Thenorm's Build Thread

bought a Drawtite hitch from one of the vendors on the forum here.




hitch install was straight forward.

i bought a t-one custom harness with the connectors for the tail light.
I modified the procedure a little bit. I didnt want to run a power wire all the way to the battery so i instead ran the wire throught the passenger side tail light grommet and used a fuse tap in an unused slot fuse 2 in the rear fuse box. I also lengthened two of the wires on the driver side so I could mount the module where i wanted to.






i'm still having issues with the wiring. I think my module is defective and two wires are crossed. I'll be doing some more cutting and troubleshooting with a volt meter.

this post is a teaser.
I bought some plastidip and painted the headlight eyebrows, fender trim and rear emblem.

I dont have pictures of the finished lights in the light, but they turned out awesome.



One of my plans is to turn the fender trim into turn signals. I'm still working on the details, but it might involve a glowing piece of smoked acrylic...

also have ordered some summer wheels. still need to get the tires mounted, but i sat them next to the FE to get a sense of it.

"One of my plans is to turn the fender trim into turn signals. I'm still working on the details, but it might involve a glowing piece of smoked acrylic..."


I love this idea. At the very least I want to paint mine black like yours, I hate all the chrome on our Escapes. Definitely keep us updated on this venture!

fixed my trailer harness last night.
does this look right?


i had to cut and cross the right turn and stop light wires, as obviously inside the module they did not go to the right place. It was some frustrating trouble shooting, but I'm ready to tow now. I enjoy wiring up simple electrics.

some pics of the headlight eyebrow.

got my dash cam installed. Thread Here

bought the Mobius Actioncam wide angle with dash cam kit, about $120



it is quite discreet from the outside.




Here is an example of the video quality of the Mobius. This is from my Ford Focus, but it has the same camera as the Escape.
crash through snow bank ice rally-x - YouTube

I've given up on winter. It is un seasonably warm.
Put the new summer wheels on.
sport edition A9

18x8"

ya, Vancouver is usually not that cold, but this year is exceptionally warm.

We're well known for our ski hills, only 5 years ago we hosted the winter Olympics, but here is a pic from the top of one of the ski hills today. not a ounce of snow on the ground.

Thenorm said:

ya, Vancouver is usually not that cold, but this year is exceptionally warm.

We're well known for our ski hills, only 5 years ago we hosted the winter Olympics, but here is a pic from the top of one of the ski hills today. not a ounce of snow on the ground.

Click to expand...

We have plenty here in Syracuse if you want some!

put an led bulb in the cargo area.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231205433835?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

its a lot whiter, but i cant really tell how much brighter it is.
The picture doesnt really accuratly show it but...

yesterday installed ice blue LED in the foot well on my '14 FE SE to match the guages.

got them for ~1$ each on ebay.


colors and brightness are hard to show on a phone camera and with dark carpet, but
heres the before and after