DonShockley

Here's a series of photos of the load floor extension in a 2014 LWB van http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/gallery/album/154-2014-tc-xlt-lwb-floor-panel/

It's just another clip, like the blue ones, but has an extra tether. I think it's purpose is to keep the trim from flying too far if the air bag deploys. There's a little T-slot in the trim it slips into. I think it was just chance which section happened to come loose first, the clip/frame connection or the clip/trim connection. I didn't worry too much about air bag deployment since it appeared the electrical connections were further up and to the rear in the headliner from where I was working. That connection at the bottom is just a strap to anchor the bottom.

Here's the thread I made documenting how I ran power to add USB ports in the overhead shelf. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/3936-added-usb-power-to-overhead-shelf/#entry11306 In the closeup photo at the base of the trim you can see the blue anchor pin and the black slot that it goes into which is how the trim is held in place. The trim piece will just pull off with gentle pulling. To get down into the dash I just pried the existing gap open slightly to feed the wires through.

I managed to cause a similar problem when I removed the seats from my 2015 wagon and was preparing them for long term stowage. There seems to be an interlock type arrangement between floor latches and the seat back release. I forget the exact sequence, but the solution ended up being using a screwdriver to shift the latch to the opposite position then the seat back would release. In your situation, I would take a look at the latches as you put the seat into the raised position. The latches clicking onto the bars on the floor mount should trigger the seat back release. If the latch triggered prematurely on just one side, which is what I think I did by accident, it could be getting the sequence of releases jammed up. You should see the latches in an open position during the transition, and then shut around the mount pins at each end position.

It's in the overhead console in my 2015 wagon. You can see it in this photo I took when I added USB power ports in that area.

When I was removing the second row seats from my 2015 LWB wagon, I noticed some of the factory wiring harness running forward under the front row seating on both sides. I can't give you details because I didn't go any further with my dis-assembly in that area. But you may be able to use the same channels the factory wiring uses to run your wires in. Here's some pages from the 2015 wiring manual that show the factory harness routing from front to back.

Should be no problem. The trailer kit was a #12 and then my wiring added another #12 and an #18, so a single #10 in the area should be no issue. And there were only a couple tight spots with the 3 wires, like at the base of the B pillars and the hood hinge area. But the hood hinge spot was mostly a poor routing by the dealer. Had he gone around the bracket instead of between the bracket and where it attached there would have been plenty of room. Everywhere else was very spacious. Another suggestion: when I was looking at possibly going to the battery terminal to power my accessory fuse box, one of the options I considered was bolting to the buss bar going to the high current fuse box at the front of the battery box instead of the battery terminal. Less likely to damage the connection during battery swaps or other maintenance. But I never did actually remove any of the insulation on the buss bar to see if it was possible.

Not hard at all. I would suggest following the routing the dealer used when installing the tow kit wiring in my 2015 Wagon. There's a grommet in the passenger side A-pillar, and the rest of the way it's just under trim pieces. If you want to see photos, check out my threads on installing an accessory fuse box and USB power point. My wiring for those ran in the same areas and you can see the red trailer power wire in several of the photos. The grommet is behind the large foam piece in this A-pillar photo from the USB thread. The trailer wire is the one coming out of the large hole. If you need any detail pix in an area, let me know I can try snap some to help you guide the wire, but the drawings in the instructions are pretty good. Here's the dealer installation instructions: (of course the Ford sites didn't provide them, but an online parts supplier did) http://www.partscheap.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/instructions/ford/escape/2015_escape_Trailer_Wiring_SKFT1J_15A416_AC.pdf It covers a couple different vehicles so scroll down to the middle of the pdf for the Transit Connect specifics. It taps off the fuse block on the front bottom of the battery box so you may need to change the routing slightly to reach the top terminals inside the box. And the other end is right next to the cargo area fuse box so you can just exit the wire on that end through the fuse box access panel. A caution from observing how the dealer installed mine: The wire runs over some sharp metal edges around the hood hinge area and makes a tight S turn as it comes through the grommet at the base of the A pillar and goes down into the dash. Use some type of chafing protection in this area. I added some since the dealer left the wire unprotected but I didn't have enough slack in the installed wire to do it in one piece so I had to slide 2 pieces from each side as far as possible and hope for the best.

