Don Ridley

dbv, The chassis is a proper ground, especially in a newer vehicle. A separate ground wire only increases the voltage drop. You also don't want to fuse the negative or ground leg. The + fuse at the battery protects all the wiring and it could be a problem if the ground leg opens while the + is hot. In high voltage applications this would be dangerous. Here it may only cause you to touch 12V.

This information sounds accurate. The cutoff for a custom order is this time of year. I just made the cutoff on my 2016 TC order this time last year. Just

Nice!

Welcome dbv. This thread will be useful: #4 AWG for 10 amps is way overkill. Use #8 and it will be much easier to attach the cables to the BJB and run it through the vehicle. Unless you have 40 or 50 feet of wire, you will not have any voltage drop problems.

The ones in the back were easy to remove. Try not to mangle the ribs. You should be able to pull the middle of the headliner down to find the rattle. Good luck. Rattles drive me crazy...And vans rattle.

Routing #4 cable to the back in your wagon will take 3-4 hours but it is not too difficult. 1 remove the rear side panel. Start at the jack storage opening. Take your time on each clip.The "pillars" on top snap onto the main panel.... Carefully disconnect these. This process takes patience and some strong fingers. 2 Remove the bottom threshold on the side door. 3 Fish/pull the cable through the rear passenger foot well under the carpet. You could run the cable in flex, plastic conduit on top of the carpet. Look at the light blue plastic conduit at Home Depot. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Carlon-1-in-x-25-ft-ENT-Coil-Blue-12008-025/202688856

I forget to add that I wrapped the cable with Tesa wire loom tape. This stuff is strong and helps pull the cable under and through things. Tesa's Most Advanced High Heat Harness Tape 51036 Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I2MLN2Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zWL5yb4JATNJH I found it cheaper on eBay.

The van looks great. The wait is worth it because now you have all the options and features you wanted. Plus, you have already forgotten about the wait, but a missing feature would be a constant reminder. Welcome Shorty!

Adding an audio amplifier, power inverter or other high current loads requires connecting heavy gauge cable directly to the battery. The Gen 2 TC’s battery is tucked under the front cowling and is enclosed in a covered box so making this connection difficult. Plus, having a big cable bolted to the battery with a big in-line fuse looks amateurish. There is a professional, safe and easy alternative. The front wall of the battery box holds the high current battery junction box (BJB). This is where all the power is distributed to other fuse blocks and modules in the TC. Remove the air filter housing. The BJB is attached to the front panel of the battery box. This panel lifts up and out to access the battery. Disconnect the (+) terminal and carefully pry open the BJB cover (5 tabs). You will have to cut some cable ties holding the cable on the front of the BJB. Here is the front of the BJB (air filter housing has been removed) This is the inside of the BJB. I have already added a cable on the bottom post of the unused slot on the right. The BJB has 10 circuits from 40A to 150A. The last slot on the right is used for glow plug power (60 amp) for a diesel motor. This slot will be available in all TCs in the United States. Connect your new power cable to the bottom terminal of this or any other open slot. Install the proper size MIDI style Littlefuse brand fuse. Attach with 5mm nylon locking insert nuts. I used #4 AWG cable and this fit with some trimming of the plastic housing. The #4 lug had to be shaved to fit the narrow slot. #4 AWG was overkill in my application. Remove the battery and battery box. Run the cable into the cab using the plastic square knock-out located on the firewall on the left (driver’s) side behind a perforated cutout in the padding/insulation. You can see the knock out under the master cylinder. I routed the cable under the center console. The console is easy to access by removing 4 screws. You do not need to remove any dash panels if you use an electrical fish tape or other stiff wire to pull the new cable under the short section of carpet and padding between the dash and console. The fish tape will poke out under the carpet near the accelerator pedal. Route the cable to your load. Plastic knock-out on the driver side firewall Important notes: Use the proper size and type of cable. I bought power cable designed for automotive audio amps. This is much different from cable used in homes and buildings (THHN for example). Automotive cable has many more strands of wire and is much more flexible…and expensive. Many of the cheaper offerings will be copper clad aluminum and the gauge may not be true. Use pure copper if you can afford it. My cable was sold by Kicker. What size cable? Note that the OEM cables in the BJB are #8 or #10 AWG but they are fused at 50 to 80A. This amperage does not comply with the NEC and does not need to. Do a Google search and you will find that you can safely use # 8 cable for automotive, 12 volt loads of 70 or 80A depending on the length of the run. The #4 AWG cable I used can handle well over 150A. If you are going to run large loads continuously, like power tools or large air compressors, you need to use an external generator. The TC is not a power plant and you should only connect large loads that are on intermittently, like a coffee maker or espresso machine. The standard alternator outputs 88 amps at 1800 rpm (150 amp max), so running the engine may not be enough power for large loads.

The aircraft-style storage bins are nice. The only problem is the door opening is small and this limits storage. For example, a hand bag or purse will not fit. I use it to store small bottles of water, small tools etc..

I bought upper-level speakers based on size (fitment) and price (not too cheap). Premium speakers are $400 a pair and there is a big drop in price to the next level at <$180 per pair. The front speakers are component type (separate tweeter): JL Audio C2650, $160 approx The rear speakers are 2-way: Alpine SPR-60, $110 approx Both are 6 1/2" size. Here is my post. Any speaker is better than stock. The head unit (for 4 speaker systems) is made by Sony and can output about 20W/channel max. so you will get 15 W of good sound. Don't buy high power speakers that need more power to drive them.

