Beta Don
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Everything posted by Beta Don
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Window Tint
Beta Don replied to Thelegend's topic in Glass, Lenses, Lights, Mirrors, Window Tint & Wipers
It's 90% clear, which means it blocks 10% of the light coming through. At night, I wouldn't care to be missing that 10%. I have a pretty bad case of glaucoma and even wearing sunglasses in the daytime is uncomfortable for me - It's a bit claustrophobic. Our last car had tinted windows when we bought it and I had to get the tint removed before I really felt comfortable driving it Don -
Window Tint
Beta Don replied to Thelegend's topic in Glass, Lenses, Lights, Mirrors, Window Tint & Wipers
Don - Thanks for the heads up on the 3M Crystalline tint - I learned a lot. I think I would be happy with their 90% clear tint as it blocks almost all IR and UV radiation which keeps the car cooler and that's what I'm after. I really don't care for dark tint anyway. As clear as that tint looks, I'm pretty sure nobody would hassle me about it even if I had it a bit farther down the windshield than is really legal. It doesn't block radio signals either, which is important because I have a GPS antenna under that little hood over the back-up screen Don -
Factory Hitch Install completed
Beta Don replied to Osco's topic in Cargo, Hauling, Towing & Upfit Packages
I bought a wiring kit that came with plugs & sockets matching the OEM tail light connectors - Unplug them at the tail lights and plug in the harness on both sides http://www.ebay.com/itm/142100659515?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT The instructions said to run a wire all the way to the battery for power, but I tapped into the rear accessory power plug on our SWM passenger van. Soldered and taped the connection Don -
Window Tint
Beta Don replied to Thelegend's topic in Glass, Lenses, Lights, Mirrors, Window Tint & Wipers
How far down can a strip across the top of the windshield be without getting hasseled about it? Probably varies by state I suppose. I would love an 8 inch tall strip of 50/50 tint across the top of the windshield Don -
2014 TC, where to mount cell phone/gps?
Beta Don replied to mmontminy's topic in Accessories and Modifications
It wants a VSS input as it makes the GPS even more accurate. My installation is pretty basic right now while I wait for my book of TC wiring diagrams to arrive I cover that part of the dash with a small towel to keep the sun off the headunit when the car is parked anywhere but in my garage, so hopefully thieves won't break in just to see what's behind the towel Don -
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
Beta Don replied to 103west43rd's topic in Glass, Lenses, Lights, Mirrors, Window Tint & Wipers
That's been my experience too so far - When it comes to electrical mods, if it didn't come from the factory with it, it's next to impossible to add it later. I have no unused relay sockets in the under hood fuse panel which are labeled for DRL's or anything of that nature There is a tiny parking lamp bulb in the headlight assembly which comes on when you unlock the doors - I'd be happy if I could just make that bulb light up whenever the key is on. It would be easy enough to replace the bulb with a brighter LED and that *should* make the van more visible in the daytime. I've ridden motorcycles for about 50 years and I'm all for *anything* that makes me more visible. You would think that anybody could see something as big and bright as a white TC coming at them, but I know better. Some sort of DRL is going to have to be added in the near future Don -
