i can't see the sensors for the hands free liftgate

[ben senise]

i had a '16 Ti with the hands free liftgate and no trailer hitch. i used the hands free feature with no problems. when i got the car, i looked at the sensor and could see it no problem.

now i've got my new '20 ST and it's really hit and miss putting my foot under the bumper. it often takes me two or three tries.

so today i got down on the ground to look at the sensor to see where exactly it was, to check that it was not obstructed by mud or any other part of the car, or hadn't shifted out of position. for the life of me i cannot figure out where the sensors are! if i understand correctly there are two since the ST comes with the tow hitch. i've searched on this forum and the web for diagrams or photos. i see that whereas the sensor on my '16 was a rectangular box, this new sensor is two piece so it can be activated on either side of the hitch and they seem to be long slender pieces. armed with this knowledge i went back under the rear bumper with a good strong flashlight and i am stumped. i see nothing even closely related to the diagrams that i have found.

does anyone have any photos of these sensors or can anyone describe where exactly they are? i would be extremely grateful for any help.

 

[1004ron]

Take a look at the below thread on a hitch install - it has good photos of the sensors.

 

 

[ben senise]

1 hour ago, 1004ron said:

Take a look at the below thread on a hitch install - it has good photos of the sensors.

 

thanks for that link. it was one of the sources i found but despite looking at those pictures and lying under my car, i simply cannot see anything like that.

let me check to make sure my assumptions are correct:

- the second, third, and fourth pictures are of the inside of the rear bumper.

- those two "cables" that kind of look like coax cables running across the bumper in photo 3 and are tied back with zip-ties in photo 2 are the sensors

- each sensor on my edge is in two pieces since i have a factory hitch so they would be a short piece of that cable on each side and connected with a wire.

if these above assumptions are correct, then i am stumped.

i'll try and take some pictures of my setup and post them here this afternoon.

thanks for your help.

 

[edit to add:] to me it seems obvious that these sensors are not optical whereas i think the 2016 ones were. do these ones use some kind of electrical field? would one cable be a transmitter and the other a receiver, hence the need for two?

Edited March 7, 2021 by ben senise

[1004ron]

11 minutes ago, ben senise said:

[edit to add:] to me it seems obvious that these sensors are not optical whereas i think the 2016 ones were. do these ones use some kind of electrical field? would one cable be a transmitter and the other a receiver, hence the need for two?

Optical would foul with road grime.

 

I haven't delved into this, but assume that its a field effect type device,  .......capacitive, inductive, ?

[ben senise]

okay, i solved the puzzle.

when i was first looking, i was looking for an optical sensor which by definition needs a line of sight to "see" whatever it is that it's detecting. when i started looking for these cables, i just kept looking for something that could "see" the foot but of course, duh, an electrical field doesn't need line of sight. since plastic is invisible to an electric field, i figured that these sensors would likely be mounted on the bottom inside surface of the rear fascia. so i put my hand up there and found them. when i was kicking until now was immediately to either side of the tow hitch. now i know where to kick which is a bit farther to the outside and in the few tries that i had, it was 100% so hopefully it will work more consistently from now on.

thanks @1004ron . it's great to have a sounding board to bounce ideas and questions off of. i appreciate your input.

[bfloating]

I have just bought a 2015 Ford Edge for my Mom.  Its a great car with Low LOW miles and all the Ford "packages" including the one that has the foot operated rear tailgate sensor.  I can NOT open the tailgate with my foot with any kind of consistency.  Its a real hit and miss situation and I do mean HIT as the factory trailer hitch loves to knock my ankle when I miss.  Anyway you can upload a photo and draw an arrow or circle the area that is "the magic spot" so I can show Mom.  I am not very tech savvy so make this as simple as possible, like you were explaining it or demonstrating it to a 10 year old.  Thanks in advance.  Oh, and one last thing ... my "parking assist" feature was not working on one side so I went and wiped off the sensors on that side of the car and poof ... all is fine now.  I'm learning that these round sensors are pretty "sensitive".  Is there any connection with "dirty" that might be affecting the sensor for the foot operation of the liftgate ?  Advice on how to clean/clear it would be appreciated ( once I understand WHERE it physically is of course.  Thanks

Edited March 14, 2021 by 1004ron
Crazy font size !!!!

[ben senise]

2 hours ago, bfloating said:

I have just bought a 2015 Ford Edge for my Mom.  Its a great car with Low LOW miles and all the Ford "packages" including the one that has the foot operated rear tailgate sensor.  I can NOT open the tailgate with my foot with any kind of consistency.  Its a real hit and miss situation and I do mean HIT as the factory trailer hitch loves to knock my ankle when I miss.  Anyway you can upload a photo and draw an arrow or circle the area that is "the magic spot" so I can show Mom.  I am not very tech savvy so make this as simple as possible, like you were explaining it or demonstrating it to a 10 year old.  Thanks in advance.  Oh, and one last thing ... my "parking assist" feature was not working on one side so I went and wiped off the sensors on that side of the car and poof ... all is fine now.  I'm learning that these round sensors are pretty "sensitive".  Is there any connection with "dirty" that might be affecting the sensor for the foot operation of the liftgate ?  Advice on how to clean/clear it would be appreciated ( once I understand WHERE it physically is of course.  Thanks

 

i just grabbed a random pic off the web since i don't have one of my car yet.

 

i would guess that the sensor, which looks more or less like a coax cable for tv, is around 8" long. it is mounted on the top of the inside surface of the black plastic. if you reach up there with your palm facing you and then run your fingertips back and forth (don't cut yourself) you can probably find them. mine starts probably around 6" or so from the edge of the hitch and runs 8 or so inches as i mentioned above.

if you're hitting the hitch, you're too close to center. that's what i was doing wrong. just move to the outside another 6-8 inches or so.

once i knew where they were, i've been 100% in getting the liftgate to open.

good luck.

[omar302]

6 hours ago, bfloating said:

and I do mean HIT as the factory trailer hitch loves to knock my ankle when I miss. 

 

Your foot's motion should be front/back, not sideways (should be like your kicking it, without touching). In the same areas shown by @ben senise (either side of the hitch receiver).