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Backup sensor


Willie
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Has anyone installed a backup sensor alarm, the tyoe that buzzes a warning if an object is behind the bumber? I am not interested in a fancy camera system, the simple alarm is okay with me. I am concerned with drilling the bumber however. I have tried to drill bumers in the past and they are pretty hard steel.

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Has anyone installed a backup sensor alarm, the tyoe that buzzes a warning if an object is behind the bumber? I am not interested in a fancy camera system, the simple alarm is okay with me. I am concerned with drilling the bumber however. I have tried to drill bumers in the past and they are pretty hard steel.

The Transit Connect bumper is no exception as far as being hard steel goes, but you're in luck as far as installing sensors go, as the punch-outs already exist whether the vehicle is equipped or not (or so I was told by the body shop that was to repair my previously-damaged wagon).

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[i had a look at the back side of the bumper today, and I sure do not see anything obvious to indicate a punch out. Can you provide any further detail?

I'm only going by the information received from two Ford body shops who stated that only one bumper exists for both options (with or without), and that such parts are pre-made to accommodate either scenario given their rather precise placement requirements. Both said there were existing locations in every bumper (described to me as "punchout slugs"). Whether they were speaking presumptively based upon past experience with Ford NA vehicles or empirically, I can't say with certaintly, but neither were unclear or gave any other impression.

Sorry if that proved to be incorrect. You can, however, visit fordparts.com and locate the actual parts required for the OEM system, consisting of 4x sensors and mounting bezels and wiring harness. How that would otherwise integrate into the vehicle systems would have to be found from a shop manual. Ironically, it was the inordinate cost of repairing the reverse sensors to my wagon that helped make the economics of trading-in the vehicle with part of the insurance pay-off so sensible when it could be bought new for about $250 as an option rather than $800 in parts and labor (for the reverse sensing system alone), let alone the other costs to repair a 4 day old vehicle that would, from that day forward, always have been previously hit, no matter how pristine the repairs, which was a secondary problem given that NOBODY, not even Ford's own certified body shops, had yet to work on one. Combine that with a 2-month parts leadtime and other modifications I wanted to make and the decision became rather simple.

Anyway, best of luck; and I'm sorry if I passed along bad information.

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Not at all! I'm certainly not even saying you are incorrect, only that I cannot see any such indication. I appreciate your help very much.

I must say that I have considered that these sensors are located in a very vunerable spot . A bit of a drawback, I should think. It wouldn't take much of a bump to wipe one out.

Before I went to the trouble of buying a system from Ford, I think I'd just have a system installed by one of the local car electronics shops. They all seem to sell them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey just a thought but have you considered a back up camera. I just installed one on my 2010 TC. I found it on craigslist for $60.00 new and it works like a champ. I have also see a ton of them on ebay under $100.00. Very easy to install also.

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The camera came with a plastic section that mounts to the top rear two licence plate bolts. When you remove the lic. plate from the van you should see two extra holes near the center of where the lic. plate was bolted. These holes have threaded adapters in them. I drilled one out with a 5/16 bit and ran the wire through that hole. I then sealed the hole with the wire throught it and bolted the tags back on. I also removed the plate from the inside the door for access. The camera only needed power the signal is transmitted wireless.

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How is the image quality over Bluetooth? Is it comparable to the quality of a good wired camera? Also, does it have a mode that allows it to be always on, like rear view mirror, in addition to sensing when the vehicle is in reverse? Also, does the offset created by the license plate not being center-mounted make it seem unusual in any way?

I'm in a bit of a quandry with mine. Being solid-doored all the way around, I not only have no reverse visibility (other than the sensors), but the blind spots are damn near lethal for all but perpendicular or parallel merging. For the additional security they provide, I sure wish I'd stuck with windowed rear doors (and my offer stands to swap mine with any owner of a rear-windowed TC with 255 swing doors who'd prefer solid ones), but I digress.

That leaves me in need of both a solution for a backup camera AND something that can function as an always-on rear view mirror replacement (which I intend to route to an LCD that substitutes for the rear-view mirror). Rather than using a license plate bracket embedded camera with an offset of 14 5/8" from the centerline, I've decided to pursue mounting a camera in the blanking panel on the left rear door whose offset from the centerline is just shy of 6 1/8". It's where European TC's have the third brake light that North American vehicles have affixed atop the vehicle instead.

