[Graybeard]

I want to wire a bluetooth phone patch into the factory radio in my '04 Monterey. Some of the bluetooth kit providers show 3 remote mute inputs on the Ford radio, but they are not shown in either the 2004 nor 2006 Freestar/Monterey factory wiring diagrams. If they exist, do you know which pins?

Yes, there's a mute button on the radio, but I want automatic muting when receiving a call.

Thanks in advance.

[oldtimer35]

Sorry, hit the wrong button. The only mute I see is on one with remote controls that are on the steering wheel and then only at the rear audio unit. Not sure that will help with what you are wanting to do.

[Graybeard]

Yes, OldTimer, the mute buttons on the steer wheel and the face of the radio work fine. I'm looking for a discrete input that will mute when grounded from the bluetooth device. Are there radio diagrams available for Ford that are more complete than what's in the Wiring Diagram Manuals?

[grog11]

There are harness adapters that hook to the wiring plug interfaces for bluetooth.

Ford Bluetooth® Wiring Harness Integrates Bluetooth cell phone kits with factory stereos in select vehicles, 2003-up at Crutchfield.com

Parts for 2004 FORD FREESTAR - photos, charts and more installer.com

I am sure that if you contact some of the installers, they have a pinout that would give you the common ground that will mute the radio.

Let me know how it goes, here in New York State they are tightening the laws on cell phone use and the bluetooth kit would be nice to have right thru the speakers, and a microphone by the drivers head somewhere.

[Graybeard]

Thanks for the links, Grog. I thought NY was ahead of Calif on such laws. You had "Lights on with Wipers" ten years before us. We've had handsfree law for a couple of years.

I had a Pioneer combination radio, GPS, bluetooth, etc., in the car for the last 2 1/2 years, and the bluetooth handsfree calling was the best part of it. The display was just too low in the dash to see the GPS clearly and safely, so I've gone to a Garmin 1490T and put back the original radio CD. The audio through speakers and remote mike was really nice. For ease of installation, I had put the mike in front of the speedo. It worked great, and even pretty good at 80.

I mounted the GPS so it's completely out of sight when not in use, and hid the cable inside the dash to a power source that is hot in run and acc. I hate cable spaghetti.

[grog11]

Cell phone hands free has been a law for a couple yrs. here, but they are now really enforcing it agressively. New revised law that lets an officer stop you, for just that particular cell phone offense. Before they had to stop you for other reasons and add it to the list of ticketing offenses, so I was told by others. Too many texting, talking, while driving accidents, etc. I am sure you have seen the distracted drivers also in California. Its getting crazy on the roads these days.

[Graybeard]

I've been using a celfone in my car for a dozen years, and using a GPS for five years. I've found that talking on the celfone need be no more hazardous than talking to the person next to you. The real hazard is what takes your eye focus off the road and into the car, like dialing, texting or looking at or dicking with the GPS. That's one big reason I removed the radio/GPS. It was mounted too low in the center console to be seen without taking eyes completely off the road. All I could really see was distance and direction of next turn.

I've mounted a GPS up next to the mirror, and it's not bad, but anything that blocks your view out the windshield is an offense in Calif. That law was in response to fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror. I don't know if they would cite you for the GPS, but no use tempting it, at the taxing cost of tickets nowadays.

My preferred location for the GPS is at arm's length on top of the dash, just to the right of the gearshift. It doesn't block outside vision, is reachable for touching, is visible and accessible to the passenger, and is as near primary field of view as possible.

While I've had no formal training in human factors, ergonomics or workload, I've had a fair amount of exposure to the thinking, in the course of certifying large civilian aircraft.

[DMarafino]

If you go with the Parrot handsfree kit, and the accompanying QC Harness, it automatically mutes the radio when receiving a call. The parrot kits also have the capability to integrate an iPod, Aux port, USB port, and BT streaming A2DP audio.

[Graybeard]

Stumbled onto a deal on ebay: Parrot CK3000 EVO, almost unused, for $40, and a Ford harness from UK for about $20.

I was over-worrying the Mute, as it turns out. It works perfect after snapping all the connectors together. With voice commands, like CALL HOME, it dials the number after digging into the fone's call list.

I haven't tried it at 80 mph yet, so don't know how road noise affects transmitted audio. I've applied a rattle can of undercoating to each fender well, so it's not near as bad as it used to be.

[ZephyrEFI]

Awesome! I didn't even know those kits existed! Now, if I could just find one that works with the old Alpine in the Zeph. I think I bought it in 2006.

[Graybeard]

Since you already have aftermarket radio, you can get some pretty good deals on a new radio with bluetooth and all that built in, for not much more than a new Parrot.

I see them advertised by local dealers on Craigslist, and ebay, too.

In my case, I like the large, simple controls of the OEM radio. I can't even figure out how to turn off the fancy aftermarket radio in the co. E350, let alone tune it while driving.

[ZephyrEFI]

Yeah, true. The kit might be good for our '12 Sync-less Focus though.