Can the reverse sensers be turned off

[whitey86]

hey Guys
I was towing a car trailer the other day and found when trying to reverse the rverse sensors were going off like mad. This became very annoying and distracting
Is it possible to dissable the sensors ??

[stevo2768]

Did the trailer have LED lights? The ford patch lead for LED lights will disable the reverse sensors. If the trailer had globes the the system should automatically disable the reverse sensors.

[trentski]

I would have expected them to turn off when the trailer was plugged in. Normal lights on the trailer (non LED)?

Just bet me to it Steve

[whitey86]

it was a hire trailer ,so was using there adaptor , do i need a for specific adaptor ??
And the trailer did have LED lights

[grpaxto]

What sort of tow bar? Aftermarket or Ford. Should disable as soon as you connect the plug and will display the trailer icon when reversing while connected.

[ROCKET0407]

As paxto sais whitey, if you have the Ford supplied trailer plug adaptor and the unit you are towing is either LED or Standard globe fitted there should be no intrusion from the sensors. My camper trailer is LED fitted and i get a "A" frame image that comes up on the screen when reversing!
Cheers.

[Thirsty]

What everybody should realise when using the ford patch lead, apart from your LED lights working properly and reverse sensors disabling, is that trailer sway control also works by the canbus seeing the electrical load on the system.

If you have normal globes, the natrual resistance from halogen globes is enough load for the canbus to detect the trailer without the patch lead.

My April 2012 built XLT does connect with trailers with LED lights without the patch harness. Sometimes the tail lights flicker untill i start the car and turn the head lights on, then they work normal, but as discussed, reverse sensors dont disable, and trailer sway control wont be working.

Just something to be aware of.

[whitey86]

Hey Guys , so yes it is a Ford tow bar , and after i used a different plug the reverse sensors did turn off.

[Officemanager]

If you have the ford oem towbar & tow module fitted to Ranger, Park assist/reverse sensors should be disabled when trailer plug connected regardless if LED or normal lights on trailer/van.

If you have aftermarket towbar fitted then that is another story.

Cheers.

[George123]

hi to everybody I was wondering if it is possible to turn off park assist sensors as I own a xlt m2 that I have had a tray fitted
the ford dealer said they cannot be disabled
on my px1 xlt I had then turned off no problems I would be happy if someone may be able to help
thanks

[alpha1]

Maybe just a switch inline to turn off the warning beeper?

[Jalito]

When you engage the reverse the right display screen will allow you to switch the beeping off if that is what you are after. I do not think you can disable it permanently.

[Craig001]

Correct, it is an option to disable the sensors each time reverse is selected.

[George123]

thanks for those answers the only problem is it comes up with a fault every time you start the engine being they have been disconnected

[Goons]

I had the exact same issue on my px2 xlt. The salesman told they could be turned off when the tray went on. Luckily for me the ford dealership organised the tray. So when the service department told me they could not be turned off, they supplied the factory sensors to be installed into my tray.

So everyone knows, it could be done on the px1 but that has changed obviously for the px2.


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[Nova4avr]

I had the exact same issue on my px2 xlt. The salesman told they could be turned off when the tray went on. Luckily for me the ford dealership organised the tray. So when the service department told me they could not be turned off, they supplied the factory sensors to be installed into my tray.

So everyone knows, it could be done on the px1 but that has changed obviously for the px2.


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I fitted an alloy tray to my PX1 & the company that supplied & fitted the tray fitted 4 small brackets, one for each of the 4 reversing sensors, to the lower edge at the back of the tray & they seem to work very well.

Pic attached showing them.

[George123]

thanks for that info they tell me that the sensors can be added to the lower spec trucks so I am sure they must be able to turn them of being they can turn them on
thanks for the help so far

[MarkDRanger]

When you engage the reverse the right display screen will allow you to switch the beeping off if that is what you are after. I do not think you can disable it permanently.

