Transceiver Installation thread (Ham, CB, GMRS). Radio unit and antenna installation on Bronco Sport

[Dude]

… I'm stymied by something really simple: How did you manage to get double-sided tape to stick to the material on the underside of the dash for the female RJ45/ethernet jack?

I've been having a heck of a time getting things to adhere and bond with the material/texture on the underside or sides of the dash there.

The Gorilla brand heavy duty double side tape works great. I’ve used in hot temps and even inside a freezer. Never comes off (unless you use some form of remover product).

[Edit] I did not try the product in the specific spot you need so I don’t know that it will work at that location.

Got at Home Depot and I don’t have the package handy but it might be same as this on Amazon: https://a.co/d/661Z1f2

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[SapphireCat]

@SapphireCat (or anyone else doing similar things) - First off, thanks for your writeups on this and other things (e.g. fuse diagrams/etc). I wound up taking a nearly identical approach and they helped a lot.

However, I'm stymied by something really simple: How did you manage to get double-sided tape to stick to the material on the underside of the dash for the female RJ45/ethernet jack?

I've been having a heck of a time getting things to adhere and bond with the material/texture on the underside or sides of the dash there. I've been trying lots of cleaning with alcohol/etc, but am tempted to resort to a bit of sanding. However, I figured I'd ask before doing something as permanent as sanding the surface. I've tried 3m automotive tape, random other double-sided tape, command strips, and everything else I have around, but I always come out the next day to find it's fallen off overnight.

So, I am currently using this: https://a.co/d/iDnWqDJ
I picked mine up at Home Depot.

It works great in the winter, spring and fall. However, in the summer, my ethernet jack did fall off (I live in Southern Colorado and we get some pretty warm days around here). I haven't found anything yet that can withstand the hot temps in my car during the summer. I tried a few different products, including the Gorilla mounting tape.

I am contemplating trying super glue, but haven't done it yet.

The mounting tape has done the same thing with my radio mount - works 3 season but not 4. I had to clamp it down as well for several days to get it to stay up. I'm contemplating buying some screws and mounting it that way, but again, haven't done it yet.

 

[Mark S.]

@SapphireCat (or anyone else doing similar things) - First off, thanks for your writeups on this and other things (e.g. fuse diagrams/etc). I wound up taking a nearly identical approach and they helped a lot.

However, I'm stymied by something really simple: How did you manage to get double-sided tape to stick to the material on the underside of the dash for the female RJ45/ethernet jack?

I've been having a heck of a time getting things to adhere and bond with the material/texture on the underside or sides of the dash there. I've been trying lots of cleaning with alcohol/etc, but am tempted to resort to a bit of sanding. However, I figured I'd ask before doing something as permanent as sanding the surface. I've tried 3m automotive tape, random other double-sided tape, command strips, and everything else I have around, but I always come out the next day to find it's fallen off overnight.

Look for a product called "Shoe Goo," or "E6000." Here's a link to the product page on Amazon. Thoroughly clean both surfaces, the put a dot or two of this stuff between them. I've had really good luck with this stuff on a variety of surfaces (fabric, metal, fiberglass, etc.). It stays flexible in the cold, and doesn't seem to be affected enough by the heat to release. If you decide later you want to remove the device you can usually peel off the adhesive.

 

[Dude]

Look for a product called "Shoe Goo," or "E6000." Here's a link to the product page on Amazon. Thoroughly clean both surfaces, the put a dot or two of this stuff between them. I've had really good luck with this stuff on a variety of surfaces (fabric, metal, fiberglass, etc.). It stays flexible in the cold, and doesn't seem to be affected enough by the heat to release. If you decide later you want to remove the device you can usually peel off the adhesive.

Just curious if you ever tried to break the bond? The package states “permanent bond” but the instructions show:

- Clean uncured adhesive with acetone or citrus-based solvents
- Cured material may be removed by cutting or scraping
- fully cured adhesive can withstand temperatures from -40 to 180 °F (-40 to 82 °C) intermittently
- For future easy cap removal, apply a thin coat of petroleum jelly to the threads of the tube before replacing the cap

I put a tube in my cart, thanks!!

