Hi everyone, I'm a newbie - be gentle!
We have a 2003 base model Ranger with an OEM stereo FM/AM radio. It is possessed. Volume goes up and down on its own, and we can only turn it off by pulling the fuse. Plus the left channels don't work anymore.

An acquaintance has offered us their OEM 2003 Ford Explorer FM/AM/CD/Cassette stereo and feels the two units are cross compatible and simply a plug and play scenario, but I am not sure this is actually the case. The person is asking $10 for the Explorer unit.

My questions are:

1. Will the wiring harness from our bottom-of-the-line unit accommodate the higher end Explorer unit?
2. Do we need a converter harness?
3. Should we just bail and buy an aftermarket?
4. Last, are there any underlying known tech issues with the existing unit in our Ranger that can/should be addressed without replacing it?

Thanks much - I have attached two photos of the Explorer radio for reference. Our vehicle is at work with my husband, but I can get better specs on it later tonight. If someone can direct me to a VIN decoder, I can get the Ranger model specs that way too.

 

Did the explorer have an amplified system? I would just try plugging it in and see what happens. It would only take a couple of minutes to test it out.

 

Plug and play if remember correctly. You would be surprised how interchangeable those radios are. My moms 05 Mainer headunit went out on her and I gave her my stock from my 07 and it worked like a charm.


EDIT - Damnit. I was a victim of a old thread....