I know this is a really old post, but this annoying beeper issue has been bugging me for months when reversing my newly acquired teardrop camper. So a big THANK YOU to Jalito for this info. It's a life-saver.

[DawieNel]

I have 2012 XLT and also have the sensor driving me nuts when reversing. My issue is I have LED lights which flash and can get the trailer adaptor loom / patch harness from a local Ford dealer ($76.24) which I understand will solve the flashing issue. Problem I have is that, with trailer connected (still with flashing lights), the sensor remains on whereas my understanding is that it should automatically turn off when detecting trailer plugged in. Can this be due to the fact that there's not sufficient current draw and that the patched harness will fix this?
Also, some posts above mention a "right display screen" allowing one to switch the beeping off however I can't seem to find this, or would this be on newer models only?

[SRD0060]

In the head-unit or car settings you have to tell the car it has a towbar fitted so when you put the car in reverse it doesnt go off. look in the hand book.

[DawieNel]

Thanks - I checked the manual first and there's no mention of turning it off in my 2012 model however it could be different in newer models?

[Grant L1]

I have a 2012 XLT and the reverse sensors have always turned off when a trailer is attached. If it has an oem towbar, it should have a trailer module under the passenger seat. With the led's, I fitted resistors to my van and just use a patch lead for other trailers.

[DawieNel]

I have a 2012 XLT and the reverse sensors have always turned off when a trailer is attached. If it has an oem towbar, it should have a trailer module under the passenger seat. With the led's, I fitted resistors to my van and just use a patch lead for other trailers.

Thanks Grant - I tested this last night by hitching a mates trailer with non LED lights and the display changed with a symbol similar to { behind the vehicle indicating a trailer and the sensors were automatically disabled. What resistors did you use? Based on some Googling it seems 120 Ω with 5% tolerance ( Brown Red Brown Gold) should do the trick however not sure of wattage - must it be 1 Watt or ¼ Watt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUPNfc6_1ks

[Trublu]

I have a 2012 XLT and the reverse sensors have always turned off when a trailer is attached. If it has an oem towbar, it should have a trailer module under the passenger seat. With the led's, I fitted resistors to my van and just use a patch lead for other trailers.

Thanks Grant - I tested this last night by hitching a mates trailer with non LED lights and the display changed with a symbol similar to { behind the vehicle indicating a trailer and the sensors were automatically disabled. What resistors did you use? Based on some Googling it seems 120 Ω with 5% tolerance ( Brown Red Brown Gold) should do the trick however not sure of wattage - must it be 1 Watt or ¼ Watt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUPNfc6_1ks

I installed 120 ohm 5 watt ceramic resistors which were fitted in a jiffy box mounted on both my trailer and caravan which worked well for me.
Depending on what type led lights you have you might have to experiment in the range from 120 to 80 ohm resistors to achieve desired result.
Make sure you wire them parallel to the circuits not in series and you can source them from Jaycar electronics very cheaply.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/120-ohm-5-wat ... 41ede1089c

[Grant L1]

I have a 2012 XLT and the reverse sensors have always turned off when a trailer is attached. If it has an oem towbar, it should have a trailer module under the passenger seat. With the led's, I fitted resistors to my van and just use a patch lead for other trailers.

Thanks Grant - I tested this last night by hitching a mates trailer with non LED lights and the display changed with a symbol similar to { behind the vehicle indicating a trailer and the sensors were automatically disabled. What resistors did you use? Based on some Googling it seems 120 Ω with 5% tolerance ( Brown Red Brown Gold) should do the trick however not sure of wattage - must it be 1 Watt or ¼ Watt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUPNfc6_1ks

I installed 120 ohm 5 watt ceramic resistors which were fitted in a jiffy box mounted on both my trailer and caravan which worked well for me.
Depending on what type led lights you have you might have to experiment in the range from 120 to 80 ohm resistors to achieve desired result.
Make sure you wire them parallel to the circuits not in series and you can source them from Jaycar electronics very cheaply.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/120-ohm-5-wat ... 41ede1089c

I have the same but just use 1watt carbon resistors that have done the job for many years.

