Unintended consequences

[uncledj]

I like posting questions on this site because there's many members who're smarter than the average bear. IMHO. I find that lately I've posted about anything but my Ventures (2), largely because, in my present circumstance, I have difficulty finding the time to ride or to tinker with the bikes. I was going to post this on an Expedition forum I've recently joined, but I find this site to be at least as informative and a lot more fun, and certainly more civil. Anyway,...that's why I post these questions here to see what shakes out before looking elsewhere.

SO....

I put a push bar / light setup on the front of my new (to me) Expedition. This Expy has front parking sensors, and the push bar is in front of two of the sensors, causing it to alarm until I hit the reset. I looked at the sensors and there's not much to them, so I removed the two that were blocked by the push bar and would like to re-mount them on the push bar itself. I figure I can drill two holes for the two sensors, ....drilling the holes just large enough for the sensors to protrude through and simply glue them to the backside of the plate I'd mount them to.

Does anyone know what sets these sensors off (besides proximity) and would they work the same way mounted to this metal plate as compared to being mounted in the plastic bumper cover....???

I don't want to drill the push bar and lengthen the wiring just to find out it won't work properly when done.

 

First pic is of the new pushbar.

Second pic is where one of the sensors was removed from

Third pic is of the sensor itself

Fourth pic is where I'd like to mount the sensor, gluing to the backside of the plate with only the round sensor head protruding.

[djh3]

Car proximity sensors do very much what they say on the tin – they sense when your vehicle gets close to an object. ... Electromagnetic sensors create an electromagnetic field around the bumper, and offer an alert whenever objects enter it

 

So Whats your chance of just temp slave in a couple wires and mount them on the bracket under the light bar. Should be easy to make a bracket and hide wires. Temporarily use zip tie or something and see if will work.

[Flyinfool]

Some sensors are electromagnetic and some are ultra sonic.

I do not know which type you have on your Expy. Ultrasonic should have no issue at all with what you want to do. Electromagnetic may have an issue with the metal around it.

 

Get a chunk of sheet metal at least 6 inches square, of about the same thickness as that push bar and mount the sensor in there to do some testing. Then you will know for sure if it will work for you before you go adding holes and cutting wires.

 

The other option, if you just unplug those 2 sensors will the rest of the system still work? Just disable the front sensors and do it the old fashion way, look where your going .

[jakester]

I would be aware of the height and angle change, the ground may mess with the sensor activation. Raise them up and keep them level. IMHO

Bill

[uncledj]

I've unplugged two of the four front sensors. Now, when I put it in drive I get the notification to check front parking aid sensors.

Tap the reset button and it clears.

Before, it'd go right into alarm mode as soon as I put it in drive....beeper and indicator. That too would go away when I tap the reset button, but the beeper was pretty annoying.

If weather permits, I may play with it this weekend.

[Woody]

The Chevy I had before my dodge had the front park sensors and being a tall truck I really liked having them, I wish I could put them on this Dodge I have it just makes life a little easier. I like the push bar it looks good.

[bongobobny]

My choice would be drill the two holes but that's just my opinion... Quick and easy and less hassle with remounting them!

[skydoc_17]

Hey John,

Nice Looking Push Bar you have there! I had pretty good luck moving the two sensors closer to the center of the bumper area. See how much wire you have, move them closer to the center of the bumper, drill new holes, reinstall the two sensors, and go to an Auto Body Store and find a set of "Plastic Plugs" that will snap right into the old sensor holes. This worked for me, but it wasn't on a Ford. The "Plugs" are used to hide Screws in the interior of a vehicle but work great for this project. I bought a small rattle can of touch up paint at Wallyworld and sprayed the plugs, couldn't tell afterwords.

Hope this helps.

Earl