 

[Mark S.]

Just curious if you ever tried to break the bond?

Yes, I've removed it after curing. It's not easy, but it's not permanent. Takes a bit of elbow grease.

 

[lej51201]

@SapphireCat (or anyone else doing similar things) - First off, thanks for your writeups on this and other things (e.g. fuse diagrams/etc). I wound up taking a nearly identical approach and they helped a lot.

However, I'm stymied by something really simple: How did you manage to get double-sided tape to stick to the material on the underside of the dash for the female RJ45/ethernet jack?

I've been having a heck of a time getting things to adhere and bond with the material/texture on the underside or sides of the dash there. I've been trying lots of cleaning with alcohol/etc, but am tempted to resort to a bit of sanding. However, I figured I'd ask before doing something as permanent as sanding the surface. I've tried 3m automotive tape, random other double-sided tape, command strips, and everything else I have around, but I always come out the next day to find it's fallen off overnight.

Make sure the area is clean (especially no Armor All). Maybe a spritz of Goo Gone to clean the mountain surface. I always use "Gorilla Grip" double sided foam tape. I've never had an issue.

 

[Major Kong]

I've had positive results using heavy duty velcro at this location
advantage over double sided tape or bonding agents
easy quick change mounting of various devices
current application
Btech UV 25x50
it's late
mebbe I'll snap a pic tomorrow

 

[Major Kong]

current mileage 1,258
so yes
that's the original dealership courtesy mat
Mrs Kong likes it
so it stays
however as you can see
velcro does serve a purpose where applicable

 

[jofer]

I finally gave up and went with a cut/drilled jack below the glovebox. (Radio installed in glovebox so I still have access to the USB port on it. Also, I hadn't put the panels back when I took this pic, so forgive the clutter.)

The jack actually doesn't quite fit due to hitting an aluminum support that I didn't want to trim, but the top is popped in securely, and the bottom being popped out actually makes it vertical, which is kinda nice. It's a lot more secure than I was getting with tape anyway.

 

[jofer]

I figured it was worth writing up a bit more about exactly what approach I took, just in case it's useful for someone else.

Like most folks, I took the fuse tap approach and used fuse #3, which is unused by default and ignition switched. 10a should be plenty for a 15 watt radio and I didn't want to risk inadvertently draining the battery, and I'm okay with not using the radio unless full accessory power is on. I grounded things to the bolt just below the passenger fuse box (I used an extra nut on top of the factory nut, as there was plenty of thread). I soldered the fuse tap to the radio power cable instead of crimping just to avoid things shaking loose over time.

On a side note, when pulling the trim out to get to the passenger fuse box, if you have the extra trim piece on top below the glovebox (maybe only on some trims/years?), be sure to pull it _first_, otherwise you risk breaking the plastic pieces that it fits into on the actual fusebox trim cover. Get trim tools, otherwise you'll wrestle with the plastic clips on that top trim piece for far too long. The actual fusebox cover pops right off, though.

Here's a pic with fuse #3 removed, just in case it helps folks:

And with the homemade wiring harness installed:

Next, I wanted to have the antenna on my roof rack in the back. There's a spot that I almost never have gear on, and I wanted it as high as possible. That means running the antenna cable up the "accessory ready" slot along the windshield. I'd seen the instructions from Ford, and was quite hesitant, but it turns out that pulling those two trim pieces is quite easy. You do need a trim tool, however (or, really, any strong slim piece of plastic would do - you just want to pry without scratching). I found a video that was quite helpful for me, though Ford's instructions are also quite clear.

I removed the trim pieces, and put some double-sided automotive tape along the channel to keep the wire from rattling around (this is before it was actually taped down):

The cable runs along the roof rail to the back of the roof rack. I was going to use one of the wire hiders, but finally decided zip ties were just fine. I don't mind if there's some visible wire in spots, and they're easier to deal with.

