cheapest / easiest way to get rear parking sensors and BT hands free?

[shiwarrior]

Xtrons.co.uk have currently got it on offer for £240

 

https://xtrons.co.uk/ford-various-android-8-0-pb78fsfip-s

 

Buy it ??

 

 

Oh cool, just subscribed and I got 15% off

Even cheaper  😉

 

 

[FatHead1979]

2 hours ago, shiwarrior said:

Xtrons.co.uk have currently got it on offer for £240

 

https://xtrons.co.uk/ford-various-android-8-0-pb78fsfip-s

 

Buy it ??

 

 

Oh cool, just subscribed and I got 15% off

Even cheaper  😉

 

 

I would at that price, I think I paid that for a refurb (warrantied) unit through an eBay business seller.

[shiwarrior]

Will do!

Thanks

[shiwarrior]

can i double check please

Revering camera for 2009 Focus

is it this one ? :

https://xtrons.co.uk/ford-range-rover-various-reversing-camera-cammdf003

 

 

[Micro]

You can buy reverse cameras that are mounted in one of the numberplate light fittings, less than £10 on eBay.

Parking sensor sets are £10-15 or less on eBay from the UK.

[shiwarrior]

18 minutes ago, Micro said:

You can buy reverse cameras that are mounted in one of the numberplate light fittings, less than £10 on eBay.

Parking sensor sets are £10-15 or less on eBay from the UK.

Hi

 

i was originally going to buy a number plate camera one, but problem is , it changes the light to LEDs , so the other side would be harder to match

 

but im not sure how the Xtrons units work entirely; they seem to have different connections , i noticed some xtrons units use the RCA, some use USB, some their own design

 

I would like Parking Sensors, but i am not drilling holes and putting 4 round things on the back of my car, i like the clean look 🙂

 

thanks

[FatHead1979]

On 6/8/2019 at 10:52 PM, shiwarrior said:

Hi

 

i was originally going to buy a number plate camera one, but problem is , it changes the light to LEDs , so the other side would be harder to match

 

but im not sure how the Xtrons units work entirely; they seem to have different connections , i noticed some xtrons units use the RCA, some use USB, some their own design

 

I would like Parking Sensors, but i am not drilling holes and putting 4 round things on the back of my car, i like the clean look 🙂

 

thanks

The newer flagship spec Xtrons models are typically RCA for the reverse camera, in fact the unit you're purchasing has a RCA connection specifically for the reversing camera.  It also has several other RCA connections 1 of which is specific to an RCA dashcam.

 

The reversing camera model you've linked to say from Focus 2011 which would be the MK3 Focus (not your MK2), it's just RCA so it only really makes a difference because Ford make have changed the shape/size of the handle for opening the boot which would mean it wouldn't fit your car.

[shiwarrior]

Thanks for that, I'll get a 170 wide one of the bay then, I'll get the boot version rather than numbers plate one 

[Micro]

On 6/10/2019 at 1:45 PM, shiwarrior said:

Thanks for that, I'll get a 170 wide one of the bay then, I'll get the boot version rather than numbers plate one 

Simple LED Bulbs fix the "led" light issue. I swapped my other numberplate light to an led and looks nice and even (and means you don't really need to cut holes for wires).

Parking sensors are so common now that I wouldn't really buy a car or use one without - the look doesn't bother me. You can actually get "no drill" sensor kits, that use a long metal "aerial" stuck inside your bumper. The only problem is that they don't generally work well with big bits of metal around... like the crash bars you get on cars... I tried one on the front of mine, and it did not work well at all.

[shiwarrior]

11 hours ago, Micro said:

Simple led bulbs fix the "led" light issue. I swapped my other numberplate light to an led and looks nice and even (and means you don't really need to cut holes for wires).

Parking sensors are so common now that I wouldn't really buy a car or use one without - the look doesn't bother me. You can actually get "no drill" sensor kits, that use a long metal "aerial" stuck inside your bumper. The only problem is that they don't generally work well with big bits of metal around... like the crash bars you get on cars... I tried one on the front of mine, and it did not work well at all.

 

The problem is though, if i get a camera LED number plate one, trying to match the other side will be difficult ?

[Micro]

On 6/19/2019 at 3:03 PM, shiwarrior said:

 

The problem is though, if i get a camera LED number plate one, trying to match the other side will be difficult ?

Honestly mate I just bought some LED Bulbs for the other numberplate lamp and they matched. Both cold white and approx same output power. Numberplate lamp camera on the other side.

