (M2DT-14F662-KC - footwell to DSP & M2DT-14202-AA - ACM to footwell) I could never find the coupler that goes in the passenger footwell to tie the 2 cables together, plus the combined cost of the cables was more than the other solution I found.
The ACM model of any Ford that has SiriusXM and HD Radio from a late Sync 3 or Sync 4 system is likely to be compatible for this swap, the important elements are that it has the A2B output, the 2 fakra connections for radio antenna and the SiriusXM antenna (although many will have a 3rd for DAB in Europe), says HD Radio on the compliance label, and that the middle part number is 18K810. I don't have a definitive list of compatible modules, but it's likely that anything from a 2019+ Lincoln Corsair, Aviator, Ford Escape, Bronco Sport, F-Series, or Explorer would work. The actual Bronco part number is M2DT-18K810-FEE, but if you find one it will probably be listed for over $350.
For the most part, the different part numbers seem to have more to do with the mounting ears that may be attacked to the case than any functional differences between the modules as long as the necessary connections are on the module.
The mObridge Bronco kit assumes you are installing into a B&O equipped system and comes with connectors designed to be plug and play with the factory harness that my Bronco, but with going 3-way active I need additional wires for the front speakers anyway, so I will be replacing the harness connectors that come with the amp to make a custom harness for my own speaker wire runs. I was originally going to try to use the mating connector for what comes with the amp harness, however the max wire gauge those connectors will accept is only 20awg so I'll be replacing the connector for something beefier I already have on hand from another project. I'll also replace the K2 amp's power connection to match the 7-speaker's subwoofer amp harness. The K2 harness I received actually didn't have the proper 20 circuit connector on it for a Bronco, which ended up not being relevant for my install obviously, but Fraser had offered to send a replacement harness with the correct connector installed if I needed it.
Bill of Materials
Here are the audio system things I purchased and their source, and approximate price at the time I purchased.
| Item | Part Number | Source | Rough Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| mObridge Amp | K2 Ford Bronco | mObridge Direct | $1679 |
| Ford Maverick A2B cable | NZ6T-14F662-BHB | eBay | $50 |
| Bronco Sport ACM | M1PT-18K810-DBA | eBay | $150-200 |
| JL Audio StealthBox | SB-F-BRONCG6/10TW1 | Sound of TriState | $1200 |
| 2x 20ft 16/6 cable for front speakers | B0B943FX4V | Amazon | $60 |
| MTI Acoustics Bronco Dash Plates | MTI Acoustics | $375 | |
| MTI Acoustics Speaker Plates | MTI Acoustics | $60 | |
| 14ft CAT 6 Network Cable | B00AJHC0ES | Amazon | $7 |
| Assorted Crimp Spades | B07VSD3HDM | Amazon | $10 |
| Assorted M4 Button Head Bolts | B0BYHBSRWD | Amazon | $19 |
| Cheap W713297-S300 Alternatives | B09NWBV764 | Amazon | $8 |
| Cheap W714972-S300 Alternatives | B0BWVWRS7W | Amazon | $10 |
| Cheap W718230-S300 Alternatives | B0B75FT242 | Amazon | $10 |
| 3 ft Mini B extension cable | B00B5HSB44 | Amazon | $7 |
| Tesa Tape | B017OECD7W | Amazon | $13 |
| High Heat Tesa Tape | B074YCG21Z | Amazon | $21 |
| Posi-Tap 20-22awg | B0B3815XSG | Amazon | $10 |
| Roll of Hook & Loop Ties | B072Q9RSP3 | Amazon | $10 |
| STEG ML653c | ML653c | eBay | $400-600 |
| Audiofrog GS62 | GS62 | Crutchfield | $369 |
| SSV Works Speaker Pods | BR-B65U | Crutchfield | $230 |
| 36" Zip Ties | 292682 | Lowe's | $13 |
| XT60 Connectors | B07Y37X6L7 | Amazon | $15 |
| 20 circuit wiring harness (e.g. LR3 Bluetooth SOT) | https://www.ebay.com/itm/124565324513 | eBay | $40 |
| Molex 14 circuit STAC64 Polarization C connector | 34772-0142 | Mouser or Digikey | $6 |
| 8x #8 x 3/4" sheet metal screws | Ace/Lowes/Home Depot | $3 | |
| Mounting Putty | B00QXJFSB8 | Amazon | $5 |
You'll also need a soldering station, heat shrink tubing, a variety of socket bits including a deep well 10mm, 10mm, 7mm, 8mm, Torx Plus 30, a 10mm combination wrench, plastic pry tools, panel/rivet pulling tools, wire cutters, crimpers for the space connectors.