2014 TC, where to mount cell phone/gps?
Beta Don replied to mmontminy's topic in Accessories and Modifications
We discovered that too the first week we had it. We've used the same touchscreen Garmin GPS for years - I originally bought it to use on my motorcycles because it's touch screen, waterproof and has an internal battery. I just keep upgrading the maps on it every year or two I'm another one who never answers my phone while I'm driving. If it rings, I hand it to my wife and if she's not with me, I just let it ring Anyway, a week after we bought the TC I got to seriously looking into changing the headunit out for something with Bluetooth and Nav. We settled on the Pioneer AVIC 6100-NEX and got that installed last week. The GPS in it is a huge upgrade from my old Garmin and it's also touch screen, pinch and squeeze to expand/contract the display. It's got a USB input for playing our music sticks and you can plug your cel phone into it and do all sorts of neat things like real time traffic info off the phone. Installed it using the Metra dash kit - Looks pretty good, works really well and 'solves' the 'where to GPS/phone' problem Don -
I ordered one and it arrived broken also - I sent it back The round circle with the red slash you see in the center of the back panel in the above pictures is to remind you not to sit anything heavy on it I was disappointed it didn't come with the car as my last few cars have all had one and I loved the way they work - The Ford one was a big disappointment and I won't be ordering another. If it was $50, maybe, but at $135 plus tax, it's way overpriced, IMO Don
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Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
Beta Don replied to 103west43rd's topic in Glass, Lenses, Lights, Mirrors, Window Tint & Wipers
My owners manual mentions the factory DRL option. Mine doesn't have it and there's no blank spot in the underhood fuse panel where I could install a relay to make that work Don -
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
Beta Don replied to 103west43rd's topic in Glass, Lenses, Lights, Mirrors, Window Tint & Wipers
Does anyone know if this option works for the 2014 and newer models? Don -
Well, any 'restocking fee' on a defective part seems a bit much to me - If I had opted for them to get me replacement, the defective part would have been returned with no fee. Refunding all my money would have been the simplest thing for them to do, but when you have a chance to put the screws to a new, first time Ford owner, you just can't pass that up, evidently When I spoke to the dealer manager, he said the fee would only be 10% - Not the 15% the other dealer charges. When I actually went in for my money, it was 20% and not the 10% he told me over the phone. I'll chalk it up to a learning experience. I've never owned a Ford of any kind before, so I was kinda 'shopping' for a Ford dealer. My last 4 vehicles were all Mazdas and the good news is, our local Mazda dealer is also a Ford dealer. They are twice as far from my home as this dealer is, but I'm never going there again. I'll get my warranty work and recalls done from the Mazda dealer, but my plans to use the local Ford dealership for oil changes and tire rotations will have to be changed - Too far to drive for everyday things. It cost me about 30 bucks to find out the local guy isn't the dealer I want to do business with. Small price to pay I guess I probably will buy more things on-line in the future and forego having to deal with the parts department Don
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Well, they agreed it was a factory defect and "We'll order you another one" - I said I didn't want another one, I wanted my money back. "We don't do that on accessories" I ended up talking to the manager who said he would try to see if they could send it back to Ford, and if so, they'd give me back my money. He called me back at the end of the day and said that Ford had agreed to give him back my money and he would refund it to me . . . . less 10% for a restocking fee - I'm paying about $15 so they can restock a factory defective OEM accessory The box had been opened and retaped closed when we got it - I'm pretty sure it had been 'restocked' before Time to find me a new Ford dealer - Sadly, this one was 5 miles from my home and the new one will be 15 miles, but that's the price I'll have to pay to deal with someone I can trust. The new dealer allows you to return anything you order for a 15% restocking fee - This other guy claims he can't return *anything* to Ford (he even had to get special permission to send back my factory defect) so if I need any further accessories, I'll be buying from them Don
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Vehicle Purchase How To
Beta Don replied to Fifty150's topic in Buying, Leasing, Ordering & Owner Impressions
Unless I'm reading this wrong, you pretty much paid them the sticker price of $18K - No doubt that's the fastest way to get a 'deal' done A better way would have been to show up with a check made out to them for $16.5K and see if they turned you away Don -
2014-2016 door latch recall expanded
Beta Don replied to 103west43rd's topic in Recalls & Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs)
I don't think we'll know a thing until after we receive the October 3rd letter from Ford Don -
2014-2016 door latch recall expanded
Beta Don replied to 103west43rd's topic in Recalls & Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs)
Mines on the list too - Our local dealer said not to be surprised if they don't have the parts to perform the recall until sometime next year! Don -
