How to: Default the Parking Assist System to off on vehicle startup.

[BrennanK]

My 2018 has the factory parking assist feature on both the front and rear bumper and it works great - when I want it to. What I run into more often is 'nuisance' alarms. I park in a very tight garage so my seat is rumbling the whole time I am pulling in or out of my garage. I also back my boat down the ramp at the lake several times a week, which requires unplugging the electrical, so it yells at me the whole time I am backing up the trailer. I got tired of the factory 'default on' setting of the parking assist so I devised a way to make it 'default off' with the option to enable it when I'd like it enabled, much like the lane departure warning system.

 

The way this works is when the relay I added is energized via the run/crank circuit in the upfitter junction block it closes it contacts for a configured time of 2 seconds. That contact is wired to ground and then to the park assist disable switch circuit. When ground is supplied to that circuit in the truck the system is deactivated just the same as if you pushed the button in the center console. To re-enable it simply push the button in the center console again.

 

Pretty simple solution that costs under $30-40 bucks and it easily removed again to revert to the factory setup.

 

Here is what you'll need:

1. Custom time delay relay - I used a DROK relay on Amazon
2. OEM upfitter connector (X7) - Connector on Mouser 15547106 (OEM P/N is 13924036 and is no longer available)
3. OEM terminals (or wire taps) for tying into the park assist disable switch - also available on Mouser

Here is the process:

 

For the physical connector that plugs into the X7 socket on the junction block you'll need: Aptiv 15547106 (because the OEM P/N is no longer available)

The connector is the right design, but it is physically keyed differently. The correctly keyed connector is out of stock everywhere, but with a razor blade you can cut off the second key that prevents it from fitting.

Here the connector is before I cut it:

Here the connector is after I cut it:

Here is the cavity in the junction box in the driver footwell:

 

Next you'll need to wire up the relay module. I chose to use a connector here so I could easily connect and disconnect it. When this module is disconnected the system works as it does from the factory.

 

Here is the wiring diagram I whipped up:

 

 

As far as X7 connector terminals to order you'll need the following:

Function	Location	Connector	Pin	Aptiv Terminal Required
Run/Crank Power	X61A	X7	11	35063087
Ground	X61A	X7	10	35063087

 

If you choose to remove the factory crimp for the park assist wire and re-crimp with a pigtail you'll need the following pin. Alternatively you can just splice into the wire using your preferred method.

 

Function	Location	Connector	Pin	Aptiv Terminal Required
Park Assist Disable	X61A	X5	45	33385008

 

Here are some general notes from the project:

 

1. X61A junction box is located in the passenger compartment, under the instrument panel to the left of the brake pedal

2. The park assist system is momentarily ground side switched, supplying a ground reference at connector X5 cavity 45 will enable/disable the system

3. The accessory power on connector X7 cavity 11 is factory fused at 15 amps in the left hand instrument panel fuse box at fuse #30

4. Time delay relay configured for close on power, delay for off at 2 seconds

 

Attached are some OEM wiring diagrams, component locations and system operation descriptions so you can better understand how the systems works and how we are modifying it to make it work the way we want.

Park Assist - Power, Ground, Serial Data and Control (UD7 or UD5).pdf X61A Junction Block - Instrument Panel Top View.pdf X61A Junction Block - Instrument Panel X5.pdf Park Assist Disable.pdf

[JimCost2014]

48 minutes ago, BrennanK said:

My 2018 has the factory parking assist feature on both the front and rear bumper and it works great - when I want it to. What I run into more often is 'nuisance' alarms. I park in a very tight garage so my seat is rumbling the whole time I am pulling in or out of my garage. I also back my boat down the ramp at the lake several times a week, which requires unplugging the electrical, so it yells at me the whole time I am backing up the trailer. I got tired of the factory 'default on' setting of the parking assist so I devised a way to make it 'default off' with the option to enable it when I'd like it enabled, much like the lane departure warning system.

