Has anyone had any problems because of the full lower mesh grille, like with your electronics not working propery. Want to get one installed, paint it black, but was told about the problems at the dealers by the after market rep. Any info on this out there?
Lower Mesh Grille
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Mess Grilles
Are you able to get in there and clean the plastic cover or do you remove the lower grille. The acc. must work ok dealer installs & v have one.
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There might be a little confusion when different folks are describing their XLR lower mesh grills. The DSCC module that sends and receives the radar pulses is located behind the left side plastic cover (bezel) on the lower portion of the front fascia. There is another identical plastic cover for symmetry. Between them is a plastic grill that is easily damaged by rocks, etc.
The V series has a full-length metal mesh grill that covers the entire lower fascia. Because it would interfere with the DSCC module's transmission and reception, the V uses a standard cruise control arrangement. There are two kinds of aftermarket grills I'm aware of, a full-length V-style grill that has been reported to interefere with the ACC and a smaller mesh grill (V-Lite?) that fits between the outboard plastic bezels. What kind of grill configuration is being used that allows ACC operation?
CC :cheers
The V series has a full-length metal mesh grill that covers the entire lower fascia. Because it would interfere with the DSCC module's transmission and reception, the V uses a standard cruise control arrangement. There are two kinds of aftermarket grills I'm aware of, a full-length V-style grill that has been reported to interefere with the ACC and a smaller mesh grill (V-Lite?) that fits between the outboard plastic bezels. What kind of grill configuration is being used that allows ACC operation?
CC :cheers
I was told by two cadillac dealers the full mess grille would be a problem in my car. So I guess I will just go for the center stainless cover up over the plastic one.
I have the full bottom V grill on my base XLR and the ACC works great. The ACC senses a vehicle (as indicated on the HUD) well before the distance where it begins to decelerate. I have tested the variable distance control and works fine for different ranges. I have not tried it in the rain. I have read on the forum that rain can cause problems even without the metal grill but I wouldn’t rely on the ACC in the rain anyway. I guess I will just be cautious whenever in use. I love cruse control and ACC is a neat feature but as long as it doesn’t do crazy things like slam on the brakes with no one in sight then I’m happy.
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Interesting. Yours is the first report I've read of the full width grill not interfering with ACC operation.
ACC can sense out to 494', but it's effective range is much shorter, which is why your HUD will display the vehicle detection icon prior to the vehicle slowing down to react to the operator-controlled gap setting.
With Ghz pulses, shielding is smaller due to the wavelength of the emitter; --your microwave oven being a prime example. They operate around 2.4 Ghz which has a wavelength of just under 5". The tiny holes in the microwave door shielding are small enough for visible light to pass so you can watch grapes explode, but not large enough for any appreciable amount of microwave radiation to pass through and make your riveted eyes follow suit.
The 76Ghz pulse from the ACC system equates to a wavelength of almost 12' -the minimum lane width of a US highway. In theory, the gaps in the mesh should cause reflections and interfere with the ACC, which was why I thought GM didn't include the capability on the V series and opted to go with a conventional cruise control instead. You're saying yours works fine, and I believe you, but don't understand why the mesh isn't an issue unless it's not metal (unlikely) or is created from Unobtanium acquired though an online merchant in Roswell. This has gotta make more than a few V owners take interest.
Other aftermarket grill owners, what are your experiences?
CC :seeya
ACC can sense out to 494', but it's effective range is much shorter, which is why your HUD will display the vehicle detection icon prior to the vehicle slowing down to react to the operator-controlled gap setting.
With Ghz pulses, shielding is smaller due to the wavelength of the emitter; --your microwave oven being a prime example. They operate around 2.4 Ghz which has a wavelength of just under 5". The tiny holes in the microwave door shielding are small enough for visible light to pass so you can watch grapes explode, but not large enough for any appreciable amount of microwave radiation to pass through and make your riveted eyes follow suit.
The 76Ghz pulse from the ACC system equates to a wavelength of almost 12' -the minimum lane width of a US highway. In theory, the gaps in the mesh should cause reflections and interfere with the ACC, which was why I thought GM didn't include the capability on the V series and opted to go with a conventional cruise control instead. You're saying yours works fine, and I believe you, but don't understand why the mesh isn't an issue unless it's not metal (unlikely) or is created from Unobtanium acquired though an online merchant in Roswell. This has gotta make more than a few V owners take interest.
