Custom Ashtray Switch Panel and Stereo Install - Jeep XJ 

It's some of my favorite time!

Thank you! My sons have been a large part of the channel and I'm proud of them!

Mary Poppins d JH sjdgjfsgf

It is one of those tools I wish I would have purchased a long time ago! Thanks!

Chris Meacham those strippers are wonderfull. I love mine.

Chris Meacham EBAY, 10 bucks! 20 for a really good one!

Chris Meacham I'm gonna get bullied for asking this but how do you make the wheels that wide.

i have the vise grip brand and there great

sometimes it’s built into the price compared to going to best buy or a audio store and buy it. Most the time you save 3-4$ then wait for shipping

Your ZJ is going to make many, many memories for you and your daughter! We have had a blast with the XJ!

The day I stop learning is the day they lay me to rest... I need to work on my soldering skills. Thank you!

The other thing I forgot to mention, I saw when you were putting the head unit in the dash, the unused blue wire had exposed copper. Can't remember if that's for a power antenna or for an amp but if it becomes energized you're going to have a short when it comes in contact with metal.

Uh, yeah genius, he knows that! That's exactly why he showed them and said not to use them! But thanks for repeating exactly the same thing he said in his video!👍🏼😉

@@TrailRecon also to go with that on the heat... that is why putting the iron tip on one side of the wire and then the solder itself onto the other is ideal, it lets the heat pull the solder into the wire... also when you find wires pre cut it's always a bit easier to twist as you pull them off as it cleans up the and twists the wire ends... I also prefer to twist any wire before I tin it... and lastly, it's a good idea to make a good mechanical connection between the two wires before soldering (which means don't tin them), simply twist them together so they aren't relying on only solder to keep from separating... on larger wire you can fray the wires a on both sides a bit then push them together, tamp them down then solder for a clean joint.

It's the best for sure!

Dest Droid Gshdjx

That was funny. Brad turned REAL fast to see his son's response.

Thank you! I've still got a lot to learn about soldering, but it's so much better than using those plastic connectors.

Right on, $800 is a great price! The XJ is a great platform to build upon!

That is the renix ignition system I believe, I have one and if you dont like electrical gremlins then prepare to be frustrated

Thank you!

We had a blast with this install and filming it! Thank you!

Right on!

DS Splicer no one asked for you knit pickin.

Any time I can get one of my sons in the garage to help with a project is a good day! Thank you!

He might be the devil in disguise for our fuse problem!

That was my thought also

I'll have to give a 9 volt battery a test next time we are tinkering with speakers, thank you for that suggestion!

Something special about turning wrenches in the garage with your kids... something everyone should do. Reviews are on the to-do list!!

Nice project. Fun to do. You’ve probable used a wire diagram for the stereo connectors? This took me a lot of hours to figure out since I have an Infinity sound system with 6 speakers and an amplifier under the rear seat which I all replaced. I kept the original Chrystler stereo for the old school look and connected a car interface on the cd-player output for bluetooth and mp3 streaming plus carkit. Works fine. The following speakers and amp fit perfectly as well. Audio upgrade JBL Gto 629 129/158mm rear JBL Club 6520 front JBL Club 750T tweeters front JBL GX A604 300x206x52mm The colour of the speakers vary from the stereo to the power amp and to the speaker! My tip? Take your time to measure all wires and label them. The power amp needs thicker positive (and negative) wiring directly from the battery with it’s own 40 amp fuse. I’m looking forward for the next video!

Excellent point! My son and I are on RU-vid all the time looking at XJ stuff, but it didn't even dawn on us to look up something like speaker wire... now we know. Thank you!

TrailRecon No problem guys, I just hate seeing good people like you guys doing all that unnecessary work! Keep up the good work guys!👍

Same deal with the main window/lock button. Those solders are notorious for breaking. There are some good videos that show exactly how to fix it if your windows start acting weird. It’s a common & easy fix! Good luck guys👍

I just got an xj and one window doesn't work.. you probably just saved me a few hours of scratching my head with this one comment haha

Brett Yoakum Well, someone else did the same for me so glad I could pay it forward!👍

Congrats on the new Jeep! Having to balance your time is a good problem to have!

