Hi -

New guy here. I bought an 06 Ford Expedition King Ranch with the factory DVD player in the 2d row. I bought the Z1 today, along with XM Radio (and NavTraffic - I live in Houston - 'nuff said) and the SWI-PS adapter for my steering wheel. I also bought DucatiBoy's Z1-FC. I'm looking forward to receiving all of this and installing it myself, which should be an adventure. My time is valuable, but I would rather have the satisfaction of doing it myself than taking it somewhere and have them do it (and scratch up my Castano leather seats in the process!).

I've read a couple of posts from guys that have Fords with rear-seat DVD players. One guy (Circuit City installation) said that his DVD player still worked, and that when a DVD was played through it, audio would come through headphones only, but that when a DVD was placed in the Z1, audio was through all speakers. This is how I want my units to work. Does anyone know, if I do a "regular install," will the units work like that, or will I have to do a special wiring procedure to get this to work?

Thanks. This is a great website!

the dvd player is only controled by the factory radio can bus data wires. there is no bypass at the moment at this time.

my second row factory dvd in my 2003 Explorer works with the wireless headphones, and I'm able to watch a seperate dvd in the AVIC-Z1 with sound through the speakers....I made sure it would work after the install....plus upfront I said that's what I wanted to do.

Maybe I am misunderstanding your post, brachoza, but it sounds like you're telling me that I cannot use a factory DVD player without the OEM radio, but niteone seemed to contradict that.

I'll keep my fingers crossed when I install mine. I guess as a last resort, after I install it myself, I could have a professional installer finish the wiring for me.

In fords you can use the factory overhead in the way you're looking to. It will require some extra steps though in order to make it work. I don't remember what it was exactly that is required to do. I'll check at work tomorrow and see if I still have it laying around in my box.

cntrylvr79 said:

In fords you can use the factory overhead in the way you're looking to. It will require some extra steps though in order to make it work. I don't remember what it was exactly that is required to do. I'll check at work tomorrow and see if I still have it laying around in my box.

That's good news. I would really appreciate the information, if you still have it. I'm planning on starting the install process Friday evening and completing it Saturday morning/afternoon.

Thanks for your offer to help. If you can't find it, but you might know where I can find the information, that would be just as well.

The CAN bus architecture requires some different methodology. Traditional methods will not work. Right now, there are a couple of members here who have done what you want...with CAN....but have had to retain the factory head unit. They have hidden it somewhere. There are threads on it...I would try searching for them.

03Aviator said:

The CAN bus architecture requires some different methodology. Traditional methods will not work. Right now, there are a couple of members here who have done what you want...with CAN....but have had to retain the factory head unit. They have hidden it somewhere. There are threads on it...I would try searching for them.

Will do. Thanks!

thisiszachary said:

03Aviator said:

The CAN bus architecture requires some different methodology. Traditional methods will not work. Right now, there are a couple of members here who have done what you want...with CAN....but have had to retain the factory head unit. They have hidden it somewhere. There are threads on it...I would try searching for them.

Will do. Thanks!

I just chatted with Crutchfield, and a second time, was assured that the OEM DVD functionality would not be lost (and that I didn't need to perform extra wiring) when I install the Z1. We'll see what happens. I'm not counting on it, because I'm sure Crutchfield will say whatever to make the sale, but we'll see what happens.

I just chatted with Crutchfield, and a second time, was assured that the OEM DVD functionality would not be lost (and that I didn't need to perform extra wiring) when I install the Z1. We'll see what happens. I'm not counting on it, because I'm sure Crutchfield will say whatever to make the sale, but we'll see what happens.