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For anyone that is going to install the EV-Vida kick to open sensor on their MME, I did mine this weekend and have a few tips/hints/suggestions to make life easier. EV-Vida has an installation video on their website which was helpful but some things could be improved. These tips might be intuitive but I couldn’t find any info other than the video. All told I probably spent a couple hours trying to skip around the video while installing the sensor. Anyway some feedback:
My car did not have the power connector shown in the video I had to tap 12v power from the liftgate module itself (black plastic ecu with 2 harness connectors). This is very easy as the module is on the right side of the liftgate not far from the hatch button. If you disconnect the liftgate module while tapping the liftgate/hatch will likely lose its position and stop working completely until you close it.
Cut the red wire (unneeded for MME) from the harness at the beginning there is no reason to deal with it.
In the video the installer spliced a 3’ length of additional wire into the sensor harness. I could see no reason for this. The wires included with the kit had 5-6’ of extra length which I cut out. The sensor wire connector should reach all the way to the headliner if you pry back the left side rear hatch plastic slightly to snake the wire behind a couple panel clips for a more direct routing (see picture).
The splice harness connector (yellow/green/black/red loose wires) easily snaked through the liftgate grommet with a liberal spray of silicone lubricant. There was no need to cut off the connector and re-splice as shown in the video (see picture). Used electrical tape and a wire coat hanger to push it through.
Don’t run the wire through the trunk floor as shown in the video. Drill a hole in the plug and replace to keep water/moisture out of the trunk and minimize the wire from rubbing on the sharp metal edge (see picture)
The sensor positioning shown in the video (sandwiching it between the bumper and under-trim plastics) was pretty deep (toward the front of the car) to detect your foot. I’d suggest leaving a couple extra inches of wire at this location to reposition as necessary. Also don't run the sensor wire through the access panel and then in between the 2 layers of plastic just run it directly to the installation location so the access panel can be replaced for a clean installation. Double sided adhesive might be needed to attach it securely to the bumper back side if moved very far rearward (tape was included). I’ll have to wait for warmer weather for that though as the weather was uncooperative here in Michigan.
My car did not have the power connector shown in the video I had to tap 12v power from the liftgate module itself (black plastic ecu with 2 harness connectors). This is very easy as the module is on the right side of the liftgate not far from the hatch button. If you disconnect the liftgate module while tapping the liftgate/hatch will likely lose its position and stop working completely until you close it.
Cut the red wire (unneeded for MME) from the harness at the beginning there is no reason to deal with it.
In the video the installer spliced a 3’ length of additional wire into the sensor harness. I could see no reason for this. The wires included with the kit had 5-6’ of extra length which I cut out. The sensor wire connector should reach all the way to the headliner if you pry back the left side rear hatch plastic slightly to snake the wire behind a couple panel clips for a more direct routing (see picture).
The splice harness connector (yellow/green/black/red loose wires) easily snaked through the liftgate grommet with a liberal spray of silicone lubricant. There was no need to cut off the connector and re-splice as shown in the video (see picture). Used electrical tape and a wire coat hanger to push it through.
Don’t run the wire through the trunk floor as shown in the video. Drill a hole in the plug and replace to keep water/moisture out of the trunk and minimize the wire from rubbing on the sharp metal edge (see picture)
The sensor positioning shown in the video (sandwiching it between the bumper and under-trim plastics) was pretty deep (toward the front of the car) to detect your foot. I’d suggest leaving a couple extra inches of wire at this location to reposition as necessary. Also don't run the sensor wire through the access panel and then in between the 2 layers of plastic just run it directly to the installation location so the access panel can be replaced for a clean installation. Double sided adhesive might be needed to attach it securely to the bumper back side if moved very far rearward (tape was included). I’ll have to wait for warmer weather for that though as the weather was uncooperative here in Michigan.
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