One of the most popular pickups of the 90s, the Ford Ranger has lots of potential when it comes to an upgraded stereo system. With plenty of space behind the front seats for an upgraded car audio amplifier and subwoofer, Ranger stereo upgrades are very popular. Of course the Ranger shares the chassis and wiring with the Mazda B series trucks. When you are installing an upgraded stereo, or you are re-installing the factory Ford stereo, our Ranger stereo wiring guide can save you money and time.
When you want to upgrade your Ford Ranger stereo, luckily there aren’t too many variations. Today I’ll be showing you the Ranger stereo wiring for all the Ford trucks from 
1982 to 2011. Installing an upgraded stereo head unit or the standard single DIN stereo is simple but will require a mounting kit.
These kits allow you to bolt into the factory Ranger brackets, and properly mount your stereo. When it comes to the car audio wiring in your Ranger, you can use a flying loom or stereo wiring harness or wire it up yourself. Of course when you want to do your own Ford stereo wiring, you’ll need our Ranger stereo wiring guide.
First Gen Ranger stereo wiring guide 1983–1988
The first generation Ranger underwent a change to the dashboard and the interior after the 1988 year. This included changes to the stereo, especially when it comes to mounting your new Ford radio.
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Green/Yellow
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow/Black
Car Radio Ground Wire: Chassis
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Blue/Red
The front Ranger speakers are mounted into the dash, making upgrading them slightly difficult.
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Orange/Green
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Black/White
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Black/White
Many Ranger owners upgrade the rear speakers from 5″ x 7″ speakers to the more common 6″ x 9″ form factor.
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Pink/Green
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Pink/Blue
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Pink/Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Green/Orange
After the 1988 model year however the dashboard and factory radio changed slightly. These changes also included renovated exterior design and ran from Ford Ranger model years of 1989–1992.
Ranger Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Green/Yellow
Ranger Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow/Black
Ranger Radio Ground Wire: Chassis
Ranger Radio Illumination Wire: Blue/Red
Because the newer factory stereo is slightly larger than a standard single DIN, a install kit is recommended. This will make upgrading your Ranger stereo look much better. Install kits will replace the gap around the opening of your dashboard and make the aftermarket navigation or car stereo fit much better.
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Orange/Green
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Black/White
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Black/White
Upgrading your Ranger speakers in this generation is still slightly difficult because of the front speaker location.
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Pink/Green
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Pink/Blue
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Pink/Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Green/Orange
Our Ranger stereo wiring guide can also assist you if you’ve had your Ford Ranger radio stolen.
Instead of wasting time tracking down speaker wires, you can use that time to mount your new stereo, navigation system or MP3 player
Regardless of whether or not you’re a car stereo installation pro or not, this wiring guide has the information you need to complete your Ford Ranger radio install.
Second Gen Ranger stereo wiring guide 1993–2011
The next generation of Ford truck also featured a renovation midway through this generation. The changes to the interior and dash make it slightly easier to install a single DIN stereo, and the oddball 5 ” x 7 ” speakers in back return.
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Green/Purple
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow/Black
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black/Light Green
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Light Blue/Red
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: Doors
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Orange/Light Green
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Orange/Light Green
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green/Orange
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Gray/Light Blue
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Tan/Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Orange/Red
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Brown/Pink
From the 1997 Ford Ranger onward, the interior and stereo were again renovated. Changes were made just like the first generation Ranger, and there were several improvements to the car audio system. The changes to our Ranger stereo wiring schematic are below.
Car Radio Constant 12V+ Wire: Light Green
Car Radio Switched 12V+ Wire: Yellow/Black
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Light Blue/Red
The Ranger factory amplifier was typically mounted under the passenger seat after the 1997 model year. The trigger wire for the amplifier remote is the blue wire.
Left Front Speaker Wire (+): Orange/Light Green
Left Front Speaker Wire (-): Light Blue/White
After this revision the’s not much that changes until the end of the Ford Ranger run in 2011.
