azdamay

If this system is anything like California's FasTrak toll transponders... no, it won't be a problem. I have my FasTrak mounted in this same "screened" part of the windshield and it works fine.

I don't go off-road but I do have to go on "country" roads (meaning very poorly-maintained asphalt, dirt, gravel, etc) and also in tight hilly and semi-mountainous roads. I would honestly say the Transit Connect has a bit of trouble. The FWD does not help, in my experience. With most of the weight of the loaded van being over the back wheels, the fronts have an annoying tendency to want to break free. The van has difficulty maintaining traction on steep driveways, for example. It does have low ground clearance, and yes, the 2.0 really struggles to keep you moving, especially if you are loaded down with gear. The ride is firm on rough road. This is all just my own experience and opinion, but the van to me seems more suited for city use. The seat back is adjustable. If your company is going to equip the TC with a bulkhead or cage that is what will kill your ability to get comfortable. I'm 5'9" and 180 lbs and find the van gets uncomfortable after more than about an hour... but my company put a cage right behind the seats and I can't quite push the seat far enough back or recline enough.

Could just be the low-quality pics, or parked on a slope, but that Transit looks like it is sitting notably higher in the front. That actually looks worse, IMHO.

K&N actually has a page devoted to this topic. Bottom line, they are claiming this to be an urban myth: http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/massair.htm

LOL yes, I did not care for the melody. Melodic horns are fun I guess but not on a work van. Here are some pictures of the install for anyone interested. The location is the left front bumper corner, the "juicer" fog light housing is directly in front of the horns. The radiator cross brace had a convenient hole in it for mounting the compressor, but as I mentioned earlier it's awfully close to the radiator so I don't know what kind of longevity it will have. I just used a simple pre-drilled metal bracket from Home Depot cut to length to mount the horns, and attached that to the existing horn bracket.

These things are speed-limited to 90mph?? I guess that makes sense for a work vehicle (not to mention one shaped like a brick), but that means there have been a few times I almost bumped the limit?!

What do you mean by source? Where I got the horn? That would be Amazon. In retrospect I could have saved ten bucks and WHOLE lot of trouble by just buying the kit that does not have a melody, that's what I get for not reading descriptions clearly. The location is good as far as I am concerned, I made a bracket to hold the horns that attaches to the original horn mounting bracket. The horns and relay are well-protected from the elements up above the splash shield, but the compressor sits right next to the radiator so I do wonder about heat, and it isn't very well-protected from the elements. I didn't take any pictures, but I do have to go back and wire in a fuse (yeah I was lazy on that one) and neaten everything up so I'll see about snapping a couple pics then.

OK, so I was able to resolve the issue with the help of some friendly Focus Fanatics. I cross-posted this on that forum as well. In case it ever comes up here, the trick was that in order to NOT play a melody, you MUST wire both the bottom coil of the compressor and the top and have them both energized at the same time. I was also wiring the top wrong because I was oblivious to some rather obvious (-) and (+) markings on the top of the compressor. I was so fixed on how they showed it on the diagram I ignored what was right in front of my face. The switch shown in the Hella diagram cuts power to the top and that is what makes it play a melody, when only the bottom coil is powered. So a dope slap for me, but one for Hella too. They could have made that instruction sheet a little clearer. Oh and BTW for anyone thinking about upgrading the Transit Connect horn to an air horn, I highly recommend it. WAY louder and much more effective, and the three horn setup makes for a fairly pleasing tone.

Hi guys - OK so I bought a Hella triple tone air horn kit, apparently without realizing I had purchased the one that can be switched between all horns sounding at once, or playing a "melody" of sorts. Problem is, after installing it, no matter what I do it only plays this melody (which sounds horrible, it essentially plays one note on each horn in succession -- "ba-da-duh, ba-da-duh, ba-duh-duh" and sounds like a taco truck). The problem I have is the wiring diagram sucks and there are no more instructions than that! If anyone can help me figure out how to wire it so it will sound all the horns at once I would greatly appreciate it. Here is the Hella diagram: Terminals 85 and 86 are the existing horn wires, which energize the relay. Terminals 30 and 87 are the input and output for straight power from the battery to the horn compressor. So I cut the funky European Ford connector off the horn wire harness, crimped on flat spade terminals, wired those wires to terminals 85 and 86. Then, I ran a wire from the battery negative (-) to the negative (-) terminal on the compressor. Then, a wire from the positive (+) terminal of the battery to terminal 30 on the relay. From there, a wire off terminal 87 to the positive (+) terminal on the compressor. So wired like that, it works, but in the "melodic" mode. So you'll notice in the diagram, it shows two switches, a SPDT toggle, and at the compressor what appears to be a SPST toggle with a German-text note saying "this is not allowable in Germany." Which, after some research, I was able to find on the Hella website is because in certain countries I guess the melody option is not legal. In the kit, there was no SPDT toggle, but there was a SPST toggle (simple on/off). Since there are NO INSTRUCTIONS, I had assumed that was for if you wanted to keep your existing horn but have the option to turn on the air horn?? But then after looking at the wiring diagram some more, I thought maybe it is the switch they show on the compressor, so I rigged up some wiring and put a piggyback connector to the positive (+) terminal on the compressor, ran a wire to the switch, a wire off the switch to the terminal shown at the top of the compressor (which as far as i can tell is matching the wiring shown on their sheet). But with the switch set either way, it still plays melodically. AND the cheap switch broke and fell apart! I took an ohm meter and checked the compressor, there is no continuity between the negative (-) terminal and the terminals at the top of the compressor, nor continuity between the positive (+) terminal and the terminals at the top. But the terminals at the top have continuity to each other. So what gives?! If I can't figure this out soon I'm just going to pay the $40 or so to buy the kit I meant to buy in the first place, and simply swap the compressors. I'm getting attention when I use the horn, but not for the reason I intended.

