Tech Article Title
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Author
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Date
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A6
A-Pillar Removal |
JimL
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2002 |
This all started because I wanted to hardwire my Passport 8500.
That being said, I searched the Tech pages, and I read my Bentley
Publisher Service Manual. I was ARMED with information to remove that
A-pillar trim! Basically, remove the grab bar, and pull trim from pillar!
Gee, how easy is that! WRONG! The upper clip, near the top of the
windshield is not like the other clips. It has a special retention system
which needs to be undone prior to removing the trim piece.
Below
are more detailed instructions and pictures. So, lets get started.
Wash your hands! The cloth will pick up any grime on your paws!
BE
VERY CAREFUL NOT TO TWIST OR BEND THE TRIM. It will wrinkle the material
underneath and you will lose that smooth cloth look.
DON'T USE ANY
SHARP OBJECTS TO POKE UNDER THE TRIM. You might damage your airbag.
(If you are worried about potentially deploying your airbags,
disconnect the ground terminal on your battery).
Gently pry off
the AirBag Cover at the top of the B-Pillar with your fingers or small
screwdriver. Under it you will find a Torx screw. Use a T-25 Torx
screwdriver to remove the screw.
Then remove the Clothes Hanger
Clip just to the left of the Airbag cover. You will need Philips
screwdriver to remove the clip. Behind the clip is another Torx screw
(T25). Remove it. It should look like this.
Note that the A-Pillar Trim
Retention piece sits UNDERNEATH the rear trim piece. This is why we had to
loosen up the rear trim piece.
Next pull down the grab bar to
expose the screw covers. Gently, pry the covers towards you, with with a
pick or your finger nails. This will expose two more Torx screws (T25).
Remove them.
To
make things easier, remove the driver's sun visor. GENTLY remove the screw
plug to expose the Philips screw underneath. Then CAREFULLY pull out the
bracket and wiring harnesses.
Remove the cloth electrical
tape between the brown harness and the visor. Then gently pull apart the
plug from brown harness and also the plug from the black harness attached
to the visor. BE CAREFUL to support the visor and NOT put too much strain
on the wires. You don't want to RIP the wires out of the blocks.
Now comes the
fun part! The upper clip of the trim has a special retention clip. The
clip is meant to be inserted, but not removed UNLESS you remove the
retainer holding it to the trim. This is what it looks like from the
INSIDE.
Notice
the little cable attached to the clip? The cable goes to here.
The whole
thing looks like...
Actually, once the retention system is undone, it will have to be
put back together before you put the trim piece back on.
However,
ALL YOU SEE FROM THE OUTSIDE IS THIS. (This is just to the right of
the grab bar screw hole. The trim is just barely pried away from the car.)
If you look closely between the GREEN wiring harness (left of the green
harness) and the grey of the trim piece, you will see a tiny sliver of
silver. That is the cable end you need.
So, now that you can see
the cable. You have to PULL ON IT until it POPS loose from the retainer
clip. You will need to pull the cable about an 1" to 1-1/2"s. You should
feel it POP or give.
Carefully, pry the rear retainer bracket from
the middle of the B-Pillar, and now you can gently remove the A-Pillar
trim. Pull up and out away from the windshield. Now it should look like
this!
With the
trim piece removed, you need to remove clip that should STILL be in the
metal pillar and reinstall it back in the trim piece. You will have to
insert the head of clip in the trim hole, and slide the retention clip
over the head. See the picture above!
Now go hardwire your V1 or
Escort! Actually, both units use a 4-wire flatwire with a phone plug on the
end. So, the same wiring harness could be used for EITHER.
With
the trim clip reinstalled on the trim, installation is basically the
reverse! Make sure that the trim piece is seated firmly and the clips are
secure.
Don't forget to put the cloth tape back on the wires from
the visor removal. Also, put the rubber seal back on the trim pieces like
it was before. Use your fingers or something smooth to reseat the rubber
piece over the A-pillar trim. NO screwdrivers. You might tear something!
Good luck! Remember this is just what I encountered with my '01 A6
2.7T. Your car may be slightly different. I take no responsibility if you
try doing this and damage your car, yourself, your love life or anything
else!
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