You can cut all the speaker wires at the head unit, go to an amp, then back to the original wiring. Power the amp with separate power from the fuse block in the back if you only need 20 or 30 amps. Turn it on from an ACC circuit in the same fuse block. See my post on connecting directly to this fuse block (AJB). Or buy an amp that senses the speaker signals and turns on. It gets complicated if you buy separates with external crossovers. You have to run new wire to the tweeters. If you can't find the previous post I can post the speaker wiring diagram. Let me know. The stock speakers are crap and must be replaced if you want more sound. I found just replacing the speakers made a huge difference. I am waiting for a new amp with built in digital signal processing I preordered months ago. I ran the last wire today (amp power). I'll post the cool way I found to connect to the battery.

Try blowing compressed air into the lock. I would make a fine nozzle using small tubing and work it around the inside of the lock. This will probably not work but I have a compressor so it would be worth trying.

Boomer, I am using a wireless ( inductive) phone charger. I used a small plastic plate and embedded the charger in closed cell foam on the plate. It resets on top of the trapaziod tray on the console and is secured by wedging foam in the same shape. It works ok because I don't have an aftermarket case on my phone. I can post another thread if you are interested. The only downside (some would say it is positive for safety), is I can't read the phone while driving.

Welcome and congratulations for finding the 1.6L turbo wagon (discontinued in 2017). You are going to love it. I think there are about 5 in California (just kidding).

The Gen 2 TCs have a center console compartment that is not very functional. It is deep and tapers at the bottom. To make things worse there are audio and USB jacks at the bottom. Anything you put in there sinks to the bottom never to be seen again. Here is a simple modification to make this space useful. Here it is....useless for storing a pocket knife, pens, garage openers etc.. I cut some closed cell foam floor exercise mat to create a shelf and a false bottom. I set the height to allow space for the USB cable. I used long thin screws to attach the standoff piece. Cutting a bevel in the front was challenging, but the material is cheap so keep trying until you get it right. Look at all that useful space! I punched the holes using various sizes of copper pipe (any other thin wall cylinder will work...just hammer it on a block of wood).

As some have noted, there is no switch to turn on all the interior lights on newer TCs. This modification will allow you to turn them on with a separate switch. Opening a door turns on all the lights, so I added a switch that activates the same circuit. You can easily turn on the lights and the van thinks you have opened the driver's door. It works well and the only hitch is you get a "door ajar" message on the message center. This is not a complete step by step but it covers the tricky parts. The most difficult thing will be removing the door panel without breaking any tabs or pins. You should have a panel removal tool (or tools). There are dozens on Amazon for under $20. You may also want to buy some spare clips for the door panels. Several are tough to reach even with the tool and you may break one .https://www.amazon.com/Ford-Panel-Retainer-Sealer-W713297-S300/dp/B00CWLL84C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489722168&sr=8-1&keywords=W713297-S300 Remove the plastic cover behind the door handle. It pulls straight out. Pry at the spot noted to avoid breaking any tabs. Remove the small panel behind the door latch Remove the door panel and unlatch the door handle Here is the wiring diagram. I used a pushbutton switch. This type of switch needs to be latching. You can use a rocker or toggle switch that has a normally closed terminal. The switch will be normally closed and open when the lights are turned on. The lights go off when the switch goes back to closed. I also used a lighted switch so I had to connect power for the light. The light is not necessary so only do it if you like the look. ***see diagram below*** Here is the power for the lighted switch. It is tied to the light for the door lock buttons. I used posi-lock connectors for this connection. The switch is wired to the door module. Pin 14 is cut and the switch is inserted. Here is the door module with the wire already cut. The wire had green paint on a black wire. Another view of the cut wiring I wired the switch using a modular pigtail that plugs in (for door panel removal in the future). These connections were soldered. The wire was dressed with Tesa cloth tape (I love this stuff). The Tesa tape prevents rattles and will not get gooey with age like some electrical tape. https://www.amazon.com/Tesa-Wire-Loom-Harness-Mercedes/dp/B00EH6IZ6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489723291&sr=8-1&keywords=tesa+tape The finished product. The switch light is always on just like the lights on the door switches. But I can't see it from the driver's seat (hence the uselessness of the light). You will get the alarm chime and message when you turn on the lights, but they work fine (just like opening a door while driving). Of course I insulated the door panel with theromozite and it gives the door a solid feel and dampens road noise. Insulating takes less than 1 hr per door and I highly recommend it. Use spay on adhesive to apply.

Yes, my key fob unlocks the lift gate. There is no sound when it unlocks so I thought it did nothing.

The ECU knows there is no way it is 68 deg in Frisco this time of year ?

They snap in. Use a panel removal tool to prevent breaking the clips or the panel. Lots of these tools on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01L8GHB7O/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1489285359&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=panel+removal+tool&dpPl=1&dpID=41SkvZLT3XL&ref=plSrch

I followed your lead and installed a switch today. I used pins 7 and 10. Pin 2 (instead of 10) would have worked also but it is 12 GA and would not fit the displacement wiring connectors I used. I found pin 7 is about 5.6 V not 12V as I stated earlier. Either way it is a logic state that goes to zero when the latch button is pressed. I installed a connector between the switch and the vehicle wiring so I can easily remove the panel in the future. The switch opens the rear door when all the van doors are unlocked. It will not work when only the driver's door is unlocked. Also, the "trunk unlock" button on my key fob does nothing. Thanks for doing the research on this. This project took less than 1 1/2hours. This has given me an idea to research if I can install a momentary switch that will turn on all the cabin lights (like opening a door). I think it can be done easily.

I bet Fifty can find multiple options on Amazon ? You may have to post a photo since he has the wagon version.

Thanks for the updates! All of us 1.6L guys will be very jealous when you are done.

If you are starting with a cargo van maybe this stuff would work well for the final layer on the floor. it is inexpensive and easy to install. It is easily replaced if damaged and easy to clean. You can find various thickness and colors.