[l0n3r4ng3r]

I have a 2012 XLT and the reverse sensors have always turned off when a trailer is attached. If it has an oem towbar, it should have a trailer module under the passenger seat. With the led's, I fitted resistors to my van and just use a patch lead for other trailers.

Thanks Grant - I tested this last night by hitching a mates trailer with non LED lights and the display changed with a symbol similar to { behind the vehicle indicating a trailer and the sensors were automatically disabled. What resistors did you use? Based on some Googling it seems 120 Ω with 5% tolerance ( Brown Red Brown Gold) should do the trick however not sure of wattage - must it be 1 Watt or ¼ Watt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUPNfc6_1ks

I guess the calculation will go something like this... 13.8/120 = .115 amps (V/R=I) , so 13.8*.115 = 1.587 watts (P=VI) . You'll need something rated at about 1.5 watts or higher.

[Grant L1]

I guess the calculation will go something like this... 13.8/120 = .115 amps (V/R=I) , so 13.8*.115 = 1.587 watts (P=VI) . You'll need something rated at about 1.5 watts or higher.

Well they have been there since early 2013 and the van has been on the back for between 10,000 and 20,000K per year except for 2020 and all the resistors are original. The calcs maybe right, but in practice the resistors are happy.

[DawieNel]

I guess the calculation will go something like this... 13.8/120 = .115 amps (V/R=I) , so 13.8*.115 = 1.587 watts (P=VI) . You'll need something rated at about 1.5 watts or higher.

Well they have been there since early 2013 and the van has been on the back for between 10,000 and 20,000K per year except for 2020 and all the resistors are original. The calcs maybe right, but in practice the resistors are happy.

Thanks Guys - I found that just having a single 12V 5 Watt incandescent globe linked to the circuit (old 12V tester) "tricked" the system into thinking there was a trailer attached and was considering simply adding an additional high-level brake light with incandescent globe. 2 LED's from each cluster however still continuously flashed faintly the moment it was plugged in. A mate had some ¼ Watt 120 Ω resistors lying around and they solved the issue completely but got VERY hot VERY quickly. Jaycar is my closest supplier so will pop in next time I'm in the area however they don't seem to have 2 watt resistors so will be getting some 1 Watt 120 Ω as well as 1 Watt 220 Ω and see how they go. Else I can source some 2 Watt 120 Ω from ebay.

[l0n3r4ng3r]

T Jaycar is my closest supplier so will pop in next time I'm in the area however they don't seem to have 2 watt resistors so will be getting some

Just parallel two resistors of twice the value. The resistance will halve and the power handling will double. Two of those 220 ohms, will parallel to give you 110 ohm 2 watts. Close enough I expect.

[DawieNel]

Just an update from my side...

I ended up adding 4 x 1 Watt 220 Ω resistors as, even though 1 resistor was sufficient to "fool" the system into thinking there was a trailer, I ended up having to add a resistor to each circuit else the LED's in that specific cluster would still flash rapidly when simply plugged in, even when not "in use".

Being too lazy to get out the soldering kit (and not being that good at it anyway), I simply screwed them all into the negative lug and then looped the other ends into the 2 indicator circuits as well as brake and tail light circuits. Also measured the temp on the tail lights resistor when on and it only heats up to about 37 °C max whereas the previous ¼ Watt 120 Ω heated up to 170 °C within seconds, so all good now.

Thanks for all the input...

[lincolnland]

That's impressive in the spaghetti bowl

[ss105]

I've got a brand new Ranger and ran into this the other day...have previously reversed my dad's old old, from the dinosaur ages, trailer without any issues, parking sensors didn't go off etc. Had a 7 pin round to 7 pin flat adapter because...old trailer.

