2013 Edge SEL "Gingie"

[Scarrz]

A couple months ago, I picked up a used 2013 Ford Edge with 63K miles. The color is called Ginger Ale, so it soon got nicknamed 'gingie'

 

After driving Gingee around a few thousand miles, I quickly found a few things we didn't like. First, the Sync 2 and Nav is really sloooow, something the wife did not like at all  (yeah she's into new tech). Then there's those worthless dim front bumper LEDs that do next to nothing, and I am not into parking light DRLs.

 

Photo below me and Gingie on the Beartooth Highway. If you don't know about it, the Beartooth goes from Red Lodge MT into Yellowstone NP. I have ridden it many times in cages and mc's. The mc pic is when I did a coast-to-coast-to coast ride. Yeah, it is quite a road! 

                

 

So, I picked up a new-to-me Sync 3... sadly it was DOA, and I returned it (I posted about it on the forum).  

Good thing my Switchback DRL Turn Signal LEDs came in, so I hooked them up. And guess what, because the switchback drl turns are wired into the oem turns, the Switchbacks would not function correctly.  Yup, really got to turn 'off' those goofy turn signal DRLs. 

 

I finally found another new-to-me Sync 3 (from a 2017 Lincoln). This one powered right up and worked fine, so I updated the APIM with my Edge info, added the heated seat icons to the home screen (wife uses heated seats 365, lol), and then updated the Sync 3 with the newest software v3.4 and 2019 map.  And while updating the APIM, also turned 'off' the turn signal DRLs so my switchback turn/DRLs work correctly, and turned 'off' the turn signal hyper-flash function so I don't need to add resistors with the new LED turns.  And modified a phone holder [ HERE   pic below ].

 

 

Next...

-- Flushed entire cooling system, and did a drain and fill on the transmission and power steering

-- Replace the spark plugs at 64k and decided to check the gap on the old plugs, 0.062, FYI, new plugs gap should be 0.051. Yeah, 10 off, so those thinking they should wait til 100k miles, might want to rethink that ;-)=

 

 

-- Since I also had all that back side of the engine exposed, decided to pop in a new pcv. 

 

-- The Edge is a nice ride, but the sound system sucks.  I installed a 400amp Sony 4-channel amp that fits under the oem radio (pic below), and upgraded the speakers with some polk 571's.  What a difference in sound!  Now I can hear the wife pulling into the garage. lol  And she is leaving my 2020 Civic Hatch alone (soon it too will have upgraded sound system, but don't tell her). 

-- Also tossed in a new PCB65-750CCA AGM Battery

 

 

 

 And a few more...

-- Husky weatherbeater floor liners, rear cargo net, and replaced front and rear original brake rotors and pads. Glad I did, I found (and fixed) three rusted/seized rear brake pins.

-- Exterior lighting completely upgraded to LEDs:  headlights, switchback DRL-turns, front and rear turn signals, back up lights, brake lights, and installed some super bright 800 lumen LEDs in the oem mirror 'puddle lights'. Dang talk about lighting up the sides of the car! 

-- All interior lights upgraded to LEDs too, and soon more LEDs in the footwell, cubby's, and doors.

 

Oh, and am guessing most haven't heard of an interior dome light mod that converts the three rear passenger lights to be able to turn 'on' when you unlock, open the door, or turn 'on' the interior light switch?  I just added the mod in this thread.  Yeah, those of you with a wife and/or kids who like to see inside the Edge will like this mod.  

 

Modman   ;-)=

Edited October 28, 2020 by Scarrz

[omar302]

Welcome to the forum. Quite an introductory post.

 

4 hours ago, Scarrz said:

Oh, and am guessing some of you haven't heard of this mod. It's a mod I like to do on vehicles that have a rear dome and reading lights.

 

I would usually like to the opposite! On my pervious vehicle, I installed a switch to be able to prevent the front dome/map light from turning on with doors open when needed. Sometimes I'd want to exit the vehicle without showing everything inside! Thankfully newer Fords have a switch for it.

[Scarrz]

On 9/21/2020 at 1:38 AM, omar302 said:

.... on my pervious vehicle, I installed a switch to be able to prevent the front dome/map light from turning on with doors open when needed. Sometimes I'd want to exit the vehicle without showing everything inside....

 

Makes sense... if I was doing something illegal. LoL. 

 

Hmm, am guessing you don't have kids or a wife that drives your car. 😉

Edited September 28, 2020 by Scarrz

[onyxbfly]

Welcome to the forum! You hit the ground running, and did not waste any time modding! I like the idea of your mods. I can see how having changing every interior bulb to LED would be beneficial in some circumstances.  Trying to find your phone, traffic stops etc.

 

I agree with Omar. I have my interior lights switched off because, I do not want everyone to see what's inside when I enter and exit my ride.  Nothing illegal about it. Simply comes down to protecting whats yours.  

 

You will find us to be a pretty much relaxed group. Just because someone doesn't agree with you, does not mean that they're trolling you.  

[handfiler]

Welcome to the forum Scarrz.  A lot of knowledgeable tinkerers here.

[AkMan13]

On 9/21/2020 at 3:38 AM, omar302 said:

Welcome to the forum. Quite an introductory post.

