Removing Headliner, 2018 Fusion

[disston]

I have to attach a light to the roof of my 2018 Fusion. It has the moonroof so I do imagine there are already a number of wires in the roof and I must take down the headliner to run my wires. I'll try to show what parts have not been a problem and then where I'm stuck.

 

 

 

The center console came off with a bit of prying. No screws anywhere, just clips, some plastic and the 2 along the long edge each side were metal. There was a clip at each corner and one at each long side.

 

 

The hand holds above each door have Torx screws holding them. The screws are under plastic covers, 2 for each hand hold. Pry small plastic covers off with a flat blade screwdriver. Careful to pick up the small plastic covers that are going to be flying around right away or you will never see them again.

 

 

This is the steady rest for the visor when it is parked. Not a problem, Torx.

 

 

This is the rotating end of the visor and it is not held in place by a screw. There is a small plastic cover over the part shown above. What is not too clear in the photo is a metal clip that the plastic cover positions into. The metal part shown may pull out when compressed but I'm not sure. I've never seen this type of attachment before.

 

 

In many discussions about headliner problems drivers complain that the liner droops or sags. These buttons seem to be Ford's solution? They look like they are clips and will be easy to pull out? But I'm not sure.

 

I'd appreciate any insights into this effort to remove or at least get the left front corner of my headliner loose before I drill holes in the roof and possibly damage wires on my brand new car.

[Waldo]

Those "buttons" are the microphones for the Active Noise Canceling system, nothing to to with headliner attachment. Don't try to remove them, you will be sorry!

 

You will need to pull all the trim off the pillars, or at least on one side in order to be able to drop it far enough to get anything installed in there. Headliners these days are mostly held on with magnets, so once you get the trim out of the way and the obvious attachments loose, you should be able to pull it down. All the wiring will be attached to the headliner itself, so it will come down together.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Waldo

[disston]

Thanks Addict. Noticed the buttons have small holes in them. Glad I didn't try to pry them off.

 

Turns out the small metal clip in the base of the arm of the xun visor is called, of all things, a sun-visor clip;

 

https://www.tascaparts.com/oem-parts/ford-sun-visor-clip-ds7z9904132a/?c=Zz1ib2R5JnM9aW50ZXJpb3ItdHJpbS1yb29mJmk9S0YxMzU1MjUmcj0xMyZhPWZvcmQmbz1mdXNpb24meT0yMDE3JnQ9cGxhdGludW0taHlicmlkJmU9Mi0wbC1sNC1lbGVjdHJpYy1nYXM%3D

 

Looks like it is removeable by squeezing in the sides.

[disston]

The sun-visor clips are out. Squeezing them helped but wasn't really what worked. Using screwdrivers and sharp pointed objects I was able to worry them off. I can't say what is really the proper method but they do come out. The second one was easier and the second one is less bent up by my actions. But both appear to be reuseable.

 

Once the clips are out the forward edge on the base of the sun-visor is free and the rearward edge rotates to get the whole thing free. Then unplug the wires to the vanity mirror light and put the whole thing aside.

 

I removed both sun-visors and the hand grab from the driver's door. I had earlier removed the center console on the roof, described above.

 

I never got the A pillar cover piece of plastic off but I was able to get the top loose. Bunches of other pieces of plastic have been removed and the door gasket on the driver's door.

 

The way is clear to run my wire thru a hole in the roof but while drilling the hole the battery on my drill went dead. So it was getting late and colder I called it a night.

 

I've found the fuse box and now am worried about where to tap into power. The fuse box is way up high under the dash and let alone what i'm trying to do it looks difficult to just change a fuse or use a trouble light on to find blown fuses or trace hot wires. I've seen a comment somewhere that the Fusion's fuse box can be unbolted. I only see 1 nut on a stud below the box that looks like it will loosen the bottom of the box. What else is needed to lower the fuse box? Or is this not what I want to do anyway? My experience with Ford fuse boxes over the years is that taking them down is seldom of any help because even if unbolted the don't drop more than an inch of so.

 

I'd like to tap into a hot wire that is hot with the ignition off. It used to be that cigarette sockets were hot all the time and maybe I can use the hot wire to the lighter socket next to the USB port in the dash. Or is there some easier way that somebody knows to get a hot junction for my cruising light? It's not very high powered. The light has 6 LED lights and a small cooling fan. It has a 10 A fuse of it's own. May draw 5 or 7 Amps I think.

[disston]

I am not going to try and tap into the fuse box or any of the wiring at this point. I am going to run the power from an adapter in the forward cigarette socket or maybe it's an accessory socket.

[murphy]

All three of the power ports in a Fusion turn off after 70 minutes if the 12 volt battery is in good shape. If the 12 volt battery is low they turn off when the car is turned off.

[disston]

That's interesting. After they turn off how do they get reset and turn on again?

 

I have several things that need to be recharged while on duty. Main thing is the Samsung Galaxy Tablet E that is home to the dispatcher and the taxi meter that calculates fares. It will run on a full charge but maybe for less than an hour, I'm not sure how long. Oh but these items i'm thinking of at the moment are run of USB ports. So these stay on?

 

The accessory socket up front I need for the cruising light. It will be on when empty and then off when occupied. Will cycling this allow it to stay on when needed?

[murphy]

The accessory sockets come on when the car enters run mode (started). They stay on until 70 minutes after the car is turned off.

[disston]

I see. As long as the car is in run mode the sockets are on but they shut off 70 mins after the engine is turned off. That makes more sense.

[disston]

 

This is my new car and my old one behind it.

 

 

This is the new car painted to be my new cab.

 

I've run a pair of wires for the top cruising light and am now working on how I may hook them into the car's electrical system. I think I'll use a plug in the front accessory socket for now. I don't own any Ford Fusion manuals yet and I'll a little afraid to tap into the wires right away. I should have the book (books) someday soon and the socket woill work for now but I'm running out of places to tap into USB power also.