[shiwarrior]

Hey Damian

and anyone who wants to know for future reference

 

I bought my Xtrons Unit from xtrons.co.uk

and on the invoice , the listed company is "Car Audio Point"

 

i saw Car audio point on the bay, but i did not realize it's xtrons direct 

[Micro]

On 7/2/2019 at 4:35 PM, shiwarrior said:

I bought my Xtrons Unit from xtrons.co.uk

and on the invoice , the listed company is "Car Audio Point"

i saw Car audio point on the bay, but i did not realize it's xtrons direct 

Interesting! Just looked at my eBay invoice from 2016 and indeed I bought from xtrons direct also.

[FatHead1979]

On 7/2/2019 at 4:35 PM, shiwarrior said:

Hey Damian

and anyone who wants to know for future reference

 

I bought my Xtrons Unit from xtrons.co.uk

and on the invoice , the listed company is "Car Audio Point"

 

i saw Car audio point on the bay, but i did not realize it's xtrons direct 

I only realised when I emailed them with a technical issue on the original low spec unit and the response appeared to be written by Xtrons directly (wording wise), I'm not sure why they don't just sell on eBay using their "true" name.

[shiwarrior]

i'll post this in this here (as its my thread)

 

put my Xtrons unit in last night, in doing so (lack of time for a proper install) i took out the spare blanks next to the heater switches for the rear and front screens, but the left one has a wire attached to it, why would there be wires attached to a blank plate ?

 

i have seen heated seat controls here, but cant understand this on a zetec  ?

[FatHead1979]

On 7/17/2019 at 4:32 PM, shiwarrior said:

i'll post this in this here (as its my thread)

 

put my Xtrons unit in last night, in doing so (lack of time for a proper install) i took out the spare blanks next to the heater switches for the rear and front screens, but the left one has a wire attached to it, why would there be wires attached to a blank plate ?

 

i have seen heated seat controls here, but cant understand this on a zetec  ?

Ford (like all mainstream manufacturers) use a small number of looms to cover their entire trim level for a given vehicle.  I guess that if you only have 2 "versions" of a loom (my number not the real number) then the savings from being able to just bulk buy just 2 variants exceeds the small extra cost of having the odd wire that isn't used on some trim levels.

[shiwarrior]

cheers Damian, that makes perfect sense 🙂

 

 

[Botus]

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 2:38 PM, 1979Damian said:

Ford (like all mainstream manufacturers) use a small number of looms to cover their entire trim level for a given vehicle.  I guess that if you only have 2 "versions" of a loom (my number not the real number) then the savings from being able to just bulk buy just 2 variants exceeds the small extra cost of having the odd wire that isn't used on some trim levels.

this is no longer the way major manu do it.... (certainly BM and Merc have never done it this way)

each car has specific looms for the car they are building.  could easily be 5 looms for the same model inside say a given door and your car ONLY gets the wires for the toy count you bought.  A major pain in the ***** to re fit toys once affordable / on the secondhand market...

the cost is actually lower to the car manu as they don't pay for a length of wire... (multiply 25 pence x 20,000 cars and the accountants love it) its the supplier who gets screwed over, as they have to manage the complexity building and carrying the cost of stock, ensuring they get the right parts on time for the build spec of the one's being produced that day

ford must do it to some extent as there were no wires for BT in mine and no wires for dimming mirror or rain sensor - but it did have wiring for cruise control,

with the advent of can bus huge chunks don't need to be part of a main loom anymore...   you plug in a small cheap loom and in software enable the new toy.... parking sensors, camera, and the bits I mention above etc.

 

 

[Micro]

7 hours ago, Botus said:

the cost is actually lower to the car manu as they don't pay for a length of wire... (multiply 25 pence x 20,000 cars and the accountants love it) its the supplier who gets screwed over, as they have to manage the complexity building and carrying the cost of stock, ensuring they get the right parts on time for the build spec of the one's being produced that day

ford must do it to some extent as there were no wires for BT in mine and no wires for dimming mirror or rain sensor - but it did have wiring for cruise control,

with the advent of can bus huge chunks don't need to be part of a main loom anymore...   you plug in a small cheap loom and in software enable the new toy.... parking sensors, camera, and the bits I mention above etc.

 

 

Or they'll use the same plugs but not populate all pins, hence why there are gaps (with no contacts) in the fuse box.

CAN harnesses are simpler in one sense, but much more complex to diagnose / splice and add toys in another.