You seem to be getting the wrong vibe from me, I'm not trying to antagonize you... but I guess at the risk of inflaming you further, if you don't like it, why would you buy it? Ford isn't reading this discussion forum, they're not going to make changes because one, or even a couple dozen, people on the internet ask for it. It's more like a "I wish the vehicle had this, but deep down I know it never will" discussion thread. For the record I didn't choose the TC, it was forced upon me. I wasn't a big fan of it at first, but I have grown to like it. Sorry if you are taking my comments the wrong way.

I'm afraid I know nothing about motorcycles, but you might want to look at zepper's photo gallery and see what you think. Maybe try sending him a message with some questions. He's the only member I can think of off the top of my head who is using the TC specifically to haul a motorcycle. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/index.php?/gallery/album/296/49-zeppers-connect-rs/

Then perhaps the Transit Connect is not the right choice for you? It sounds like you would be better suited by the exact vehicle you show in the picture, an F150 with an A.R.E. shell over the bed. I don't work in San Francisco but I do work in Berkeley and Oakland, which in the downtown areas anyway, can be just as tight and crowded as any other city... and I manage to get the rear doors open just fine while parallel parked. In Europe the TC was (maybe still is?) available in certain configurations with a one-piece liftgate (just like a minivan), but I have not heard of any plans on Ford's part to bring that here. You would still need some space at the rear to clear the gate as it opened, just like a minivan. tc777 those are some good points. I find that the ride quality suffers on highways that have frequent expansion joints. Due to the short wheelbase it sets up a "hobby horse" effect that can get annoying. I totally agree on the bluetooth becoming unusable while driving due to noise, and that a fold down passenger seat would be VERY useful and seemingly not a difficult feature for Ford to retrofit.

Are you talking about something like this: If so I don't think that's a very common configuration on vans? I don't recall Ford ever offering it on the Econoline/E-series vans, for example.

Wow that stinks. I live in California so snow isn't something I've had to deal with, but I have noticed the windshield seems very, very, thin. I've actually heard it creaking when making steep changes in grade, like going up someone's really steep driveway. Sorry to hear about that happening to you.

I just purchased that Hella Triple Tone I was mulling over... once it shows up and the weather will cooperate (when it stops RAINING!) I can't wait to figure out where to mount that sucker.

Haha, I would, but it's a company vehicle and they spec'd the option so I better not... just in case. I don't like them always on as the Transit Connect does it, because the van spends a fair amount of time idling and I find it could be a potential source of confusion for other drivers near me, who see the lights and assume I am a "vehicle in play" rather than parked. Not to mention drawing unwanted attention to me when I'm just trying to get some darn paperwork done.

Mine came with it as an option, so look at it this way: at least you didn't pay $200 or whatever ridiculous price they charged, for a $23 relay. I don't care for it... I like the kind that are only on when the vehicle is in gear. It is annoying to me that the lights are always on as long the van is on.

I think I read somewhere the Transit Connect is one of the slowest new vehicles sold in the United States. I believe it. We have an old 1984 Mazda B2000 kicking around in the family, it has 70-something horsepower and I swear even it feels faster. But the 18.3 second quarter mile is hilarious... the lack of power does prevent me from getting into "road rage" scenarios though, so it's not all bad.

Sweet! Thanks, I did.

I wholeheartedly agree regarding the sun visors. My previous work van was a Caravan C/V and it had those DaimlerChrysler visors they all seem to have... the extending ones that you grab and pull on and voila! Longer visor. Why couldn't Ford (1) make the visor physically larger, and (2) include an extending feature?? I always seem to end up with the sun shining on my face from the side window due to the extra height of the window, and the visor is too short to block the whole width of the side window!

Can you just copy/paste the text from the PDF and post it here maybe? I'd like to have this information to take to the dealer when it happens. If you can shove a TSB in their face there isn't much "wiggle room" for them to try to claim they don't know about it. I got the defective clutch/pressure plate assemblies replaced on my old SVT Focus when I brought the printout of the TSB about the clutch to the dealer!

Oh okay... well maybe I will check that out anyway, as well as other Fords that have the simple plain black center caps. Maybe one of them would fit!

OUch! That stinks. I am really hoping I never have an "incident" with mine... the repair work done to my previous van was mediocre at best, and that was just for a minor parking lot bump.

Haha thanks for looking out! I'm a trendsetter. I'm still looking for center caps, that would finish off the wheels. Zepper you say the taxi version of the TC has them??

Hi Randy - I used to own an SVT Focus and am still on one of the Focus forums, so I've seen your name thrown around a lot and am familiar with your company and products. Nice to see you stop by.