Right Front Speaker Wire (+): Dark Green/Orange
Right Front Speaker Wire (-): White/Light Green
The front Ranger speakers are mounted into the door however, making upgrades easier than the older Ford trucks.
Left Rear Speaker Wire (+): Gray/Light Blue
Left Rear Speaker Wire (-): Tan/Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Wire (+): Orange/Red
Right Rear Speaker Wire (-): Brown/Pink
There is one small con when it comes to upgrading your Ford Ranger stereo. The factory unit is not quite a double DIN size, which means you’ll need to get creative for a double DIN install.
Of course if you are installing a single DIN car stereo into your Ranger, you’ll need a custom pocket to make up the rest of the gap there in your Ranger dashboard.
Have any questions about our Ranger stereo wiring for your Ford truck? Leave us a comment below and let us know!
Do you know where the factory rear speaker wire terminate? I have holes for speakers in my 2008 ranger but no speakers. I see the correct colors coming off of the factory radio, but can’t find the “end” of the wires to connect to speakers. No one on the internet seems to know where these illusive wire run to. Any insight? Thanks.
Hi Dan,
unfortunately sir the rear Ford Ranger speaker wires would terminate at the actual speakers themselves. I would begin the painful process of tracking down where these Ranger speaker wires lead to from the head unit. hope that helps, and sorry to be the bearer of bad news
Hello ,
I have a Pioneer FH-X720BT that was in my old 2008 F150 well I got tired of spending a lot of money on fuel. I got a 2010 Ford ranger , could you tell me what I need to install the FH-720BT in the ranger .
Does Metra or any other company make install kits?
Hi Fernando,
to make your Ranger stereo install go smoothly, I would recommend any number of stereo plug and play wiring harnesses that will get the job done. Check out some of these here to help you get your Ford radio working :
2010 Ford Ranger stereo wiring harness
Hope that helps! Thanks for reading!
Good evening. I have a 1993 ford ranger and I have an amp and subs in the back. I had everything wired up and have been researching for weeks. I play about 2 sounds if that then my treble goes out on my speakers and it goes to all bass. Please help me. Thanks in advance!
Hi Clay, thanks for reading.
I would start by double-checking your grounds and ensuring that there is continuity in the wiring from your speakers to your head unit. If your Ford Ranger stereo wiring is compromised, this can cause this kind of stereo issues. You can use a multimeter to see if there’s a problem with your Ranger wiring.
I have a 97 ranger xlt with premium audio amp and cd changer. I am putting in a double din radio(dual xvm279bt) and have to splice connectors bc only 1 for new radio. 14 prong connector. What would the reverse+, acc, and amp/ant be? I have looked thru my wires and online diagrams and I think only 3 left to figure out (lol)
So far I have:
1. power= lt green/purple
2. ground= black/lt green
3. Dimmer/illumination= lt blue/red
4. Acc 12v= ?( black/pink or yellow/black)
5. Amp/ant=? (dark blue)
6. Reverse+= ? (Black)
Speakers are
Right side ( protocol b- tan)
Front right pos-white/red
Front right neg-brown
Rear right pos-purple/white
Rear right neg-lt blue
Left side (protocol a- lt blue/pink)
Front left pos- lt green/red
Front left neg-white/orange
Rear left pos-lt blue/black
Rear left neg-yellow
CD player has a positive (grey) and negative (orange/black)
I am assuming I splice all speaker wires together?( Ex. Radio left door pos and cd left door positive twist together with connector left door positive. All 3 twisted together.) That will make it easier to figure out the other 6 (listed above) supposedly?
Thank you for the help.
Hi Sara, thanks for reading my Ranger stereo guide.
You don’t want to twist wires together in this scenario. If you are trying to identify the speakers that your wires terminate to, try using a 9volt battery. Connecting to the power and ground of your speakers should send distorted white noise to the speaker, helping you identify what speaker is what.
Hope that helps