 

The way this works is when the relay I added is energized via the run/crank circuit in the upfitter junction block it closes it contacts for a configured time of 2 seconds. That contact is wired to ground and then to the park assist disable switch circuit. When ground is supplied to that circuit in the truck the system is deactivated just the same as if you pushed the button in the center console. To re-enable it simply push the button in the center console again.

 

Pretty simple solution that costs under $30-40 bucks and it easily removed again to revert to the factory setup.

 

Here is what you'll need:

1. Custom time delay relay - I used a DROK relay on Amazon
2. OEM upfitter connector (X7) - Connector on Mouser 15547106 (OEM P/N is 13924036 and is no longer available)
3. OEM terminals (or wire taps) for tying into the park assist disable switch - also available on Mouser

Here is the process:

 

For the physical connector that plugs into the X7 socket on the junction block you'll need: Aptiv 15547106 (because the OEM P/N is no longer available)

The connector is the right design, but it is physically keyed differently. The correctly keyed connector is out of stock everywhere, but with a razor blade you can cut off the second key that prevents it from fitting.

Here the connector is before I cut it:

Here the connector is after I cut it:

Here is the cavity in the junction box in the driver footwell:

 

Next you'll need to wire up the relay module. I chose to use a connector here so I could easily connect and disconnect it. When this module is disconnected the system works as it does from the factory.

 

Here is the wiring diagram I whipped up:

 

 

As far as X7 connector terminals to order you'll need the following:

Function	Location	Connector	Pin	Aptiv Terminal Required
Run/Crank Power	X61A	X7	11	35063087
Ground	X61A	X7	10	35063087

 

If you choose to remove the factory crimp for the park assist wire and re-crimp with a pigtail you'll need the following pin. Alternatively you can just splice into the wire using your preferred method.

 

Function	Location	Connector	Pin	Aptiv Terminal Required
Park Assist Disable	X61A	X5	45	33385008

 

Here are some general notes from the project:

 

1. X61A junction box is located in the passenger compartment, under the instrument panel to the left of the brake pedal

2. The park assist system is momentarily ground side switched, supplying a ground reference at connector X5 cavity 45 will enable/disable the system

3. The accessory power on connector X7 cavity 11 is factory fused at 15 amps in the left hand instrument panel fuse box at fuse #30

4. Time delay relay configured for close on power, delay for off at 2 seconds

 

Attached are some OEM wiring diagrams, component locations and system operation descriptions so you can better understand how the systems works and how we are modifying it to make it work the way we want.

Park Assist - Power, Ground, Serial Data and Control (UD7 or UD5).pdf 86.18 kB · 0 downloads X61A Junction Block - Instrument Panel Top View.pdf 92.48 kB · 0 downloads X61A Junction Block - Instrument Panel X5.pdf 234.39 kB · 0 downloads Park Assist Disable.pdf 2.19 MB · 1 download

Quick question, does your switch in the center stack, the one that turns it on and off, not work?

 

You can turn off the seat in your MyLink settings also.

[BrennanK]

31 minutes ago, JimCost2014 said:

Quick question, does your switch in the center stack, the one that turns it on and off, not work?

 

You can turn off the seat in your MyLink settings also.

Switch works fine, I just don't want to push it every single time I start my truck to disable the system. I want to push it only when I want it enabled. 

The MyLink settings are not persistent. If you change it, on the next key cycle it turns back on. You cannot disable the seat and the sound, you have to have one enabled, and I do. I want the system to function as intended. just not on by default. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by BrennanK

[Ravenkeeper]

12 hours ago, BrennanK said:

My 2018 has the factory parking assist feature on both the front and rear bumper and it works great - when I want it to. What I run into more often is 'nuisance' alarms. I park in a very tight garage so my seat is rumbling the whole time I am pulling in or out of my garage. I also back my boat down the ramp at the lake several times a week, which requires unplugging the electrical, so it yells at me the whole time I am backing up the trailer. I got tired of the factory 'default on' setting of the parking assist so I devised a way to make it 'default off' with the option to enable it when I'd like it enabled, much like the lane departure warning system.