For those of you considering buying this OEM Ford accessory for your passenger wagons, I'll relate my experience with it and maybe save you some time, trouble and expense Our last 4 or 5 vehicles have all been hatchbacks and they all came with this 'accessory' as standard equipment. It covers the cargo area behind the rear seats which allows you to store valuables in the car out of sight of anyone looking in the windows to see what you're carrying. On our hatchbacks, the cover is tethered to the rear hatchback so when you open the hatch, the cover raises for easy access to the cargo area. Not so with the TC This accessory is $135 plus tax from your Ford dealer. It comes with a 3 page 'installation manual which is supposed to be in English, Spanish and French - The 'Congratulations, you just purchased . . . . ' part is in all 3 languages, but the actual instructions use no language at all and are just a series of 'universally understood' drawings with no instructions necessary - "We have made every effort to ensure that the Cargo Shade Kit is top quality in terms of fit, durability, finish and ease of installation. After more than an hour of trying to figure out how to make it work, it's going back to Ford this morning It's two pieces, which in the drawings are clearly held together by the hinges which allow the back half to both fold backwards onto the top half and then fold forward when the back half is raised, but the one we received have hinges which fall apart every time you try to use it and they added a pair of permanently installed straps not show in the drawings which keep the two pieces from getting completely separated. Ours is obviously a factory defect, because the hinges will not allow it to move into the positions shown in the drawings IMHO, this is a clunky, unworkable attempt at an easily usable cover - Even if it did work as designed, I'm not sure I'd want to use it as it's more trouble than it's worth - At $141 including tax, it's definitely not worth the trouble, at least to me. Generally, Ford does not allow returns on purchased accessories and they warned me of that when I bought it, but since it doesn't function as the drawing suggest it should, it's going back! I'll let you know what happens when I return it Don
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Do an eBay search for '7440 LED' and you'll find tons of 'plug and play' LED lamps for both the 7440 and the 7443 and you can get them in red, amber or white Don Edit: - My bad! It appears no matter which LED you buy, at least for the turn signals you'll have to install a separate resistor to cure the hyper flash problem. The LED's and the resistors are both inexpensive on eBay and you only need the resistors on the turn signal LED's - The back-up lights, tail and brake lights will work fine without them
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Installing Aftermarket Radio/Nav Unit
Beta Don replied to Beta Don's topic in Audio, Navigation and SYNC
Thank you!! I really appreciate it I found a book like that for my 2014 on eBay - I'm gonna need it going forward I can tell Don -
Upgrading Speakers in 2015 TC XLT w/ Sync
Beta Don replied to Abe Kowitz's topic in Audio, Navigation and SYNC
"I disagree on the insulating. I don't get why that's always recommended. I'm not going for ridiculous volume, just an improvement in quality." Speakers produce sound waves containing various frequencies. Even at very llow power levels, the outer door skin of your car door has a resonant frequency where it will vibrate and that cancels much of the power produced by the speaker. Since you're sticking with your low powered OEM head unit, a layer or two of DynaMat applied to the door panel behind the speaker might actually do more for the sound quality at low levels than new speakers - Your new, underpowered speakers will still be fighting the effects of the resonant vibrations of your 'speaker enclosure' There's a reason speaker enclosures are made from thick wood that the sound waves produced by the speaker can't move - You want the sound waves produced by the speaker to vibrate the air within the car and not be wasted vibrating the innards of your car doors I would add the DynaMat first and see how much improvement that makes before I spent a dime on new speakers - You might save yourself lots of time and trouble, not to mention money changing only the speakers. New, high quality speakers which need more power to effectively move the air coupled to the same underpowered head unit may not improve the sound much. DynaMat could make a bigger change by effectively increasing the power of your OEM speakers . . . . but if you don't try it for yourself, you'll never know. Don -
Vehicle Purchase How To
Beta Don replied to Fifty150's topic in Buying, Leasing, Ordering & Owner Impressions
You just need to be able to walk away - Once you fall in love with whatever vehicle they're selling, you're toast! Say the sticker is $25K and you want to get it as far under that number as possible. 1.) Tell the sales guy you ARE going to buy XYZ and you're just shopping for the best deal. 2.) Tell him you have the cash (preferably) or you have your own financing. 3.) Tell him you're shopping around and you aren't going to buy anything TODAY . . . . no matter how good the deal is. 4.) Tell him you'd like to pay $20K (or whatever your desired number is) OUT THE DOOR which includes all the dealers fees, tax and title. Let him see how close he can some to your number, and assuming he can't meet it (pretty likely on your first meeting) then take his business card, give him your name and number and tell him you'll get back with him after you look at a few other dealerships. 5.) Don't be afraid to look farther from home for the best deal. We bought our TC 400 miles away If you do this at half a dozen dealerships, you'll have sales guys calling you back every few days with slightly better numbers than the best numbers they could do on day one. Do it at enough dealerships and you'll find the 'right' vehicle at your price, or one very near your price. But . . . . as soon as you (or your wife) falls in love with a particular vehicle, you're pretty much done for. In any bartering situation one party or the other is 'in control' of the situation - That should be YOU, since you have the money to buy the vehicle and he needs to sell it way more than you need to buy it, but sales guys all go to 'sucker college' to learn how to take control away from you and sell it for their number and not yours, so when you feel it start to slip away, turn on your heel and head home! Never be afraid to walk away! - True, it might not be there tomorrow (and he will warn you of that) but if it isn't, then tomorrow, or next week, or next month, you WILL find a nicer one and at a better price Don -
If anyone has any info on where to tap into the VSS signal. the Back-up signal and the Parking Brake signal for 2014 and newer TC's it would be great to post that info here. I've done fairly extensive Internet searches and haven't found a clue. Maybe someone has a Factory Shop Manual with that info? Thanks! Don
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Can I Upgrade the Steering Wheel?