Not sure how, but this was a double post. Moderators please feel free to delete it.

My 2015 Wagon has the liftgate and the measurement was done at the rear door opening, measured floor to headliner since that was the lowest. There's an extra 1/2" or so measured to the rubber weather stripping of the opening itself. There's also extra 2-1/2" height in the headliner areas between the roof ribs, but that would only be usable if you got the handlebars into the recessed area before you had the tire all the way in and if it didn't hit the next rib as you pushed it all the way in.

I just did a quick measurement on my 2015 wagon that has all the rear seats removed. 45" from deck to headliner so you should be good to go on height. Length is more difficult. With front seats all the way back, you have right at 7 ft measured at floor level in the middle. But the rear end curves a bit at the corner and the seats lean back quite a bit. So the measurement from driver's headrest to rear panel trim at the same level is down to 75". But it should be doable even if you have the tire riding in between the front seats a bit. But keep in mind, a wagon with seats installed will reduce the height by about 6" with all seats folded flat.

Back in July when I stopped just before actually placing a custom order for a 2016, I was informed the wait would be at least 4-6 months since that's what the 2015s were taking and maybe longer depending on when they switched production lines from 15 to 16. Since the 2016 is just now showing up on the Ford website, I'm guessing I would have been waiting well past the 6 months. I'm glad I've had the 2015 wagon these last four months.

Back in July when I was looking at ordering a 2016, I noticed that one of the changes was that all engines would now be Flex Fuel able to handle E85. I'm guessing that the changes made to accomplish that may have something to do with the reduced mileage ratings. I'm surprised because when I saw the extra Flex Fuel tech I assumed it would also mean better fuel ratings. Now I don't feel I missed out by going with the older tech if it means better gas mileage. I never would have used the E85 anyway due to it's shortcomings, but it's good to know I didn't also give up extra fuel efficiency overall.

The crossbars can be positioned anywhere along the length of the long continuous roof rails.

Yes, it was added at the dealer. It was the hitch from the Ford Accessory website, along with the wiring harness kit. http://accessories.ford.com/exterior/trailer-towing/kit-trailer-hitch-bar-10765.html http://accessories.ford.com/exterior/trailer-towing/kit-trailer-hitch-electrics-10797.html They were part of the purchase deal, ordered through the dealer parts department. I'm sure I could have gotten the parts back if I had thought to ask for them. I thought the hitch was just an addition to the existing bumper parts. So I thought they were only adding items, not removing any, so I didn't ask for the old parts. It would have been nice if they had asked. And by the time I found out that the job involved parts replacement, they no longer had the parts.

If I had realized they had to remove the inside bumper support bar to install the Ford accessory hitch, I would have asked for the old parts back when mine got added. It would be nice to have the old part just in case I or somebody else could use them. I had seen it described as "bolt on" so I figured it was just an added part, not a swap, so I never even thought to ask about keeping the removed parts.

PM me an address and I'll send you a couple for free. I bought a package of them off Amazon when I thought I might need to go that route. I'm happy to pass them along to somebody that might actually be able to use them. I've got 5 of these mini-taps: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SUTYYS2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01 and 4 of these inline holders: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N3VF76U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01 You're welcome to whatever you think you can use. Holy Cow! Gen 1 fuse boxes are pricey. I went back to eBay to see if the seller I got my Gen2 box from for under $20 had any Gen1 boxes available. I found a couple of the same engine fuse boxes from another seller but they were over $100 for the Gen1. I'll shell out $20 just to satisfy my curiosity about the construction even if I can't salvage the parts I'm looking for. For $100 I would need to know for sure.

