I'm an idiot, yes I know... but anyways... whats that little vent next to the radio bezel, off to the right of it, on the passenger side of the dash???

 

you know I have always wondered what that darn thing did.

 

its there to vent out the heat created by your stereo and other electronic devices in the dash

 

lol really???? thats pretty nice to have then, seeing as i need to put fan somewhere near my radio to keep it cooler anyways! do you have any idea if theres any room back there for a little fan maybe the size of a computer fan??

 

its there so you can pull it out and paint it, krylon fusion...

 

Actually...I think some explorers use the vent...but on the Rangers it's just there...kinda like the apendix of the dash.

 

the REAL reason is for use on explorer's. the vent is used for the interior temp. sensro the the EATC needs. if you do the EATC mod to your truck you will use the vent. other then that it has no use

 

If you check John Griggs' site, you'll see that the EATC has a pipe which uses that vent to sample the inside air. I guess that's the best place to take a temperature reading.

Since Rangers and Exploders have the same interior, Ford just left the vent there.

 

Woah...funny you should ask that. I'm thinking about using PVC pipe to route cold air in from a fender well because my deck contunuously overheats.

 

It's not intended to vent the interior of the dash, but if you have a high powered head unit, you could use some ventilation.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND bringing in outside air. You will bring in all kinds of moisture and dust. The dust can be filtered, but the moisture will corrode your electronics. If you're going to do something, just put interior vents and forced air circulation using small 12 volt fans or something. Outside air is a BAD idea.

 

john you beat me to it!! i was just about to type somethin up tellin him not to bring moisture into his dash..

if i ever do(which means i probably never will), im just going to mount a small computer fan behind there somewhere, just to keep the air moving around.. it would be better than nothing..

 

the stock deck in my Ranger came with a built in fan

 

With all the power your unit has -- it SHOULD!!!

The 6CD changer is a problem. Mine heats up less because I use a subwoofer and actually turn down the bass control on the HU, and up on the sub. That way I get the effect of bass blockers but one better: the HU isn't actually trying to reproduce the bass at a high level in the first place. This reduces distortion and means the built-in amps in the 6CD HU are less loaded. For the same effective volume, my deck runs much cooler than it used to.

 

looks like everyone beat me this one lol

 

I bet this would work rather well if the heat sinc was removed, wired and mounted properly! Had it sitting in a drawer full of computer wires and fans.

 

Even our Thunderbird had one, and since then I wondered WTF IS THIS!!!

 

Even better, that 4 pin Molex connector is 12 volt! Just clip it off, and that fan is almost plug and play.

 

The 1 inch diameter version of that, from a laptop, is what I am using to draw air through that duct for the EATC interior sensor. I was out of the necessary tubing to connect it to the blower intake, so I improvised.