zahtar Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Ok guys and girls, I bought a set with four sensors, with a small led indicator that has a built in buzzer. It takes power from the reverse light as many other parking sensor units. I installed it and took some pics to share with you my experience in case it is of any help. English is not my mother language, so plz excuse any mistakes. Please be warned that this procedure involves work below the car, so make sure you do this 100% safely. Step 0: Painting the sensors to your car's color. (Optional) As another member advised, it is best to paint the sensors with a spray paint, and a spray clearcoat. This will make your sensors look nicer in the end. Unfortunately I did not follow this advice. I used the ford's touch up kit to paint the sensors which I ended up to rerget. From a close distance they look a bit sloppy, but from 2 steps away it looks fine. A technician mentioned that the spray coat should be very thin to ensure that the sensors work normally, but the brush I used probably applied a thick coat. My sensors were designed to allow being painted so this is something you should also take into consideration when buying your set. Another thing to think of is for the sensor cables not being permanently attached to the sensors. Not a must, but I think it could have served me better. Step 1: Measuring and marking I applied paper tape on the bumper so I could mark with my pen easily and protect it from any accidental scratches. Considering the boot clip being the middle of the car, I counted symmetrically from it. 20cm to the left (mark B ), 20cm to the right (mark C). From these two, I counted 40cm towards the sides, left side having mark A, right having mark D. That means all of them have a distance of 40cm from each other. All of them are marked at a height of 55cm from the ground. Step 2: Drilling (this can really get to you) I used a puncturing tool to work on the marks a bit, so the drill finds it way correctly without sliding a cross the paintwork scattering chaos all around (this is a BIG BIG warning!). I wasn't able to puncture the bumper, bit it was a good start for the drill. (yep, this is a really dirty car!) Do not force the drill in the hole, it will find its own way, Hold the drill steady moving slowly and horizontally. The slower you do it, the smoother the hole will be. Notice all the black plastic shreds around the hole. This is normal. While opening the two central holes, the bumper vibrates a lot and makes a really loud sound. This sound is almost heartbreaking. If you love your car too much, detail it too much, and are afraid to hurt it, hearing this will be a real challenge for you. I was using the drill carefully so I did no damage. There is a decent gap behind the bumper so you won't reach the metal if you don't force things. The holes are really neat and you can also tell this from the drilled parts. Step 3: Installing sensors Before installing any of the sensors I marked their connectors with A,B,C,D as the sockets in the main unit. This helps identifying which cable is for which sensor when connecting to the main unit. On second thought, that was not really necessary, as you can tell which is which by the length of the cable that reaches the main unit (the longer the cable, the closer the sensor is). Insert the connectors first, reach from below to the inside of the bumper and pull them all the way in. Before you secure them, keep in mind that some sensors are oriented. Mine had an “up” mark to specify this. What the Ford electrician told me was absolutely true; in the inside of the bumper there are some clips where you can route the cables! Step 4: Routing the cables inside the boot. First you need to remove bottom and side carpet. I could not totally remove the side carpet, but completed the installation without issues. To move the side carpet, locate the two plastic bolts (do you call these grommets?) as shown in the pic. One is shown, the other is symmetrical. Put your fingers between the plastic and the metal and pull towards the front of the car. They come off completely with a normal difficulty which I like very much cause it means they will be steady afterwards too (ok, they will indeed become loose if you use them too much). The rest of the plastic comes off by pulling it upwards (vertically) releasing 4 metal clips. I did a little damage here, even though I was really careful :( I used flexible super glue to fix this. Pull out the side carpet as much as you can, to reveal the holes and the cables powering the rear lamps (upper side part of the boot) and the fog lamp on the bumper (lower side, just below the others). The fog lamp is powered via a cable which goes down through a rubber seal. This is where you will run the sensor cables through. The Ford electrician advised this entry because its not on the same side as the exhaust. Keep in mind that this is the rear left of my car, which has a left steering wheel. Don't know if everything is symmetrical in UK, but the thing is to keep the cables away from the exhaust. The four sleek cables are from my sensors, the curly one is from the fog lamp. You will have to carefully puncture a hole through this rubber seal as I did. Feed all the cables through this (from below the car towards the boot) and afterwards seal the new hole with silicon glue or whatever. Forgot to take a pic from below the car, but it is really easy to identify the curly cable and open this seal. The seal is not glued on the hole, it is removable and secures nicely. Once you have fed the cables though, stabilize their part that is below the car with tier ups (or whatever), so there is no danger of them being caught anywhere. Do this and the work below the car is complete. Step 5: Wire connections A while ago, when you moved aside the side carpet, you revealed the holes and the cables powering the rear lamps (upper side part of the boot). You will need now to bent inside and find this connector. It has a push pin which releases if you push it upwards. No click, it comes off really smoothly. I think it only clicks when plugging in. Notice in the next image the two cables which I have drawn apart on the right. They are the blue and the black/purple. Sorry for being out of focus. The blue connects to the + of the parking sensor power supply (red for mine) and the black/purple connects to the – (black for most I guess). My dad helped me stripping the wires and connecting the unit's power wires there as I just described. Insulating tape was applied to separate each cable. Additionally, a pair of tier ups was set on each cable so that the tape doesn't dry and go away after some time. Overkill? I do think so, but my dad insisted that this was the best way to be sure in the long run. Better safe than sorry... Plug the connector back in place (push pin was downside) and connect the cables to the main unit to test the sensors. As someone posted earlier, you can put in the reverse gear without the engine running, in order to power up the parking sensor. Walk behind your fiesta and listen to the buzzer, look at the display leds etc. If they all work correctly, one thing remains. And that is cable management inside your boot, behind the side carpet. I routed the supply cable and the sensor cables through some gaps that allow me to have everything in my boot. The unit came along with double sided sticky tape, but I had a velcro sticker which works nicely on the carpet. Finally I placed the led indicator behind the seats of the rear passengers with velcro stickers as well. This way