Hooked up to a hire horse float on the weekend (a relatively new one), which just had a 7 pin flat to connect straight to the car and the parking sensors went crazy when I reversed. Unsure why that would be the case? Towbar, wiring, brake controller etc was all installed by Ford prior to delivery. The float did have a brake controller on it as well, which had a bluetooth connected controller in the cab so I don't know if that was interfering with something.

Probably a non issue as I have my own float being built and they have the specs for the vehicle so I expect it'll be fine, but it was very irritating!

[GerryP]

There should be a 'P' button on the console. There is in my '17 XLT.

[Due South]

There should be a 'P' button on the console. There is in my '17 XLT.

Yep, have to turn off the front parking sensors every single time I park in my garage.
No idea if it works with the reverse.... I'll be checking that tomorrow

[ss105]

There should be a 'P' button on the console. There is in my '17 XLT.

Yes there is (and yes it turns off the reverse as well as front, I regularly use turn them off as I practically reverse into the wall to fit in my garage), however I was under the impression that having a trailer hooked up is supposed to disable the reverse sensors by default...which it did with the box trailer, but not the hired horse float! I know the box trailer was rewired and definitely meets current standards etc, obviously I have no idea on the hired float.

[goosey1608]

You can turn front and or rear off permanently in Forescan.


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[ss105]

Ok so putting this info in here in case it helps someone else.

When I bought my car last year, I included the tow pack as part of the contract. They told me it would be a Hayman Reese towbar, which I was fine with because I know they're good quality. I confirmed then and again when picking the vehicle up, that the reverse sensors would auto disable with a trailer plugged in (they said yes).

Anyway, they don't. It's very irritating, and while yeah I can manually turn them off, you've got to do that every time and it disables the fronts as well. Finally cracked it and took the vehicle back to get it fixed. Service took one look and told me it's because it wasn't a genuine Ford plug...to which I went well this is the option sales gave me. They said talk to sales. So I did, they initially tried to brush it off but I pushed the issue. They sent me to their long term 3rd party towbar installers. Installers said yeah we thought Hayman Reese solved the issue, Ford used to have to code the tow modules for every vehicle. Towbar installers tried coding it, their scan tool couldn't access the right stuff but Ford's can.

Back to Ford, whose excuse for not even putting the scan tool on originally was "we've never heard of it" (bullsh!t, your own towbar installers said they've sent heaps to that service centre in the past!). Sat around and waited while they did it, they said fixed.

Surprise surprise...not fixed. Took it back again, this time with a trailer, which they requested. They tried to then blame the trailer for being old and using a round to flat adapter. I said no, does this with the brand new horse float which has no adapter, and here's the video to prove. They then said well we can't code it, go talk to sales again. Tech also said "I don't know much about it" which...not what you want to hear from the manufacturer's tech!

At this point I was getting pretty cranky with being given the runaround! Called the towbar installers again who were pretty appalled, and said they'd contact Haymen Reese to find out what the go was. Also called another dealership with a really good rep to ask, who said that yes it should be codable but it isn't easy and you need to know what you're doing, so if putting on an aftermarket towbar, they only use the Ford plug and wiring to avoid the problem.

Went back to sales again (I must've used half a tank of fuel driving around for this, which at current prices...), they're still pretty confused but said ok, we'll organise to have the genuine plug installed for you. Waiting to hear back on that but in theory...problem solved.

I got a callback from the towbar installers a day later to, to say that Hayman Reese confirmed it can be coded and long story short, Ford screwed up. Poor towbar guy said he'd have to call up the dealership and have that conversation, and he wasn't looking forward to it!

Sounds like this won't be an issue with the next gen as they're all coming with towbars from factory (or so sales told me), but if anyone else has/has had the same problem...this may be of help.

And in case anyone is wondering...avoid the Geebung service centre in Brisbane. Bunch of rude, incompetent pricks. Sales department actually acknowledged they know the service centre are crap.