 

 

I would usually like to the opposite! On my pervious vehicle, I installed a switch to be able to prevent the front dome/map light from turning on with doors open when needed. Sometimes I'd want to exit the vehicle without showing everything inside! Thankfully newer Fords have a switch for it.

How did you do this ? I hate the fact that the dome lights shine everything i have in the car at night when i turn off my edge or when i open the door

[Scarrz]

For those readers that prefer to see inside their car... this lighting mod is really easy to do. 

For those who are single, don't tote any kids around, or those that might be involved in criminal activity and need to keep your interiors dark.... might want to just skip this cool mod 😄 

 

 

Light Mods

 

Parts: two diodes [ like here ], a couple of short lengths of 22 gauge wire, shrink tubing, some solder and soldering iron. 

Here are some of the LEDs I used:  Rear dome and map [ HERE ],  Vanity Mirror [ HERE ],  Front map lights [ HERE ], and Exterior 'puddle' lights [ HERE ].  FYI, I have read that some had lighting issues when switching to LEDs.  I have no issues, but that may be because I have all three rear dome lights turn 'on' with the door and hatch, which adds a bit more draw. 

 

Dome Light Mod:

This dome light mod changes the rear dome light so ALL three rear dome lights light up when any door or hatch is opened as well as all the other lights that normally turn 'on' when door or hatch is opened. This Dome Light Mod does NOT change the normal function of the rear map lights... except when a door or hatch is opened. So... when you are driving and a rear passenger pushes their map light 'on', only that map light turns 'on, NOT all three lights. :-)=

 

So, you will need to remove the rear dome light assembly from the ceiling. It is removed by simply pulling it off the roof or maybe use some pry tools, then unplug the dome light and take it to your bench.

 

-------------------------------

For the rest of the install, I'll let the photos tell most of the story....

 

In the photo below, you can see where the diodes are to be soldered, and where to solder the other end of the 22g wire. Just make sure you have your shrink tubing on the wire before soldering everything up :-)=  

Note: it is important to install diodes correctly, so make sure you install them as shown in the photo. If you are a novice using a soldering iron or don't know what to use, here is an example of an  IRON and  SOLDER.  You might want to use a heat sink too. I find it easy enough to just tin the connections and diodes first... then connect them with a quick touch of the iron.

 

 

Below photos shows the shrink tubing on the diodes.

 

 

Below photo shows the super bright LEDs (link is in the above parts info)

 

 

 

--------------------------------

 

Puddle light mod

There are other posts about this.... but in brief, the puddle light is easily removed from the exterior mirrors with a small screwdriver, then you'll need to 'crack' open the the light, remove the old bulb, insert the new and glue the lens back on. Mine were easy to open. 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by Scarrz

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

most ask to go the other way, in the dark of night as it were, lol.

 

[Scarrz]

For those interested in how to install Flashing Strobe for the third brake light.... read on.

I like do something like this to all my rides, including my mc's. IF lighting mods are not your thing... just skip the post. I will not reply to any tripe about laws and LE.   FYI, it's your ride...your choice.  Oh, and I was in LE, and many of my brothers would ask me about my lighting mods, especially my mc mods ;-)=

 

Parts:  Brake flasher strobe [ like HERE ]

 

Install:

This is about a 30 min install, maybe more depending how many beers you have. lol. 

I did not see an install about a third brake light strobe on this forum. If there is, well, here's another:

 

First, unhook the power lift arm, where it attaches on the hatch door. This needs to be done to remove the upper portion of the plastic molding on the hatch door as that is where you need to access the wires. 

Removing plastic molding is tricky, no screws on my hatch, just clips.  I started by pulling the plastic, near the top of the hatch, and unclipped the top section. Then you need to stop pulling from the top and work on the sides. The sides need to be pushed IN (toward the hatch rear window glass) in order to detach the those clips. It's a bit tricky, just take your time. I only removed the upper half of the molding to gain access the third brake light wires.

 

photo below is the left side of the hatch. You have to push IN toward the rear window glass to unclip the clips in the photos.

 

photo below is the right side of the hatch

 

In the photo below, you can see that I left the molding hanging.  All I needed was access to the third brake light wires to attach the Strobe (circled in red below).

 

 

Photo below,  there are two wires that go to the third brake light (pos & neg).

Simply cut the two wires and splice in the strobe.

 

 

Photo below, I used double sided sticky tape to attach the Strobe inside the hatch frame.

Then just snap the hatch molding back in place and reattach the power lift arm.

DONE !

Edited October 29, 2020 by Scarrz

[omar302]

On 10/26/2020 at 3:16 PM, AkMan13 said:

How did you do this ? I hate the fact that the dome lights shine everything i have in the car at night when i turn off my edge or when i open the door

 

I originally got the how-to from this post. I don't have pictures, but what I did, first pulled down the front over head console, it just pops out. Then, there is a connector with 3 wires in it, I think it was the middle wire, just cut it. This will disable the lights on with doors open. I installed a switch inline where I cut the wire so I can enable/disable it anytime I want. First used this switch and on a another vehicle used this one. Note that this will only affect the front lights. The rear & cargo lights will still turn on with the doors.

Edited October 29, 2020 by omar302