I can see it either through the mirror or directly if I turn and look back. I realised at a later point that the led indicator is designed to be looked at when facing forward. The way that I put it behind the passengers seats, gives mirrored readings. This means that if there is an obsactle on the left corner of the bumper, the leds for the right side will be flasing. This can probably be fixed by swapping the cables. I'll connect cable A to socket D, B to C, C-B, D-A. I have tamporarily left it as it is, cause the buzzer sounds anyway, so I know when I am about to touch something ;) And the exterior result. Thanks for reading, any comments or improvement suggestions are welcome :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preee Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Nice clear guide , i'm sure it will help other's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahtar Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 thanks mate, I hope it will :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Amazing guide. This will become very handy. I now have no excuse to be lazy and wait any longer :) I will have to order the unit and do it over some free weekend. My old car had parking sensors so I do miss this feature. Thanks for your time and effort to create this guide. Btw. Nice finish quality. You would think that these are factory fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahtar Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 Thanks for your kind words Rain :) You could really take a shot at it, if you are careful you will probably have no problems. Only thing I hasitated was stripping the wires and making the connection. Working slowly and taking my time lasted about 4 hours, but it can definitely be done a lot faster. Regarding the finish, this is the distance that it looks nice from. If you get closer than 1m, it looks a bit sloppy. If I had painted them with a spray, they would have been close to perfect. No big deal though, they work fine anyway :) Take care when removing the plastic cover, step4 pic2. I think I tilted it a bit, so maybe that's why that clip broke. good luck, have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I'm still waiting for my sensors. It feels like forever. But I'm getting ready for it and have received some of the other bits like cable ties, silicon sealant, etc. I routed the supply cable and the sensor cables through some gaps that allow me to have everything in my boot. The unit came along with double sided sticky tape, but I had a velcro sticker which works nicely on the carpet. I have to do bit of thinking where to place the unit and from where to route the cables because of another mod that I have in my mind, those holes will not be available. I will let you know how my sensors turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Spencer Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 could you use a scotch block connector knowing my luck I would cut the wire trying to strip it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahtar Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 I know what you mean, that was my reservation when I reached the wire connection part. I believe you can use these connectors, with no problem. The only reason I didn't, was because I didn't find anything like them before the shops closed for weekend. My dad is used to doing this sort of stuff, so being eager to install them, I did it the way explained above. Good luck and let us know how it turned out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Spencer Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 cheers just need to find time when I'm free and it's not raining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D13 HPD 95 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 i done these worked a treat and still working best £15 spent so far!!! :) gutted i spllied on one of the hole tho :/ now the middle right is a little higher than the rest but on one has seen it yet unless i have told them :) all good cheers!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Spencer Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Fitted them today ( in between the rain showers ) I used a scotch Block for the blue wire and the earth wire I earthed it to the bodywork ,, there is a bolt there where the lights are earthed so I used that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahtar Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Happy to know the guide helped you guys! How long did it take you to do the whole thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Spencer Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 A couple of hrs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D13 HPD 95 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 1 1/2 hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahtar Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 That's great! You guys did it a lot faster than me. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandjen Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Fitted mine today - eBay seller (based in Tun Wells UK) supplied two colour coded sensors and two mat black sensors so I could fit them in the factory fitted positions - only £14.99 delivered - included adjuster rings as well - easy to fit worst part was running the two cables from one side to the other internally but got there in the end Very pleased with the finished result - will get some photos soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahtar Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 nice to know :) post some photos when you have the opportunity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazst170 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Can anyone recommend what parking sensors I should buy. Thanks in advance gary Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazst170 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Is eBay the best place to find the reverse sensors? Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 For the price, they're sure worth a shot!! Sent from my SM-P600 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazst170 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Could you recommend which to go for. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Could you recommend which to go for. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app I bought this set:http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=141038761146 Just emailed my insurance company to find out about adding them as a modification and they want £25!! Robbing !Removed!!! Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazst170 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Thanks for that il have a look. That's not good about the insurance mate. Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negendahl Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I bought this set: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=141038761146 Just emailed my insurance company to find out about adding them as a modification and they want £25!! Robbing !Removed!!! Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app Anyone have any idea what color would match Ford's "Midnight Sky" ? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The picture on the listing is reasonably accurate. I can tell you Tonic Blue is a close enough match to Avalon Sent from my SM-P600 using Ford OC mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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