The Full Monty

[Lexiguy]

I have gathered together all the items I want to fit in my next project which is flush parking sensors front and rear, reversing camera, front and rear dash cams including a hardwire kit.

The pile of boxes and packets look a bit daunting but I now need to formulate a fitting plan of what to do in what order.

Any guidance from any of you technical experts would be greatfully recieved (except take it to a good auto electrician).

[Malc]

20 minutes ago, Lexiguy said:

except take it to a good auto electrician

I have absolutely zero useful advice on this front

Good luck with however you approach this en-lightening issue 

BUT  ....  having invested soooooo much in your car already, just thinking maybe an excellent Auto Elec guy might be the sound of reason 

Malc

[DavidCM]

I think you may be best advised to take it to an auto electrician.Your car ,I think, has a folding metal roof,so you won't be able to fix the rear camera to the inside of the rear screen.That ,to my mind anyway,means you would need to fix the camera to the rear of the car,similar to  where you will fix your reversing camera.You need to check if is suitable for external mounting-ie waterproof.

I personally wouldn't attempt the reverse camera ir sensors as Frank Spencer was based on my diy abilities.

The hardwire of the dashcam may be possible I fitted mine  with some difficulty..don't try and do it on a hot day!Lay in stocks of ibuprofen and something to wash it down with as you'll need to get into more positions than the Kama Sutra to work on your fusebox.Watch some You Tube videos see  1 attached link and search for "Craigs car diy" on fitting a viofo dashcam--he's very good and easily understandable.

Good luck

 

[Glyn Jennings]

On 9/7/2022 at 9:45 AM, Lexiguy said:

I have gathered together all the items I want to fit in my next project which is flush parking sensors front and rear, reversing camera, front and rear dash cams including a hardwire kit.

The pile of boxes and packets look a bit daunting but I now need to formulate a fitting plan of what to do in what order.

Any guidance from any of you technical experts would be greatfully recieved (except take it to a good auto electrician).

I fitted flush fit front and rear sensors to mine a few months ago. My main tip would be not to rush it.  The bumper needs to be removed which you will find posts already on doing that. Personally I found removing the rear bumper was easier that the front. The most nerve racking bit is working out where you are going to fit them on the bumper and measuring the distance between the sensors correctly and level. I used masking tape to get a level line across the bumper and for marking the positions. Use the hole punch cutting tool from the front of the bumper and you will find it makes a really neat hole. If you look at my build thread on this forum you will see where I positioned mine but where you fit them is up to you.  I put two of mine above the number plate but it is a really tight gap which needs careful measuring as there is only just enough room for the sensor itself to be fitted after removing the outer adhesive fixing ring.  I personally found these fixing rings useless anyway as even after clearing the surface of the bumper I could not get them to stick.  My solution was to remove the ring and use a quality building adhesive instead. This does mean you have to put the sensor in the predrilled hole the right amount so that it is flush with the surface of the bumper. I ran the four sensor cables through the nearside boot floor grommet where the reversing light wiring goes through.  My parking sensor control box is down the side beneath the nearside pocket. You need to get a feed from the reversing light power supply which I took from the electric fuse box on the nearside to the left of the sat nav and ML amp . I don't really like scotch clips for joining into cables but I did in this instance as  it was easier. I also took a feed for the dash cam rear camera from the same point. I have added photos of this. The first two are upside down looking at the fuse box.  I ran my rear camera cable from the boot area to the centre console following the cables that are under the removable metal cover in the centre under the rear seat. You can use the existing hole they use to run camera cable to the boot. I hope this helps 

[Glyn Jennings]

1 hour ago, Glyn Jennings said:

