[How-To] Bronco Amplifier Install - Kicker Key 200.4

Great video @RagnarKon! Will definitely be using both your videos as guides when I plan to do mine.

Good video. I could've used this a year and a half ago 😂

I actually put the amp (originally) up above the glove box, where you showed first. I had thought about the driver's side but didn't look like it'd work if someone were to lower the wheel. Have you noticed any issues with that?

Reason I ask is because my "Plug N Play" wiring harness went bad on me after a couple of months and I had to send it back in for them to check it. They said a wire had come loose, and I just never put the amp back in. Maybe I'll do in the next couple of weeks, but am nervous about harness going back again. Once it goes back, you lose all audio, and as you have shown in your video, it's not impossible to get to, but is a pain in the ass removing all those panels with their stupid plastic clips.

EvlNvrDys

Good video. I could've used this a year and a half ago 😂

I actually put the amp (originally) up above the glove box, where you showed first. I had thought about the driver's side but didn't look like it'd work if someone were to lower the wheel. Have you noticed any issues with that?

It does interfere with the steering wheel a little bit, but it'll probably only impact you if you are short. It's fine for me (5'10") but for my wife (4'11")... she can no longer lower the steering wheel to the lowest setting. Doesn't really matter in my case because she doesn't like driving the Bronco at all, but worthwhile to note.

How did you mount the amp to the bars under the glove box?? I still kind of wished I had mounted it there, but I couldn't think of a good way to mount it to that without creating a big HDPE/metal platform to stick under the glove box. (And of course none of the local hardware stores had HDPE... so I gave up on that idea.)

RagnarKon

It does interfere with the steering wheel a little bit, but it'll probably only impact you if you are short. It's fine for me (5'10") but for my wife (4'11")... she can no longer lower the steering wheel to the lowest setting. Doesn't really matter in my case because she doesn't like driving the Bronco at all, but worthwhile to note.

How did you mount the amp to the bars under the glove box?? I still kind of wished I had mounted it there, but I couldn't think of a good way to mount it to that without creating a big HDPE/metal platform to stick under the glove box. (And of course none of the local hardware stores had HDPE... so I gave up on that idea.)

I rigged it. Got a small piece of wood that I could mount the amp to (plastic probably a better idea), and screwed up into the wood from below (the 2 holes you see in those brackets). A bit of a pain, but it is accessible and doesn't interfere with the steering wheel.

Like you stated above, I didn't want to put it near the wheel in case my wife did ever drive my Bronco. But much like your's, mine doesn't drive it, too big. I believe she's driven it once so far (in 16 months of ownership) What is it, an inch wider than her Jeep? But it's the hood (vs. the Jeep) that makes it look and feel wider.

EvlNvrDys

I rigged it. Got a small piece of wood that I could mount the amp to (plastic probably a better idea), and screwed up into the wood from below (the 2 holes you see in those brackets). A bit of a pain, but it is accessible and doesn't interfere with the steering wheel.

Like you stated above, I didn't want to put it near the wheel in case my wife did ever drive my Bronco. But much like your's, mine doesn't drive it, too big. I believe she's driven it once so far (in 16 months of ownership) What is it, an inch wider than her Jeep? But it's the hood (vs. the Jeep) that makes it look and feel wider.

Gotcha... makes sense.

Ya know... I didn't mention this in the video, but now that I think about it more you could probably mount the amp itself under that center console trim piece by the shifter. Can't adjust it once it's down there, but there is definitely enough room down there. Granted I don't know what it looks like down there with the automatic, but I'm going to assume its not too different.

Nice video! I've installed the 200.4 amp with new speakers as well but went with the Kicker powered 10 inch sub. The new setup is far above stock. That is, until I move the balance control fader to only the rear pod speakers. They sound like a speaker on a 1970's weather radio. Are you getting full range to the rear pod speakers? When I figure out how to get full signal range to the rear pods I'll swap them out with one of the new 6.5" pod options. I've tried different Forscan setting and no help. I haven't tried the JBL sound bar flash.
What we need is a Ford Audio engineer to jump in the forum.

Solid work. Labor intensive but most of that is the trial and error of where to run what.

RagnarKon

Gotcha... makes sense.

Ya know... I didn't mention this in the video, but now that I think about it more you could probably mount the amp itself under that center console trim piece by the shifter. Can't adjust it once it's down there, but there is definitely enough room down there. Granted I don't know what it looks like down there with the automatic, but I'm going to assume its not too different.

Seems like a logical place to mount the Amp under the center consul. Now I have to get my hands on an amp and some speakers. There was a guy at our last outing that had a nice set up his stereo sounded better in my Bronco a car length away than my stereo in my Bronco. I think he had focal speakers.

Has anyone had any issues with the install? What did you set for the dip settings?
I purchased wiring harnesses from Plugnplay along with the amp and kicker speakers. I installed the kicker speakers using the wiring harness, they are much more clear but do not have any bass at any speaker. I did install bass blockers for the window 4" speakers. I had to turn the amp to DC Offset to power up, it will not power up using 12V. With the DC Offset, it does not seem to shut off at all, even when the power has been turned off and i have exited the vehicle. I am still able to hear the ocean from the speakers. Even with the amp, there did not seem to be any bass at all, worse than the factory speakers, but much more clear. I have check for polarity incase the harness was wrong, it all seems good to me.

Thanks for your help.

Scott93

Has anyone had any issues with the install? What did you set for the dip settings?
I purchased wiring harnesses from Plugnplay along with the amp and kicker speakers. I installed the kicker speakers using the wiring harness, they are much more clear but do not have any bass at any speaker. I did install bass blockers for the window 4" speakers. I had to turn the amp to DC Offset to power up, it will not power up using 12V. With the DC Offset, it does not seem to shut off at all, even when the power has been turned off and i have exited the vehicle. I am still able to hear the ocean from the speakers. Even with the amp, there did not seem to be any bass at all, worse than the factory speakers, but much more clear. I have check for polarity incase the harness was wrong, it all seems good to me.

Thanks for your help.

The ACM remains powered for a few minutes after the engine has shut down. Because of that, the Kicker Key will also remain powered for a few minutes, plus an additional 2-5 minutes beyond that for its own internal timeout. So it is completely normal for the amp to stay powered on after you shut the vehicle down. Now if you walk away from your vehicle and it is still powered after 10-15 minutes or so, then I'd say there is an issue somewhere. But otherwise you're fine.

As far as the bass goes... double check your high-pass filter DIP switches on your Kicker Key, and also check out my Forscan post for further tweaks you can do to improve the quality: