Ford Fiesta MK6 Modifications

If like me you have a Fiesta with a 6000 series CD player but no AUX socket fitted as standard, with a little modification you can easily install the Ford approved socket for under £30. This will give you a 3.5mm input jack allowing connection to the majority of portable music devices such as a mobile phone or iPod etc.

Radio out for AUX installation...

• A 6000 series CD player radio (the newer model with an AUX button on the front at the top left of the radio, and volume control in the centre)

• Ford Fiesta MK6 Audio Adaptor Kit (Part #1426121) ~ £21.50 (e.g. from Ford Parts UK)

• Double DIN Head Unit Radio Removal Keys PC5-132 ~ £2 (e.g. from ebay.co.uk)

• Small flat head screw driver

• 20mm hole saw drill bit (I used the 19mm bit from this set)

• Small knife/file

• Be careful when handling and installing the aux socket from the adaptor kit - it has a one-way mechanism to snap fit into the console, which if done before installing will render it useless! You cannot undo it once it's closed (without breaking it - trust me). If you do, you can purchase just the aux socket (part #3S7T-19A164-BA) by itself direct from your local Ford dealer for ~ £5)

• The radio removal keys only work when inserted the right way! If you insert them the wrong way, they'll go in, but are very hard to get out. If you do get them stuck in the wrong way round you'll just have to pull on them until they release, which takes quite a lot of force (I did this on first attempt).

• There is no need to disconnect the battery before carrying out the below. However, if you do, ensure you follow the steps in the car manual after reconnecting the battery.

• In some models, it seems that Ford also installed the AUX cable, and just left the socket missing. It's worth checking under the gear lever console to see if it's there before purchasing the kit. If it is, you can purchase just the AUX socket (see above).

1. Unscrew the gear knob (anti-clockwise)
2. Using a small flat ended screwdriver, gently prise up the silver ring around the bottom of the gear stick cover avoiding scratching the plastic. It should click up out of place quite easily.
3. Remove the silver ring and attached gear stick fabric completely.
4. Using your hands gently prise up the top of the gear console cover. It is fixed with clips at each end, but should release with a little pressure.
5. Lift the cover slightly to expose the back of the 12v cigarette ligher power socket, and disconnect the power from it.
6. You can now remove the whole console cover.

AUX and power socket location...

1. On the underside of the console cover there should be a circle marked on the plastic next to the cigarette socket.
2. Using the hole saw, drill a hole (from the underside) of ~ 20mm.
3. Use a sharp knife and a file to clear up the edges of the hole - you can also use the knife to make the hole slightly larger to fit the socket.
4. Push the AUX socket through the hole from the underside, being careful not to activate the locking mechanism! You'll probably need to play around with the size of the hole, an make a small indent at the bottom of the circle to fix the socket.
5. Once the socket fits through all the way you should be able to push down the inside of the socket from the top whilst holding the underside in place - it should snap into place and form a flush joint with the console.

1. Insert the four DIN radio removal keys. IMPORTANT: The flat edge of the circle at the end of the keys MUST point to the outside (i.e. point to the right on the right hand side of the radio).
2. They require a bit of force to insert all the way, but should click into place (and become slightly worryingly stuck).
3. With two inserted on one side you should be able to push the clips outwards whilst pulling towards you, that side of the radio should then start coming free.
4. Repeat this with the other side to completely free the radio.
5. I wasn't able to completely insert one of my keys, but it still worked enough to release the lock, using the other one to actually pull the radio out.

1. Remove the interior panel in the foot well of the passenger seat, there is a single panel screw and some clips.
2. Feed the AUX cable from the radio, you should be able to grab it and feed it down into the gear console area.
3. Ensure you have enough length to reach the socket (and some spare) - attach the cable using some zip-ties.
4. Insert the cable into the appropriate socket on the back of the radio.
5. It's a good time now to part re-install the console cover and connect the AUX socket and give the system a test!

1. Remove the keys from the locks (you can just open the latches using a screw driver from the back of the radio).
2. Push the radio back in and it should click into place.

Dolphin DMS400SBLK boxed

Parking sensors act as a useful parking aid (great for in the City), a handy gadget and also a good way to add value to your vehicle. Ford fit Xvision Sensors (part #1420032) at the factory, and an after market install on a Fiesta is generally in the order of £200.

You can purchase the part and fit yourself, although the best price I could find was ~ £110 for the kit alone.

I was keen to fit them myself, but wasn't convinced the Xvision kit was the best in terms of both price and features.

After much research I settled on a kit from Dolphin (DMS400SBLK) which ticked all the boxes, and was a great price to boot (under £70 for everything). The image on the left shows the kit, including four micro sensors, box of tricks, buzzer, hole saw and manual.

The Fiesta before I got the drill out...

• DMS400 (SBLK) Micro Dolphin Audio Reversing System - Black (good match for Panther Black Fiesta - paint code D3) ~ £64.98 (inc p&p - http://www.parkingsensors.co.uk/)

• Inline fuse holder ~ £0.79 (e.g. DR79L from Maplin)

• 1A fuse for above ~ £2.99 (e.g. GJ91Y from Maplin - pack of 10)

• Drill (the kit comes with the right hole saw - but you may need some smaller bits to drill the pilot hole)

• Screwdrivers + cable ties

Testing out the kit before installing anything

I wanted to be sure that everything was going to operate as expected before drilling any holes or cutting any wires. With the sensors taped onto the bumper, I was able to push the +12vdc wire into the reversing light terminal to test.

With the car in reverse and the electrics on, after touching the ground wire for the box of tricks on one of the cars grounding nuts, it all sprang into life.

It's worth testing each sensor is operating as expected individually, and this also gives you an idea of the detection range. I also suggest testing here with the engine running, to iron out any later complications with powering.

Marking up the holes to mount the sensors

I find drilling holes in my car a little unnerving, so I spent a good hour or so just marking up where to mount the sensors. The micro sensors in the above kit are 20mm in diameter, and need approximately 20-30mm depth (which includes a bit of space for the cable). You'll need to check that there is suitable clearance behind the bumper, as there are sometimes metal bars immediately behind that may get in the way.

On the Fiesta, there's plenty of space behind, so much so that in the end I didn't even remove the bumper throughout the whole fitting. The picture to the left shows how I used masking tape to align the mounting locations - the instructions say mounting them 30-40cm apart, 40-70cm off the ground. Apart from that (and avoiding tow hooks etc) it's up to you.

Past the point of no return...

Marking up the locations was easier said than done, mainly because the bumper didn't really have any square edges to align to! I found marking cm intervals onto pieces of masking tape and running them from the top to half way down the bumper was useful.

Once they're all marked up I used a sharp point to create a pilot hole, then progressively larger drill bits. Then, with the drill at quite a high speed the provided hole saw goes easily through the bumper - just leave it to do it's work without apply too much pressure. Adding extra masking tape around where you're drilling is useful to prevent any scratches.

The picture to the right shows all four holes drilled - definitely time for a tea break!

After much scrabbling under the car, they're in

You'll need to run the four ~ 5mm cables for the sensors from your bumper into the boot. I thought this was going to be a case of feeding it through some grommets, but on taking out all the interior carpet on the left hand side of the boot I found a gaping hole to the bumper through which I could have fed a small animal (I'm not convinced that it's meant to be like that)!

Once you have an appropriate route you can feed the sensor cables through the holes (depending if you took the bumper off or not - in my case I fed the cables in from the outside, and pulled them through from under the car). It's worth marking which cable is which sensor (although unless you have the model with a display, this isn't essential).

I ran all the cables through and attached the sensors (but didn't secure them into the holes yet, in case any adjustments to cable connections were needed later.

Connector feeding into rear lights

The kit requires a +12vdc feed, and only needs to be powered whilst your car is in reverse. You'll want to take the +12vdc feed off the reverse wire on the rear light block, taking ground to the nearest grounding bolt.

In the MK6 fiesta this is the green with orange tracer wire going into the rear light assembly, into the junction marked '5' on the plastic socket (pictured right, the solid red wire goes to the box of tricks).

Your Haynes manual is valuable here as it clearly shows which wire is the right one. It's worth doing your research here, as some cars carry coded information, or may send pulses for bulb blown detection etc. Therefore, you might not be able to take the feed directly - see the Dolphin site for more details.

Originally I was planning to cut the reverse wire and splice off, but in the end just jamming in the +12vdc line into the connector and fixing in place worked out fine.

I also added an inline fuse holder with a 1A quick blow fuse on the +12vdc line for a bit of added protection.

Mounting the box of tricks in the spare wheel well

There's plenty of space and lots of useful channels for running through all the cables.

The kit comes with good quality double sided pads for both the box of tricks and the buzzer, so no need to drill any more holes!

It's worth noting that the buzzer is surprisingly loud, so even when mounted in the boot with a parcel shelf it's perfectly audible.

I opted to mount the buzzer on the plastic just under the parcel shelf mount, so the cables run behind the interior carpet.

I'm more than happy with the final result - after a bit of experimental parking I was impressed with the both the operation and look of these sensors.