In my drawings for the 2015, the Battery Saver feature seems to be another one of those items that is associated with certain options and the supporting circuitry and connections are only likely to be present if that option was included. The following bit is just a guess based on looking at how some of the wiring was done inside the salvaged engine compartment fuse block I tore apart. Inside the fuse box, there were several solid junction bars that not only provided power at the line side of all the fuse slots, but also line power to several of the relays. Then the trigger power for several of the relays was powered from the load side of one of the other fuses that was for a circuit that was switched. I was a bit confused was I tried to pull a terminal only to find that there were two wires attached. Once was a lead cut off when the wiring harness was cut, presumably to supply the circuit's stated purpose elsewhere in the vehicle. But the other was leading to another spot within the fuse block itself and was going to the relay spots. I didn't track down the pin number or diagram, so it's just a guess that it was the trigger wire for the relay. But that's the only reason I can think of to have small wires from other circuits going to relays with big high capacity power wires. Here's a photo of the underside of the fuse block and you can see some of the groups of wires tied together. Almost all of these were associated with the relay supply and control. Most of the relay outputs were single wires, although some relay outputs triggered other relays. I suspect the F155 , F144 , F149 fuses are intended to trigger an add-on accessory relay panel with the main supply power coming straight from the battery. I did see some such panels offered online when I was researching my own upgrades. My needs were best suited by a small unit intended for motorcycles. As soon as I saw it I knew it was the perfect solution for what I wanted to do. The fuse box construction is also why I wired up my own circuits the way I did. I don't like to tap into the closest existing wires when I am adding extras. I had to do that on prior vehicles and was always worried I could affect something else. So back then I always tried to use the cigarette lighter sockets when I could. My reasoning was that these likely had extra protection and isolation from the rest of the vehicle circuitry since us dumb customers were intended to hook up all sorts of stuff there anyway. But the TC is the first vehicle I've had where these are hot at all times and not switched, and this did not suit my needs so I started looking at a different way to do things. I figured if the load side of the fuses are there, the wiring inside the fuse box (and the supply to the fuse box) was likely properly sized to be able to supply the load. At the time, I hadn't purchased the scrap fuse box so didn't know it was bus bars although I had a suspicion it was done that way. This was because during my checks of the three rows of fuses in the cargo area fuse box, one entire row was constant on while the next entire row was switched. I forget which the third row was, but it too had the same for all fuses in the row. That's why I chose to put those circuit taps where I did. The upfitter diagram seemed to use the Taxi circuit spots so that's where I did my taps and sized the wires to support at least the same current as the fuse rating in the manual. Researching the wire sizing also caused some confusion. The Ford wires were smaller than I would have expected for the associated fuse wiring based on my experience with home DIY. Researching auto DIY gave slightly different size/amp figures but still not as big a difference as I was seeing on the Ford OEM wiring. I finally did come across a Ford document that listed their size/amp ratings which were higher (presumably due to the wire quality) which better matched what I was seeing installed. That was part of the reason I stepped up to a higher quality wire ordered online instead of using the normal wires purchased from the local auto parts store. I wanted to keep the quality up and make sure the fuses were the only weak spot. BTW: If you end up deciding on doing the taps the same way I did, I can hook you up with the parts fairly cheaply. Once I found the high quality parts I liked, many of them had minimum order quantities of 100 so I have a ton of leftovers. It made my job cost a bunch initially, but if I can help others avoid the same by providing the small quantities needed and offset some of my costs at the same time, everybody wins. I keep meaning to put together a "For Sale" type thread offering them up to other forum members needing them but haven't gotten around to it.

Resurrect away, that's the whole purpose of the thread: to be here to hopefully help when people need it to do something similar. Happy to answer any questions. Yes I did think about removing the carpet completely along with the remaining seat mounting plates. But in both cases it looked like it would lead to affecting other items and potentially causing a lot more extra work. The plastic trim piece on the floor at the rear door goes on top of the carpet. And removing that would have involved removing the rear anchors and spare tire access plate. Similarly, it would have also required removing the middle anchor points. The trim pieces on the side walls also sit on top of the carpet. Maybe removing the carpet would have just left a small gap but maybe it would have caused the hole side panels to shift or break when trying to hang from the plastic clips instead of sitting on the carpet. And if I had tried to remove the remaining seat anchors at the side, the floor would have been flatter but I would have left the trim pieces on the ends unsupported and they would have eventually gotten broken. In both cases, I figured the slight inconvenience of leaving them in place was outweighed by preserving the ability to convert back to the wagon configuration with relative ease. Even though I don't anticipate doing that until I trade it in many years from now. In addition to making a level surface over the gap left by removing the seats, and protecting the carpet underneath, the plywood also spreads any weight out over a larger surface area. I stopped tightening the bolts as soon as I felt the resistance of the carpet/foam underneath. Heavy loads are a rarity, and usually only carried for a short time. I am hoping that there will be little compression of the carpet and foam to preserve their function over the years. I am sure the top will be flattened but should fluff up with a good vacuuming.

