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I was broken into the other day - shattered driver window. Yeah, bummer. Anyway the alarm clearly didn't go off, so I looked at the parts diagrams and I think the ultrasonic sensor should be just above the driver side B-pillar. Since I have no headliner or interior trim, it was easy to spot that part missing
Is it worth bringing back this system? Can it be programmed myself? I have a Lynx diagnostics tool, from Britpart.
I looked into aftermarket solutions, and to be honest, it all looks like junk. The one that looks potentially good is the OwlCam: https://owlcam.com/ but it has very mixed reviews and steep price.
there are two ultrasonic sensors. one mounts above the right rear window, and the other mounts above the driver's b-pillar (lhd). if you don't have a headliner, mounting the front one could be a minor issue. i don't know what other components there are that aren't used by the regular system.
i had the headliner out on my '03 recently, which didn't come with the ultrasonic system. i forgot to check to see if the wiring for it was in place, but i know for sure that the mounting hole in the headliner was there since i had to patch it once i removed the headliner fabric.
i know that the system worked in my '99 truck because the alarm would go off when the windows were down and there was any kind of wind. i don't imagine that i will do anything with the sensors before junking that truck (i considered it, briefly, but nobody pays any attention to a car alarm in nyc so why bother). shoot me a pm if you're interested in them.
I've got it (or maybe 18 mil) on my Disco and other vehicles. It isn't perfect. When they hit your window with a brick, it still leaves a small impact mark, but the security film prevents the whole window from shattering and it has the pleasing effect of bouncing the brick back at the criminals. The 18 mil also has some ballistic use for stopping small Saturday Night Specials (but in no way shape or form stops large caliber pistols or any rifles).
I don't recommend the security film for your front windshield because the slight curve in that glass could cause the security film to slightly distort your driving view. It installs with soap+water and a squeegee like window tint. Easy.
My windows and sunroofs work just fine with the thick film installed. Fully open and close, no problem.
Second, get a $40 "dash cam" from ebay or Amazon but don't install it on your dash. Plug it in the rear Disco charging socket and hide it, looking forward. You want one that has plenty of onboard data storage space but that records over old footage automatically once the space is used up, so in that way it is never used up.
You also want it to be always on and have motion activation. This will give you traffic stop evidence as well as breaking/entering evidence.
*If you only want camera motion detection protection while parked at home, there are plenty of free apps that you can use on one of your old, retired smartphones if your WiFi reaches your driveway
Me too. Have not locked/alarmed doors in last 9 years. One entry, nothing broken, nothing to take. Went to police with an untouched item thieve had undoubtly handled for fingerprinting; they did nothing... it is easier to work the least possible.
Did they give up after breaking the window? Or did they crawl in and take stuff?
Sorry, for your misfortune.
Brian.
I got relatively lucky... a duffel bag of clothes was stolen. Not super high value, but a lot of the clothes were unique and not replaceable, so that sucks.
Originally Posted by mollusc
there are two ultrasonic sensors. one mounts above the right rear window, and the other mounts above the driver's b-pillar (lhd). if you don't have a headliner, mounting the front one could be a minor issue. i don't know what other components there are that aren't used by the regular system.
i had the headliner out on my '03 recently, which didn't come with the ultrasonic system. i forgot to check to see if the wiring for it was in place, but i know for sure that the mounting hole in the headliner was there since i had to patch it once i removed the headliner fabric.
i know that the system worked in my '99 truck because the alarm would go off when the windows were down and there was any kind of wind. i don't imagine that i will do anything with the sensors before junking that truck (i considered it, briefly, but nobody pays any attention to a car alarm in nyc so why bother). shoot me a pm if you're interested in them.
Interesting, I didn't realize the sensor was mounted outside of the trim. Was this security system not installed on all discoveries? I thought people just removed them from annoyance. Thanks for the offer, I'll get in touch once I do a little more research to make sure I can program them in, and if its actually something i want to do.
I've got it (or maybe 18 mil) on my Disco and other vehicles. It isn't perfect. When they hit your window with a brick, it still leaves a small impact mark, but the security film prevents the whole window from shattering and it has the pleasing effect of bouncing the brick back at the criminals. The 18 mil also has some ballistic use for stopping small Saturday Night Specials (but in no way shape or form stops large caliber pistols or any rifles).
I don't recommend the security film for your front windshield because the slight curve in that glass could cause the security film to slightly distort your driving view. It installs with soap+water and a squeegee like window tint. Easy.
My windows and sunroofs work just fine with the thick film installed. Fully open and close, no problem.
Second, get a $40 "dash cam" from ebay or Amazon but don't install it on your dash. Plug it in the rear Disco charging socket and hide it, looking forward. You want one that has plenty of onboard data storage space but that records over old footage automatically once the space is used up, so in that way it is never used up.
You also want it to be always on and have motion activation. This will give you traffic stop evidence as well as breaking/entering evidence.
*If you only want camera motion detection protection while parked at home, there are plenty of free apps that you can use on one of your old, retired smartphones if your WiFi reaches your driveway
Awesome! I had no idea about that security film stuff. That sounds ideal, if it actually works... better to prevent the break-in in the first place. I already have steel window guards on all other glass, so the film could complete that package quite nicely. I'll look into it.
Awesome! I had no idea about that security film stuff. That sounds ideal, if it actually works... better to prevent the break-in in the first place. I already have steel window guards on all other glass, so the film could complete that package quite nicely. I'll look into it.
I've uparmored a few vehicles. The security film is the easiest to install, but on our Discos we have an even better option if we want to go to just a bit of effort:
Our doors have adequate space for 3/8" Lexan.
It's best to have Lexan professionally cut/drilled (ok, you can do it yourself). Remove your side glass, cut butcher paper to that precise size/shape, and draw the mounting glass holes from the stock glass onto the butcher paper as appropriate. Take the butcher paper to your Lexan cutter and remind her to shave the 3/8" thickness on the top, front, and rear edges of the Lexan to slide into the Disco window sill seams. Now install that Lexan.
I've tested 3/8" Lexan at the range and seen it defeat Colt 45, Glock 40, S&M .38, Browning .22, and Remington 28 gauge at Point Blank range (not counting some minor spalling).
...but the security film is a ton better than no protection at all. Cheap, too. Sooooo easy to install.
Interesting, I didn't realize the sensor was mounted outside of the trim. Was this security system not installed on all discoveries? I thought people just removed them from annoyance. Thanks for the offer, I'll get in touch once I do a little more research to make sure I can program them in, and if its actually something i want to do.
on my '99 the sensors were mounted and functional, and the original fabric headliner had a hole in it for the mounting point above the driver's b-pillar. my '03 does not have the sensors, and the original fabric headliner does not have a hole in it for the sensor even though the fibreglass backing does -- presumably because all the headliners used a common mould.
my assumption is then that only some models had the volumetric sensors installed. my '99 seems to have come with almost every system mentioned in the rave for that year so it may have been a high-end option.
03-06-2019, 03:38 PM
Bringing back the factory ultrasonic system?
