stanlam
04-20-2008, 05:51 PM
I have always admired the luxury cars with the reverse sensors installed in their bumpers. Well I finally completed my installation. The brand of the sensor is called "Backtracker" I bought mine on Ebay for less then $100.00 shipped. If you buy Backtracker at a retail store, it cost about $135.00. If you buy Honda OEM it's closer to $500.00 retail. There are also a bunch of generic ones on Ebay and they only cost about $25.00 - $50.00 (ebay keyword "reverse parking sensor). However, I didn't get the generic one because I didn't want to take a chance of reliability problems. Car dealers actually install the Backtracker brand on their own cars as a accessory.
Installation - As you can see I installed 4 of the sensors on the bumper. When installing, make sure you physically feel the back of the bumper with your fingers. You have to find a empty spot on the bumper to install the sensor. The you drill a hole into your bumper. If you drill in the wrong part of the bumper, you could hit metal or foam. If you hit metal or foam, you can still drill into it. However, your job will probably be extended a few hours. Just be careful and drill where I drilled at.
Power Wire - You get the power from the reverse lights in the back of the CR-V. All you have to do is remove 2 screws, and pop out 1 of the big light unit (right or left, it doesn't matter). Then you tap into the 1 power wire connected to the reverse light bulb. The Backtracker only turns on when the car is in reverse. After you tapped into this wire, run your wire straight to the bottom of the car. There is already a gap in this light compartment so you can easily run the wire to the floor.
Brain of Reverse unit sensor - The best place to store the brain of the sensor is where the spare tire is. There is so much wasted space in there. I had to drill a hole here so the wires can come from the "power and the sensors" straight to the tire compartment. After the job is done, all the wires are hidden.
How it works - When I am in reverse mode, the sensor gives 1 short beep to let me know that it works. It has 3 zones. Depending on how close I am to the object, the sensor will beep at a faster rate. When I am finally about 12 inches away from an object, the unit goes into continuous beep mode.
Display unit - It actually has a small display that I didn't hook up yet. Give me a few days.
Pictures - If you look at my pictures, you can see 2 sensors on the back bumper pictures. There is 1 sensor on top of each red reflector. The tire pictures shows where I drilled the hole to get the wire to the tire compartment.
Installation - As you can see I installed 4 of the sensors on the bumper. When installing, make sure you physically feel the back of the bumper with your fingers. You have to find a empty spot on the bumper to install the sensor. The you drill a hole into your bumper. If you drill in the wrong part of the bumper, you could hit metal or foam. If you hit metal or foam, you can still drill into it. However, your job will probably be extended a few hours. Just be careful and drill where I drilled at.
Power Wire - You get the power from the reverse lights in the back of the CR-V. All you have to do is remove 2 screws, and pop out 1 of the big light unit (right or left, it doesn't matter). Then you tap into the 1 power wire connected to the reverse light bulb. The Backtracker only turns on when the car is in reverse. After you tapped into this wire, run your wire straight to the bottom of the car. There is already a gap in this light compartment so you can easily run the wire to the floor.
Brain of Reverse unit sensor - The best place to store the brain of the sensor is where the spare tire is. There is so much wasted space in there. I had to drill a hole here so the wires can come from the "power and the sensors" straight to the tire compartment. After the job is done, all the wires are hidden.
How it works - When I am in reverse mode, the sensor gives 1 short beep to let me know that it works. It has 3 zones. Depending on how close I am to the object, the sensor will beep at a faster rate. When I am finally about 12 inches away from an object, the unit goes into continuous beep mode.
Display unit - It actually has a small display that I didn't hook up yet. Give me a few days.
Pictures - If you look at my pictures, you can see 2 sensors on the back bumper pictures. There is 1 sensor on top of each red reflector. The tire pictures shows where I drilled the hole to get the wire to the tire compartment.