Speaker Plate Modifications
The speakers I decided to try for the front are the STEG ML653c, because I could never find a dealer that had the Morels, Stereo Integrity or Audiofrogs I wanted to audition, the STEG speakers are common in sound quality installs in Europe, and they were less than half the cost of the other models I was considering when purchased on eBay from a dealer in Germany. Having said all this, I have since been able to listen to the Audiofrog demo car recently and I would 100% have bought all Audiofrogs instead, despite them being 2x the price.
One of the downsides of going with the STEG is that MTI only had their published specs to use when making the speaker plates and couldn't test fit them since they are not a STEG dealer. They did a really good job and the speaker plates I received looked very nice and the speakers almost fit perfectly. However it turned out that the tweeter has a pretty tall dome and the 3" mid has a trim ring that's slightly taller than the surround. I had to remove the built-in grills from the mid and tweeters which was expected, but I also had to remove some material from the plate the speakers fit into. I ended up removing about half (~1mm) of the material which helped but I felt like I still needed slightly more clearance so I ended up using some washers between the mounting plate and the speaker grill for an extra ~1mm of space. I firmly believe if I had shipped the STEG speakers to MTI for them to test fit with I wouldn’t have had to make modifications.
Here you can see the dome of the tweeter is almost in contact with the grill of the unmodified MTI speaker plate.
Here you can see that the grill doesn't sit level because the mounting ring on the mid speaker doesn't have enough clearance to fit fully under the grill.
After removing about 1mm of material from the mounting plate, this is what I had for grill fitment.
but I was still a bit nervous about interference from the mounting ring, so I decided to add some small flat washers (Everbilt #12) between the magnets that secure the grill to the mounting plate, this is the final fitment.
Harness Prep
Since I didn't have the B&O that the K2 harness was ready to plug into, I needed to rebuild the harness for my installation. I used a 16awg wires for each of the front speakers, which would not have fit into the "factory" sized harness that would match what was on the K2 harness, so I cannibalized some parts from a previous project I had built for my Land Rover LR3 that the Bronco replaced. As a bonus it kept me from having to crimp and install the terminals 36 times and the LR3 connector actually had 4 slightly larger terminals that I used for the sub channels. I also changed the power connector on the K2 harness to I could use the existing 7 speaker harness's power wires (the K2 amp has 2 power connections) and wired the pair for the "center" channel into the front speaker harness so that all the connections from the front were on a single harness. Each wire was soldered and protected with heat-shrink
At the time I ordered the parts I had to order a different polarization 14 circuit connector (7-speaker sub connection), all I had to do was use a chisel to knock down two of the keys blocking the Bronco harness from fitting.
You can see where I removed the key ridges from the now power connector.
The final amp harness ready to go.
Disassembly
I won't waste space re-documenting how to pull the Bronco apart, but you will need to remove almost all of the interior trim to run wires and the lower part of the center console stack to access the ACM. All of the panels in the rear cargo area, the wire tray covers/door sills, the b-pillar trim and the kick panel trim needs to get removed. You can expect to lose one or more of the panel clips, or even tear the part of the panel where the clip attaches to and that's with the use of panel removal tools - if you don't then be thankful for your luck to the plastic gods. You should have replacements on hand.
As part of disassembly, you will want to disconnect your negative battery terminal. You will be working around the airbags, making electrical connections and in general just don't want any surprises that can simply be avoided by making sure you disconnect the battery while you have everything disassembled.
Sound Deadening
Since I had everything pulled out panel wise, I took the opportunity to install sound deadening material in the rear cargo area. I have a soft top so I don't really expect it to do a whole lot, but there was a lot of buzzing even with the "factory" sub enclosure and the Kicker sub. I had picked up a box of Resonix CLD when it was on sale earlier this year so that's what I used.