Beta Don replied to Beta Don's topic in Audio, Navigation and SYNC
Yes, I understand that . . . . but if the wiring isn't there to add the new switches then it's not going to work, and it appears my new wheel with the audio/Bluetooth controls isn't connected to the CAN network, so the new switches are not usable I discovered (quite by accident) that the CAN network must be what turns the audio system on and off also - There isn't a +12 'accessory' wire in the OEM harness for the headunit -
Converted 2015 LWB Wagon into a Van
Beta Don replied to DonShockley's topic in Accessories and Modifications
Interesting. I did lots of research and looked at a dozen vans prior to making the purchase of our 2014 XLT SWB Wagon. Initially we wanted a SWB van for the extra room, but on occasion we do need to carry a 3rd or sometimes a 4th person and it looked to be lots harder to add seats to a van than it probably would be to remove them from a wagon. We looked at a van with the floor liner removed and it's a completely different floor pan than the one used in the wagon - I can't see them importing wagons only to rip out the interior and weld in a completely new floor pan Anyway . . . . with the SWB wagons there are no 3rd row seats of course, but the second row seats are very different from the LWB version. Our seatbacks fold flat and then the entire seat flips up vertically to rest just behind the front buckets - The headrests end up pointed down into the footwell space. This gives you back an extra 18" or so of virtually flat floor space. Seats still in the way? Flip two little yellow levers and the seats lift completely out of the van which gives you another foot or so of space The rear seats are 60/40 and you can take out either one or both of them. Total time less than 2 minutes. They reinstall just as easily. Flat floor except for the small footwell space just behind the front buckets. The center shoulder seatbelt is built into the larger seat and comes out with it. You are left with four small recesses where the rear of the seats anchor to the floor, but the recesses are only about 1 1/4 by 3 inches, so your cargo slides over them unobstructed Once we found out about this simple very well engineered seating removal system . . . . and not a single sales person in any of the dealerships we visited knew that the rear seats just lifted out (We were twice told "I suppose you could find a way to unbolt them") it was an easy decision as to whether to buy a van or a wagon The LWB van may have the same floor pan as the wagon, though if it does you would see where they welded in a cover for the footwells, but the SWB van and wagon have very different floor pans as the recesses for the seat latches isn't there in the van version Don -
Can I Upgrade the Steering Wheel?
Beta Don replied to Beta Don's topic in Audio, Navigation and SYNC
You were correct. The new leather wrapped wheel was an easy install and looks great (feels even better!) but it doesn't look like I'll ever be able to do anything with the radio/Bluetooth controls. The new wheel plugged into the clockspring using the same connector as the old wheel, but it appears the wiring to support the new controls isn't there. I *could* put the controls from the old wheel into the new one, since the new controls don't function but I don't think I'll bother On a side note - This van isn't easy to install anything in. Would you believe there is no switched 12 volt accessory wire anywhere behind the radio? Evidently they're using a digital signal to turn the stock radio on when you turn the key to accessory or to 'on'. I've gotta find me a switched 12 volt source somewhere to turn my new Pioneer Radio/Nav on. Nothing's easy . . . . well, I guess the trailer hitch install went pretty smoothly, but that's about it Don