Other aftermarket grill owners, what are your experiences?
CC :seeya
Lower Grille & Acc
Been watching this post on lower grille, not to see anyone else post further replies on this subject,just wondering why.
EZliven, yours still workin ok ? I guess the idea of the plastic coating was for road rash. Was this a dealer purchased or after market,from where and how or who did the coating ?
XLRKing, Yours ok also ? You said the plastic bezel was removed. What do you think the positive & negitive sides of that has been.
Just tring to get as much input from anyone on this subject before I have one installed or have something fabericated. First time I saw this car looked like it needed a lower grille or something, like gm cut it short there like other things.Want to keep the upper grille & try to get some air through it, don't know how it would look, may need to match the lower better. Need something there but not there if you know what I mean. Your coments are very much appreciated thank you.
Been watching this post on lower grille, not to see anyone else post further replies on this subject,just wondering why.
EZliven, yours still workin ok ? I guess the idea of the plastic coating was for road rash. Was this a dealer purchased or after market,from where and how or who did the coating ?
XLRKing, Yours ok also ? You said the plastic bezel was removed. What do you think the positive & negitive sides of that has been.
Just tring to get as much input from anyone on this subject before I have one installed or have something fabericated. First time I saw this car looked like it needed a lower grille or something, like gm cut it short there like other things.Want to keep the upper grille & try to get some air through it, don't know how it would look, may need to match the lower better. Need something there but not there if you know what I mean. Your coments are very much appreciated thank you.
dws,
I understand your apprehension to changing to a lower mesh grill. I probably would not have added the grill myself having read the warnings on the forum. I too would like to hear about other’s experiences. My car came with the grill as a CPO from a Cadillac dealer. I told the dealer I had read that the ACC would not work with the grill. They did not know of any problems and I had the dealer with me when we tested it before purchasing the car.
As far as removing the plastic bezel, I would “guess” the positive would be that there is one less obstacle in front of the DSCC to degrade the signal. I don’t know if plastic affects the signal at all and I would think any reflections within a few feet from the front car are ignored by the device. Then again, some have reported failures when the bezel is wet. Since mine is working, the signal obviously is getting past the metal mesh (if it’s degraded, I can’t tell). One other advantage is the increased airflow to the radiator (all three sections of my bezel, left, middle and right, are removed). The disadvantage might be the radiator is more vulnerable to road gravel hits (some have reported broken bezels on the forum). Also, if you look closely you can see the DSCC module and radiator through the mesh.
This is all speculation and I surely would like to hear about other’s experiences.
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On long-distance trips, I've had bug-buildup accumulations that caused the ACC to issue a CLEAN RADAR CRUISE message. It just takes a moment to wipe the bezel off and I'm good to go. --The same for using the feature after I've driven through the rain and there's road grime that has built up on the bezel enough to disable the system. Have you had any issues with build-up behind the mesh? How easy is it to remove the grill for cleaning or do you just get under the car and clean it with the grill in place?
CC :seeya
CC :seeya
Lower Grille
Thanks for the quick reply, I guess I will wait to see what anyone else has to say about this grille.The 09 suv has a grille over mesh, some look good.
CC,
Those are some interesting questions. I haven’t tried cleaning it yet so I took a look. The unit is clearly visible behind the grill and has a little bit of road grime. A blast from a water hose might do the trick. If not I can reach the unit from the center opening below the bumper if I use a small brush to extend over to it. I’ve only driven it in the rain once (sunny So Cal) but did not use the ACC. The actual DSCC cover would be what gets wet and may behave differently than your wet bezel in front of it. Drying the DSCC in the rain would be a headache because I would have to get down on the ground and reach up through the bumper with a rag.
jmoddy66,
Thanks for the complement. I do like the look (poor-man’s V?). The grilles were on the car when I bought it so I don’t know the manufacturer. I don’t think they are E&G since the upper grill has mesh behind the emblem and the top mesh actually bends back underneath the hood line and the chrome trim across the top is not visible. Perhaps someone else on the forum could identify them from the picture.
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