99 ranger 3.0,removed factory radio, installed aftermarket radio jensen blue tooth, now get intermittent sound issues, sound goes muffled for 5 seconds, then comes right back to normal. tried installing new ground, new power line, didn't fix, now replaced all speaker speaker wire and installed new speakers, still does it, driving me nuts, please help..

 

Welcome to the forum

There is a MUTE wire used for Ford Radios and should NOT be hooked up on 3rd party radios

1999 Factory wiring seen here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...dio_Wiring.pdf

DO NOT USE the red/black wire on the Ranger side of the harness, tape it off
This wire was used to MUTE the radio when starting the engine

Only other explanation is the new radio is defective
New used to mean "tested and working"
New now means "YOU TEST IT, and we will replace it if there is a problem"

Your description reads like an internal radio issue not a wiring issue

 

Ron, Thanks, I did use the red/blk for fused ignition on power feed, i will switch to yel/blk. i did not mention before but i did go to retailer where i bought radio and they swaped out my head unit for a new one in the box, still same problem, i also didn't mention that my battery went bad 3 weeks after radio installation, the battery was refurbished i bought it 2 months ago, i just switched it out for a brand new battery, still same problem with sound going muffled intermittently. could radio be draining my battery?
Thank you, totally confused.

 

Light green/purple wire has 12v all the time, its only used is to keep radio memory/clock data when vehicle is not being used, very very low amp draw used for this, so you want to make sure this wire is not used as a "power wire" for the radio
Any 3rd party radio should have a clearly marked wire that says "memory" or "full time 12v"

If this wire was used for "power" then yes radio would drain battery

Overheating amplifier
Get out your OHM meter
Put it at the lowest setting, say 200ohms
Touch the tips of the probes together, should see display change to 0 ohms, its working
Unplug the speaker connector on the radio
Use the probes to test each pair of speakers wires, each speaker should show 6 to 8 ohms
Under 6 ohms can be an issue for some amplifiers, it can cause amplifier to overheat and shut down, mute, until it cools off
over 12 ohms can also cause issues
If just one speaker is out of spec it shuts the whole system down
Look up model number of new radio and it will have the specs for what the amplifier needs, OHMs the amplifier can use, also the WATTS, generally speaking 10-20watts per channel is overkill for a truck, and most cars
Factory speakers are rated for max of 30 or 40watts I think