I found this mod on mustangworld.com and thought it was really cool. I don't know if its possible to do it to a ranger because of the **** volume control. If someone does have the guts to try it and the know-how, I think it would be a great mod that I and many others would certainly do. Check it out here:

Mustang World

 

Why dont you just get an explorer steering wheel. With the controls already on it?

 

Because I like how my steering wheel looks better than the explorer one. Plus I would imagine that would be fairly more expensive than a few wires.

 

It certainly can be done. Ford controls the cruise control and the radio with a single wire that basically just switches in different value resistors to change the voltage on the wire. With the right resistors you can make the same buttons do either.

I'll go check out what they specifically did. Bob (rwenzinger) took my EATC mod a step further and put the full Explorer wheel on and now has full cruise, radio, and EATC control from his steering wheel. It's VERY sweet.

 

Well don't do THAT mod unless you have the MACH head unit he mentions with up down buttons for volume. Ours don't have that, but have a rotary incremental encoder to change volume. That mod won't work on our radios.

I'm pretty sure the 1 wire radio controls on the 6CD changer (which has the remote control capability built in) use different value resistors than the Cruise control. The mod on a Ranger would probably allow you to have either a cruise control or radio controls, but not both. I'll take a look at the resistance values, but I'm not hopeful.

So, to answer your question -- without that specific radio, that mod is worthless.

 

 

There ya' go!

 

I'm not worthy...........

 

Nice!

 

If you're interested in the EATC mod, that's on my Cardomain site. Then Bob went one better and added the wheel to it (which he sent me stuff to document on my site as well, but in true John Griggs fashion I have not yet posted it). There's a link in my sig to the site. The how to is 6 pages long, but it covers using the EATC with different year Rangers, and the variations in the units so you can get the right one for what you want and/or need.

 

I still dont like the look of that wheel. It's to bulky to me. Can you pop in $.25 and get a Pepsi outta that thing?

 

You should see it, hold it in person. I feel like I'm sitting in a star fighter. It's way cooler to see and use than it is in pictures.

 

Yeah, the camera distortion and the angle of the shot makes it look way bigger than it is. The Explorer airbag assembly is actually slightly smaller than the Ranger's. As far as cost, I bought an Ex steering column/wheel complete for $100 and the airbag for $200. After selling off my wheel and airbag, It cost me less than $40 total to do the mod.

 

if only bob lived in texas... i'd be his new best friend and we could mod my truck's interior...

 

lol... bob should tell me where he lives in MI so maybe we CAN mod my truck....

 

Yea I had the same steering wheel in my 2000 mountaineer. I loved it. It is way better than the stock wheel that I have now. I just wish I had the money and the time to get one and put one in my truck.

 

I bought a complete Explorer steering column (less airbag) for $99 and a used airbag for $200 (hard to find). As far as I know, I was the first to do the swap and didn't know what parts i needed. All I used from the column was the steering wheel, clockspring and its harness.

Then I sold my nearly new Ranger steering wheel and airbag on eBay for $79 and $200 respectively on eBay. By the time the dust cleared, I had less than $40 net tied up in the mod.

As far as time goes, I figured out the wiring Friday evening and installed it all Saturday morning. Not too bad.

Of course, if you don't have the EATC and a factory radio that supports the steering wheel controls, it is pretty useless.

 

could you tie the radio controls into an aftermarket radio with up down controls? if i found an ex with that wheel in it, would the EATC be in it as well?

 

The problem is that the control is built into the head unit. Only one wire is used between the HU and the radio control buttons: volume up, volume down, next station/next track, and mode. The buttons simply switch in a different resistor for each function. Since there is another resistance in the head unit, each resistance at a button translates to a unique voltage between the resistors to be read by the head unit as a command.

In order for the controls to work, the head unit must have the ability to interpret those voltages as commands. Some, but not all, Ford factory HUs have that capability. I don't know if there are any aftermarket HUs that recognize Ford's voltages.

I believe that any Explorer with that style steering wheel will have the EATC as well.

 

bob ha... bob doesnt know anything.. hehehe

 

Bob gives me a run for my money, lol!

 

if the aftermarket headunit came with a remote, there is a way to basically hardwire the remote into the steering wheel controls. if i can find a steering wheel like that when i go back home, ill be attempting to do so.

 

oooops i was thinking about bob(soundperformance..) oooooooops..!





*im sure he gives you a good run for your money...!*

 

Yes, the switches are there, 4 for the radio and 4 for the EATC. However, you are limited to the number of wires the clockspring will support. If I remember correctly, a Ranger clockspring has six conductors and an Explorer Limited has eight. The extra two are: one wire for the EATC controls and one wire for the radio controls. So, you could switch to the Ex wheel and clockspring and gain 2 conductors. But if you need more than 2 wires to make the conversion, you are out of luck.