 

The way this works is when the relay I added is energized via the run/crank circuit in the upfitter junction block it closes it contacts for a configured time of 2 seconds. That contact is wired to ground and then to the park assist disable switch circuit. When ground is supplied to that circuit in the truck the system is deactivated just the same as if you pushed the button in the center console. To re-enable it simply push the button in the center console again.

 

Pretty simple solution that costs under $30-40 bucks and it easily removed again to revert to the factory setup.

 

Here is what you'll need:

1. Custom time delay relay - I used a DROK relay on Amazon
2. OEM upfitter connector (X7) - Connector on Mouser 15547106 (OEM P/N is 13924036 and is no longer available)
3. OEM terminals (or wire taps) for tying into the park assist disable switch - also available on Mouser

Here is the process:

 

For the physical connector that plugs into the X7 socket on the junction block you'll need: Aptiv 15547106 (because the OEM P/N is no longer available)

The connector is the right design, but it is physically keyed differently. The correctly keyed connector is out of stock everywhere, but with a razor blade you can cut off the second key that prevents it from fitting.

Here the connector is before I cut it:

Here the connector is after I cut it:

Here is the cavity in the junction box in the driver footwell:

 

Next you'll need to wire up the relay module. I chose to use a connector here so I could easily connect and disconnect it. When this module is disconnected the system works as it does from the factory.

 

Here is the wiring diagram I whipped up:

 

 

As far as X7 connector terminals to order you'll need the following:

Function	Location	Connector	Pin	Aptiv Terminal Required
Run/Crank Power	X61A	X7	11	35063087
Ground	X61A	X7	10	35063087

 

If you choose to remove the factory crimp for the park assist wire and re-crimp with a pigtail you'll need the following pin. Alternatively you can just splice into the wire using your preferred method.

 

Function	Location	Connector	Pin	Aptiv Terminal Required
Park Assist Disable	X61A	X5	45	33385008

 

Here are some general notes from the project:

 

1. X61A junction box is located in the passenger compartment, under the instrument panel to the left of the brake pedal

2. The park assist system is momentarily ground side switched, supplying a ground reference at connector X5 cavity 45 will enable/disable the system

3. The accessory power on connector X7 cavity 11 is factory fused at 15 amps in the left hand instrument panel fuse box at fuse #30

4. Time delay relay configured for close on power, delay for off at 2 seconds

 

Attached are some OEM wiring diagrams, component locations and system operation descriptions so you can better understand how the systems works and how we are modifying it to make it work the way we want.

Park Assist - Power, Ground, Serial Data and Control (UD7 or UD5).pdf 86.18 kB · 0 downloads X61A Junction Block - Instrument Panel Top View.pdf 92.48 kB · 0 downloads X61A Junction Block - Instrument Panel X5.pdf 234.39 kB · 0 downloads Park Assist Disable.pdf 2.19 MB · 1 download

According to the OM (Pg 163), it states that you can turn it 'off,' 'on,' or 'on with towbar,' in the vehicle settings.

 

 

 

[BrennanK]

6 hours ago, Ravenkeeper said:

According to the OM (Pg 163), it states that you can turn it 'off,' 'on,' or 'on with towbar,' in the vehicle settings.

 

 

 

You are correct, however at least in my truck (and other HD trucks from what I've seen) that setting is not persistent. The Parking Assist System will re-enable at each key cycle. That setting is only for that one key cycle. 

 

Believe me, if that setting worked I wouldn't have came up with this modification to disable it. I like the factory parking assist system, I just want to enable and disable it on my terms.

[ten300]

Thanks for this write up, this is great! Had the relay timer just need to get the connector now