Thank you! So glad I upgraded my soldering iron, it's so much better than the $5 one I was using before.

We love the XJ, it's been such a fun, inexpensive and reliable Jeep project, you should get one for sure! Thank you!

More to come, thanks!

Sorry you had to run new wire, we were just thankful we only had to run wire for one speaker! The switch panel is an easy and functional upgrade!

Read my comment above about the speaker wires, common problem and 20 minute fix!!!! They break at the driver door hinge inside the boot!

Thank you! It's so much nicer than the busted up ashtray that was there.

I love watching XJ videos!

LOL! Most folk say he looks more like his mom and my other two sons look more like me.

+1 on that. All the splices on my JK are the heat-shrinkable crimp connectors. Durable, waterproof connections.

Please don't tell people what to do with THEIR rigs.

Kara, Please don't reinforce IGNORANCE. There's a difference between giving someone advice on what they should do with their rigs, and how to do something properly. This isn't someone bashing on their selection of bumpers or lights (which normally I would agree with you on - don't tell someone what to do with their rig). This is something that can cause a failure or fire. Wire nuts have no place on vehicles. They were designed for use with solid core wire, and are relegated to the use in homes and stationary installations. Vehicles vibrate and with stranded wire, these nuts can work their way loose resulting in shorting out and possibly even causing a fire. Sure there are gonna be the one folk who "never had a fire and this is always the way he wires his rig", but I've had to fix so many stereos that people used those damn things on and had one too many dash fires because the previous owner used those and speaker wire for unfused power runs to let people do something so stupid. Do not use wire nuts. There are proper terminations for every application and wire nuts on vehicles is not one of them.

@@karanorman3163 use them if your dumb enough to. Than when it comes apart and burns up ecm or other electronics or worse yet causes a fire we can say told you so

Lord guys for the guy who said DO NOT USE THESE ON YOUR RIG!! Thank you for pointing out something that is not as obvious to some folks as it is to you, however you could have used a little more respectful way to explain a point that you are absolutely correct about. Not everyone is as informed on wiring applications in vehicles as guys such as us who have either been educated from the start on the correct way to do these projects or have learned the hard way. For the guy attacking back with “DONT TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO WITH THERE RIGS” I can understand that you may feel like his comment was abrasive, or bossy, even though it might have come off as disrespectful to you, I feel sure that it was simply him trying to pass along knowledge that will keep you and your rig safe and in one piece. Trail Recon’s host is a very humble respectful family man, who does a good job of bringing informative Jeep upgrades repairs and general ideas, also the best part is getting to see those things put to the test being able to get an honest review of all the work parts and repairs.He does all this while keeping his content clean and entertaining for viewers of all ages. We are as off-roaders are a great bread all our own. This community is one of the most friendly helpful groups you will find. I also ride motorcycles and I can tell you the family like feel that the Offroad community has you will not find there, or anywhere else. Take Jeep beach for example Daytona police department puts 3 extra officers per sector on duty to deal with traffic over flow same place and just as many people come October’s bike week, the department is all hands on deck and the also offer anyone inactive military police “MP” a job just to work the event as well as all the counties and city’s police around Daytona volunteer to work bike week as well that’s sometimes still not enough. We are all here to do the same thing and that’s enjoy the outdoors and have fun while living out our child hood dreams with these amazing rigs we all build. That do not mean that we should be acting like kids. Let’s keep the respect and goal in sight guys. Most of all this is a great channel with a great host who does all this not just for himself to to help all of us, and give us a way to share idea and help each-other, not act like kids. Best wishes to everyone here. TR thanks as always for sharing your builds.

Awesome, glad you enjoy them!

LOL! You can't please everyone in this world... no worries! Thank you!

There's always that "one guy" who just likes to always be an asshole! Fuck him!

I don't know if we'll do an spod, a budget version or even a DIY one, but as we begin adding more accessories, some central unit will be in order.