Wiring
You're probably wondering why I listed a network cable in the BOM, well one of the wires you need to run is going to be a twisted pair for the CAN connection between the mObridge amp and the ACM. I happened to have plenty of unused CAT 6 handy, including some with the stranded wire. I simply stripped the CAT 6 cable of its outer jacket so I could use one of the pairs as my new CAN bus connection - you could buy a spool of twisted pair wire or make your own. This wire was ran down the passenger side cable tray along with the front speaker wires and A2B cable. The driver's side had the power wire and the driver's side front speaker.
The speaker wires are a single 6 wire cable to make it easier to pull the wires through the vehicle. In the back, it all goes into the 20 pin connector harness. At the speakers I used XT60 connectors as quick-disconnects in case the speakers need to be removed. For the mid and tweets you should alternate the male/female connection between your speakers so that it's not possible to accidentally plug the tweeter into the mid signal. I soldered these on in the vehicle, I used a piece of cardboard to help protect the dash from any stray solder or accidental soldering iron contact.
To help pull the wires up through the dash or under through the b-pillars for the wiring tray you might want to go buy a pack of the 36 or 48 zip ties from your local hardware store and cut off the locking end. You can get a 10 pack of those heavy-duty zip ties for a cost of a single "wire worm" from Crutchfield and it's basically the same thing.
I secured the wires I pulled at various points using hook and loop zip ties that you can cut to length. You can use interior tesa tape or regular zip ties, but I prefer the reusability of the hook and loop variety, plus the hook side sticks to the factory tesa tape wrapped harnesses pretty well which helps keep things in place. Tesa tape is great, but it's a PITA to remove later if you need to.
At the ACM you will need to tap into the appropriate wires for the CAN signal. I use Posi-Taps for these types of connections because they are reliable, reusable and don't require you to strip the wire or cut the wiring of the OEM harness. I do not recommend the scotch-lok type connectors.
There are two square connectors on the ACM unit, a grey connector and a black connector. The CAN bus signals are on the black one. Fraser provided this useful picture to identify which wires need to be tapped. You will find there are actually 2 wires connected to each of these positions, it doesn't really matter which one you tap into.
This picture shows the CAN wires being tapped.
You can see I had some extra A2B wire I just coiled it up and secured it underneath the ACM. You could also secure the excess under the dash area if you prefer.
ACM Swap
Depending on which donor ACM you get, you may discover that it has riveted mounting ears attached to it. That was the case for me with my Bronco Sport sourced ACM.
On the left is the Bronco ACM case, on the right is the Bronco Sport ACM case. You can see that the mounting ears for the Bronco Sport are riveted on but the Bronco's are screwed on.
What I did was disassemble the ACM so that I could drill out the rivets to swap the Bronco mounting ears over. You wouldn't want any metal shavings to get onto the circuit board. After drilling out the rivets, I thoroughly cleaned the casing to make sure there weren't any stray shavings. Do not mess with the thermal material (the blue gum like stuff), it helps to keep the amplifier part of the ACM from overheating. Ideally this material would actually be replaced.
After drilling out the rivets, you can swap over the Bronco mounting ears. The screws are strong enough to self-tap in the mounting holes without damage.
After transferring the Bronco mounting ears, I reassembled the ACM. If you're curious, here are the two circuit boards, the Bronco version does not have the HD Radio decoder and has an extra amplifier IC, there are definite hardware differences.
Bronco ACM Circuit board
Bronco Sport ACM circuit board
You may have noticed the nub on the back of the Bronco Sport case, it's also riveted on, but it's not necessary to remove it for it to fit in the Bronco.
Once the mounting ears are swapped over, the ACM swap itself is pretty straight forward, all of the connections are the same except for the additional A2B connection.
Dash Modifications
Here's the only permanent change I made to my Bronco as part of this install…. In order for the new speakers to fit it is necessary to cut away parts of the under-dash that the factory speakers were secured to. This means you can never reinstall the factory speakers without replacing the upper part of your dash. Using the speaker plates without the speakers installed in them, I used a paint marker to mark the areas I needed to remove, then I used a Dremel with a rotary cutting bit to remove the material. Not for the faint of heart for sure. Be sure to remove the shavings with a shop vac - including the stuff that makes it into your floorboard.