I fitted flush fit front and rear sensors to mine a few months ago. My main tip would be not to rush it.  The bumper needs to be removed which you will find posts already on doing that. Personally I found removing the rear bumper was easier that the front. The most nerve racking bit is working out where you are going to fit them on the bumper and measuring the distance between the sensors correctly and level. I used masking tape to get a level line across the bumper and for marking the positions. Use the hole punch cutting tool from the front of the bumper and you will find it makes a really neat hole. If you look at my build thread on this forum you will see where I positioned mine but where you fit them is up to you.  I put two of mine above the number plate but it is a really tight gap which needs careful measuring as there is only just enough room for the sensor itself to be fitted after removing the outer adhesive fixing ring.  I personally found these fixing rings useless anyway as even after clearing the surface of the bumper I could not get them to stick.  My solution was to remove the ring and use a quality building adhesive instead. This does mean you have to put the sensor in the predrilled hole the right amount so that it is flush with the surface of the bumper. I ran the four sensor cables through the nearside boot floor grommet where the reversing light wiring goes through.  My parking sensor control box is down the side beneath the nearside pocket. You need to get a feed from the reversing light power supply which I took from the electric fuse box on the nearside to the left of the sat nav and ML amp . I don't really like scotch clips for joining into cables but I did in this instance as  it was easier. I also took a feed for the dash cam rear camera from the same point. I have added photos of this. The first two are upside down looking at the fuse box.  I ran my rear camera cable from the boot area to the centre console following the cables that are under the removable metal cover in the centre under the rear seat. You can use the existing hole they use to run camera cable to the boot. I hope this helps 

Regarding the front sensors I fitted them using the same fixing method running the four sensor cables in corrugated cable sleeving on the off side of the engine bay then through a hole which is already made below the main wiring grommet in the bulkhead.  I used cable rods to help feed the cables through to under the dash which made it a lot easier. The main box it tied up behind the panel below the steering wheel using cable ties. I fitted the on/off switch in the same panel. On the back of the panel it has the markings where a switch can be fitted. To make a neat hole for the switch that came with my sensors I purchased a 20mm hole punch.

[Glyn Jennings]

Hi Anthony, Thanks for your message. I had to reply on the thread as I couldn’t seem to attach pictures in a message. So I have attached photos of mine below. Sorry about all the reflections they make the car look horrible when it is not.  On the back bumper they are all 16” (405mm) centreline apart from each other so the middle two are 8” from the centre of the bumper. The outer two I didn’t go further out as the sensors have a flat surface so as the bumper curves they would not sit flat unless you go further around to get a flatter surface on the side of the bumper which I did not want. I basically copied the position where Rich Walker put his on his car on the Lexus World Forum except mine are flush fit. I did need to trim part of the foam behind the bumper where the sensor was going. The front bumper middle two are 1 1/2” (35mm) centreline of the sensor from each side of the numberplate holder and the outer two are 15 1/2” (387mm) centreline from the middle ones. Good luck with your install

[Lexiguy]

Well I have started, mounted the rear dash cam, and stripped the trim out of the boot! 

 

[Lexiguy]

Well it's been a long long day!

Rear bumper off, fitted reversing camera, rear parking sensors, control box and buzzer, refitted the rear bumper.

[Lexiguy]

Well that's the back end done!

The rear camera is above the number plate and wire up to the centre console but I need the wiring harness to plug it in and to make it work through the sat nav screen.

The flush fitting parking sensors which work brilliantly but it was nerve wracking drilling the holes. Firstly, had I chosen the best location then measure it several times and drill it only once.

Also the rear dash cam which I mounted on the rear parcel shelf and so works with roof up or roof down!

Now it's learn how to use the dash cam and plan a date to do the front parking sensors.

Ant

[Lexiguy]

Technical hitch!

When selecting reverse, the leds on the rear facing camera light up but the screen on the dash cam does not display that image as would be indicated is a feature of the product.

So I think....it must be me, an error or problem in the wiring or a box to tick somewhere in the menu and it will spring into action! 

I check, double check then recheck the menu and all possible ways I may be able to turn it on, but to no avail...I even read the instructions and search on the Internet!

I then get an auto electrician friend to check my wiring continuity, joints, junctions, plugs etc but no problems detected and no joy.

It is presumed to be a dash cam fault and an exchange of that part will finally sort the problem.

I enter into several back and forth messages with the supplier and they agree for me to return the dash cam and they will replace of refund on receipt of the return product.

So watch this space for the next installment of the Full Monty!

Is it me or is nothing easy these days, plug and play just doesn't plug and play sometimes!!

Ant