Crazy? Sorta, but from a business perspective it does make some sense. It's often these little convenience features that people notice the lack of more than more hidden things like engine size. So if they can get the buyer to spend a couple thousand extra to step up to the next trim package, which of course has a bundle of features, it's in their best interest. If they made it possible to just drop in that one or two convenience items you want after selecting a lower trim package, it would be that much harder to sell the higher level trim package. That's also why they don't offer the holder as a stand alone repair part. It's probably the most likely thing to break but you can't turn much profit on the small stuff. Less inventory to track and more profit to be made if you have to buy an entire subassembly of many smaller parts when something breaks.

I had it apart when I was installing USB power ports in the riser just above that spot. There is a large recess under the cover and it looks like the drop down sunglass holder would just clip in place if you could get hold of one. I used the dead space to stow my crash emergency basics; whistle, seatbelt cutter, and glass breaker under the blank cover. I'm keeping an eye on my local scrap yard in the coming years to try to scavenge some extras like the sunglass holder. Update: Here's a photo I took but didn't use in my thread about the USB install that shows what's under the cover above the sunglass holder. But if I recall correctly, you don't need to remove the shelf to get the blank cover removed from the sunglass holder spot. I forget if it was the front edge or the rear edge; but if you pry slightly at the edge of the microphone plate, there are just some small hooks that catch the edge and they'll release with fairly little movement. Just let the microphone plate drop down. Then that will uncover the tabs holding the sunglass blank in place and it just pulls out. Then you can see the inside for yourself. That slot where you can see the orange whistle peeking through is where it looks like the hinge would attach and then the little spot just to the left of the microphone with the double open squares is where the latch attaches. It may be possible to add a hinge and catch to the existing blank cover. The tabs that hold the cover in place are pretty small and could easily be removed to allow the cover to move freely.

Not quite as nice as adding circuits in the existing fuse box, but I did find the next best thing for my needs. Some fair looking, and more importantly pretty bullet proof electrically, add on fuse holders. I was able to tap the supply side connections in the Aux Junction Box in the cargo area of my 2015 TC Wagon even though the fuse box didn't have the load side connections installed. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/3912-added-my-own-accessory-fuse-box/

If they look like these I can hook you up with some short wires. I bought a salvage 14 TC fuse box to see if the terminals were usable for adding circuits at the Aux Junction box on my 15. They were different so I couldn't use them once I got them pulled out. If they look like they'll fit, let me know what amperage you need and I'll make sure to send ones that were rated the same in the salvage fuse box. If you need them, PM me an address and I'll drop em in an envelope and get em sent off.

DarbukaDave: Here's a mounting option you may want to consider since it fits very close to where you mounted your temporary suction cup. It clips into the seams of the dash and has the same AMPS hole pattern as several of the RAM ball bases. But I don't have any personal experience with it. I forgot about it until I saw it in my old browser history. I had decided against it because I wanted my mount further away from the dash. http://www.proclipusa.com/dashboard-mounts/vehicle/ford/transit-connect/2014-2016/proclip-angled-mount-854991-14516.cmsv?p_leftorright=0 The instruction sheet has closer pictures of how it mounts. http://proclipusa.net/instruction.php?sku=854991 There's also one that mounts near the bottom of the air vent on the driver's side of the radio and another that attaches to the driver's side A pillar. Each of the mounts also has custom versions for both Gen 1 and Gen 2 Transit Connects.

I did find the engine noise and vibration fairly noticeable in my new 2015 TC wagon when I first got it. I too was a bit concerned but all seems fine. After looking at how deeply then engine compartment protrudes under the dash area, I think that's the difference from most of my prior vehicles. It's almost like the old 70's van my folks had when I was growing up with the big engine cover between the front seats. With the engine sorta half in and half out of the passenger area, there's less "outside" area for any noise and vibration to escape to, so more of it makes it inside. But that's just a guess on my part.