Rear Pods
For the rear speakers, I elected to install the SSV 6.5" speaker pods and having been impressed with the Audiofrogs after finally hearing them, I ordered a set of GS62 to install in them. Since they won't be powered by the factory ACM I ran new wires to them by repurposing the K2 T-Harness wiring that came with the amp.
The Audiofrogs come with grills, but you can't use the Audiofrog mounting solution for holding the grill. For now I simply used some mounting putty to hold the grills in place and away from the speaker to allow for cone movement. If that doesn't work out too well, I'll figure something else out.
I added some resonix CLD to the interior of the pods before installing the speakers.
Reassembly
At this point, all of my wiring was done, the speakers were installed, the sub and amp are mounted. I reinstalled all of the panels *except* for the one that would cover the subwoofer. This is because if I need to access the amp or address any rattles in the sub area I don't want to need to remove the sub trim panel multiple times. To facilitate tuning the DSP in the amp, I will leave permanently installed an extension USB cable that will be secured behind the soft-top bolt panel.
At this point since I won't be messing with any more wiring, I can reconnect my battery and move on to the nearly final steps.
Forscan Programming
You more than likely will not have any audio once you reconnect power and turn your Bronco into accessory mode. Before anything will work we need to reprogram some settings in the ACM and APIM using Forscan. In theory the ACM is probably already programmed to work since it came out of a vehicle with B&O and HD Radio already configured. However I had issues and had to have a troubleshooting session with Fraser to get it all worked out - I had no audio and wasn't sure if I was getting A2B or CAN at the amp. I ended up just loading a as-built config I downloaded from a 2023 Badlands with Lux to jump start things, but I went back and worked out the specific settings needed to get it all working and remove most of the ACM/APIM DTCs I was getting. As of this write up, the only DTC I have is "U0238:00-0B" which is a digital audio control module lost communication error.
The Ford As-Built Tool and the Cyanlabs As-Built Database were both useful in figuring out what needed to be changed.
A note on convention, an X means to leave the existing value, a # means ignore this value because it will be auto-calculated.
ACM: 727-01-01
My Value Before: 382B-16F1-009A (4 Door Badlands non-sasquatch with Tow, High package)
My Value After: 30FF-FCFD-00B8
X0XX-XXXX-XX##
0 = Enable HD Radio
XXFX-XXXX-XX##
F = Disable internal amp, No Speaker 1
XXXF-XXXX-XX##
F = No Speaker 2, No Center Speaker
XXXX-FXXX-XX##
F = Disable internal amp, No speaker 3
XXXX-XCXX-XX##
C = No speaker 4, No Sub output, No Center Channel
XXXX-XXXD-XX##
Enable A2B Output from the ACM
ACM: 727-01-02
XX00-XXXX-XX##
Disable built-in EQ curve (probably not necessary)
APIM: 7D0-01-01
My Value Before: 2001-0802-FC00
My Value After: A081-0802-FC00
AXXX-XXX-XX##
A = Expect DSP Messages, No Auxillary Audio Module, Expect SDARS messages, No Rear Seat Entertainment
XX8X-XXXX-XX##
8 = Enable HD Radio UI
Initial Impressions
Overall this process took me about 4 days over 3 weekends to complete, if I'd had all of the stuff I needed up front and the pre-existing knowledge of what needed to be done in Forscan I could probably have done it all in a single 2-day weekend. I did also take care of some other mods for my Bronco as well as cleaning the interior more thoroughly after a very dusty trip to Uhwarrie earlier this year.
I haven't tuned the system yet, but after setting the crossover points in the amp it's a noticeable and significant upgrade over the "stock" 7-speaker system I had. I can turn the volume all the way up to 30 without any noticeable distortion or clipping, which I couldn't do with the stock system. I will need to spend a few days studying tutorials on using REW to tune the system and set proper time-delays and it will probably be a few weeks before I can tackle that. There is a rattle I need to track down and address in the sub area for sure and then I can re-install the rear cargo area trim.
I do wish there was some kind of "loudness" or low volume bass boost that could be enabled because even though at higher volumes it thumps pretty well, below 10 there's virtually no bass.
Sponsored
Last edited:
