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Sunday, May 4, 2014

Kenwood TM-D710A installation in a 2014 Ford Focus

I finally got around to finishing the installation of my Kenwood TM-D710A into my new Ford Focus. I took this out of my F-150 when I traded it in a few weeks ago. I feel like less of a man driving this little car, but I can't argue with cutting the car payment in half and cutting my fuel usage by 2/3.

For the installation I tried running the wire myself, but an almost 300lb 6'2" guy just doesn't fit well in the small spaced under the dash, so I paid someone to run the cable for me. Since I was having a pro run the wires from the battery to the trunk, I decided to go with 4ga wire so that I would only have to do it once.
I mounted the radio body and the power point under the rear deck with self-tapping screws. The control cables run down different sides of the car. The cable to the mic goes down the driver's side, and the control head cable runs down the passenger side. They are neatly tucked inside the molding along the floorboards, then cross under the seats to the mic and control head.

The control head is mounted using the MT-7 mount from AES . It only required loosening the seat mounting bolt, sliding the mounting arm under the bolt, and tightening it back up. It was the easiest part of the install!

I still have some wiring clean-up in the trunk, but I ran out of wire loom, so that'll be a project for another day.

Next up is a Little Tarheel II HP , an Icom IC-7000, and hopefully an Ameritron ALS-500MR













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5 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 12, 2014 at 11:34 AM

    Nice install. I have a '13 focus with the same dash unit. I'm wondering what you are doing for a forward speaker unit? Does the hand mic have a speaker on it or did you install a standalone unit?? Looks great. I hope mine turns out as nice as yours did.

    KC1BOS

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    Replies
    1. He who shall not be namedJune 12, 2014 at 4:21 PM

      Hi Johnathan,

      I put a small speaker under the driver's seat. The cable path was the same as for the mic and the audio is great! I was worried about it being muffled by the seat but that wasn't an issue. Best of luck with your install! Be sure to share some pics!

      73,

      Richard, KK4JDO

      Delete
    2. UnknownJune 13, 2014 at 8:02 AM

      Hi Richard

      I'll seep about taking some pics. I got the radio installed under the passenger seat and a radio forward in the passenger footwell. I'm a little worried about it getting kicked. I did a similar mount for the head unit, only I used Ram Mounting hardware for it.

      Pics will follow.

      Jonathan, KC1BOS

      Delete
  2. PeygeFebruary 5, 2016 at 6:56 AM

    Hi, where does the electrical connector come from in the trunk ? What make is it ? I'm trying to find the exact same connector to plug the radio to the battery !

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownAugust 29, 2018 at 8:17 PM

    I really do not recommend putting the coax in a coil like that...

    ReplyDelete