The end result is not very noticeable, even though I left the cable visible in a few spots. There's more double-sided tape holding it along the groove in front. I didn't want to cut into that gasket, even if it would have hidden things more nicely.

Next, I had to get the antenna through into the passenger compartment. This was the most annoying part of the whole thing, honestly. There's a grommet on the driver side door that accessory cables are meant to go through. I forgot to take pictures, but it's easy to find info for. The issue is that where you have to thread things through, it's surprisingly difficult to actually get the cable fully through both sides of it. The grommet covers the hole in the outer wall, but the inner wall of the cabin has a corresponding hole that's at an angle from the outer one. You'll have to find it by feel. It's as far up as you can reach (really - keep reaching) if you shove your arm awkwardly up under the dash on the left of the driver side. I used an electrical fish tape (i.e. a thin flexible steel strip on a spool) to go from the inside across to the outside and then pull the cable through, but it took several tries at very awkward angles. Most resulted in the fish tape going between the inner and outer walls and just repeatedly not quite finding the outer hole. This part would probably be easier with two people. At any rate, it eventually wound up properly through a cut hole in the grommet and into the cabin.

Next, I used the same fish tape approach to run it above the transmission tunnel and over to the passenger side. This was a lot easier, but you do have to go really far forward. I'd definitely recommend something like a fish tape and not trying to just stuff the cable through. At any rate, it's easy to get it nicely hidden above the pedals, and there are a couple of places under the dash you can zip tie to if needed to keep the cable from rattling, though the angle is definitely awkward.

I decided to mount the unit in the glove box. It's attached with double-sided tape for the moment. I may screw it in eventually if the tape fails in the summer. There are some extra wire clips that I wound up not using (the white squares on the left of it), but I'm pretty happy with how clean the install is:

The coiled up (yeah, I know, bad for antenna wires, but whatever) wires are on the back of the glovebox, and don't seem to hit things behind it. I also zip tied the lower portions to one of the factory wire runs to prevent rattles and keep the wires out of the way when putting the trim over the fusebox back on.

After much frustration with double sided tape (Yeah, this had armorall on it, which was probably the issue), I cut a jack into the dash just below the glovebox and used a cable off of amazon instead of the ethernet extender that came with the radio. I used a 3/4" paddle bit and then cut out a square from there (drill four smaller holes at the corners after drilling the 3/4 circle, then cut a square and slowly enlarge it until the jack will fit -- 3/4 is deliberately too small). It's just beside the bottom left of the glovebox. It looks clean, and I'm happy with it.

However, it is worth nothing that it doesn't _actually_ quite fit, due to a support just behind this. I have it popped in on the top, but it can't rotate enough for the bottom clips to fully go in. I could trim the bottom clips and get it a touch more secure, but it seems very securely mounted. The fact that it's not fully clipped in actually means it's vertical, which works a bit better. If you look from the side, it's more obvious that it's not quite fully inserted properly:

Overall, though, I'm very happy with the result. Other folks writeups/instructions/etc here helped me a ton, so I figured I'd return the favor in case this helps anyone.

 

[The Rinzler]

I've had positive results using heavy duty velcro at this location
advantage over double sided tape or bonding agents
easy quick change mounting of various devices
current application
Btech UV 25x50
it's late
mebbe I'll snap a pic tomorrow

Yess, I have been eyeing this location since I got her.
Looking to fit a MXT275 Midland GMRS back there.

 

[The Rinzler]

Yess, I have been eyeing this location since I got her.
Looking to fit a MXT275 Midland GMRS back there.

Finally did it.

 

[Mark S.]

Finally did it.

Clean!

 

[The Rinzler]

Clean!

Thank you!
The microphone mounting could be better, right now it's not very sturdy, going to keep an eye out for a better solution.

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