If it's going to function as both backup camera and rear view mirror surrogate, I want its perspective to be as close a conventional rear-view mirror as possible. I've already obtained a replacement blanking panel (which cost approximately $30 and comes as grey primed plastic) so I can drill and epoxy as necessary without concern over irreversible (bad pun, I know) effects.

The primary alternative would be drilling, and embedding, a camera in the bumper proper. While this provides some very attractive properties, like being the only place where a camera could be located precisely on the centerline and also at the rearmost point of the vehicle which gives the safest perspective for judging parking distances, its low placement just may not be absolutely ideal for serving as a rear-view mirror substitute. It also creates the additional task of routing the wiring through the body itself, something I'm not entirely opposed to doing, but it's nevertheless always best avoided when possible.

The other challenge of using a proprietary paired Bluetooth camera/monitor solutions is that it restricts use of the camera with the accompanying display rather than an LCD whose properties are best-suited for whatever particular placement and purpose it a given configuration. This is another reason why I've resisted them thus far.

So, if you wouldn't mind, could you please give some feedback with respect to your configuration? If it works well, it may save me (and others) from needlessly over-thinking the matter.

  1. What brand and model bluetooth camera/display did you choose?
  2. Does the offset placement create an perspective that's notably distorted from one otherwise on the centerline?
  3. Is the bluetooth image quality and refresh rate comparable to a wired camera?
  4. Does the camera support an "always on" mode?
  5. How else would you summarize this particular product's performance and properties compared a "clean sheet" or factory-integrated solution (for better and/or worse)?

Many thanks, in advance, for any guidance you may be able to share.

Edited by madlock
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Actually I got mine off craigslist but I see them on ebay. I got the 2.5" screen and picture quality is very good. If I had to do it again I would get at least a 3.5" screen. We keep ours on all the time when we are driving and it's nice to see behind you all the time. Being off center really doesn't matter very much as the view angle easily allows you to see both sides and rear without any blind spots. I just went with the simple solution. My wifes 09 Audi S6 has an excellent rear view camera system showing your vehicles path as you turn etc. but for this service van the $60.00 I spent and the ease of installation with all time viewing works like a champ for me. It has a option to run a wire for the camera (not included) but also IMO not needed. It may be needed for a long RV or bus but picture quality as installed in the TC is very good. It also allows up/down adjustment, reverse viewing, upside down viewing (I don't know the purpose), brightness control, and contrast control. This thing works so well and was so easy to install I will be installing one on the back of my New Holland track loader.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Has anyone installed a backup sensor alarm, the tyoe that buzzes a warning if an object is behind the bumber? I am not interested in a fancy camera system, the simple alarm is okay with me. I am concerned with drilling the bumber however. I have tried to drill bumers in the past and they are pretty hard steel.

Hi Wille

We make a camera kit. We have Ford looking at it for there used. We do make senors for ford. The camera kit is 375.00 plus shipping. This is the best you can get. We give a 3 year warranty. Its easy to install and its a camera made for the Ford Transit. Dont wast your money on cheap stuff because you wil be buy the same thing over and over again. They dont have the workmanship. They last about a 14 months. And when its night good luck. Heres are flyer look at it and call if you have any ?s

Richard Delgado

Sales Manager

ECHOMASTER

714-900-0239

www.echomaster.com

TansitFlyer11.pdf

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Mine is working dandily; and in addition to functioning as a backup camera, wiring it to the rear fog lamps provides me with an on-demand rear view display that all but eliminates blind spots; and mounted in the left rear door blanking panel, it's about as unobtrusive as an installation can be. Plus, it also adds a top tier navigation. Only a license plate mount might be more concealed, but it's also farther off-center.

Project cost:

$65 Audiovox CMOS2 Camera

$200 Magellan 1700 7" GPS/Video display

$17 12' Shielded Coax Video Cable

$32 Ford Blanking Panel for Transit Connect

$25 Paint, Clear Coat, Filler, and Drill Bit

$7 1/8" to RCA video cable

Edited by madlock
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  • 4 months later...

Backup sensor use? Mine beeps until I get straightened out while backing out of my garage. I don't know how to trust the sensors though.

- Do the beeps get closer together (faster) as you get closer to something?

- Any way to determine your distance from what they detect based on the beep rate?

I guess what I'd really like would be a radar image of everything behind the TC, with distances indicated by color on the screen. Hopefully my rear view camera will give me the sense of back-up security I crave.

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