Parking Sensors

[smitch]

Has anyone had problems with the sensors and the weather?

 

Reversed the car into space after work about half one this morning and everything working ok. Wife use the car this morning again with no problems. When I took it out at about 2pm and reversed out of space, there was a constant tone from the rear sounder which sounded intermittently. If I turned it off manually then put it on again, it would be ok for a minute then sound again.

 

I have wiped the sensors, all seem to be working and the system is working fine again now. I do have a tow bar and socket fitted but this has never caused a problem before. The only thing that seems to have changed was that the wife parked the car nose in our space so the back of the car was in the sun before I took it out.

 

Has anyone else had problems with the sensitivity of the sensors when parked in the sun or during hot weather??

 

I'm dreading the start of an intermittent sensor fault.

 

I thought I best check with you all before I start telling the missus to reverse into our space.

[suzuki91]

no problems here?

or have i just jinxed it?

[smitch]

You'll have just incurred the wrath of the ford gremlins!!

[Saif Rehman]

Do a search under 'parking sensors' and you will probably find an answer there.

[Frantic]

Well funny you should say that... at the weekend i decided to try and fix mine lol (i've a 2000 W Alhambra 1.9 TDI).

 

I checked the sensors, and one at the front wasn't working and one at the rear. I checked this by the audible clicking that can be heard whilst the sensors are turned on.

 

Anyhow what i discovered was:

 

at the front one of the cables to the sensor (front drivers side) has coroded and snapped.. green corrosion a bit like on an old battery..

at the rear was a similar story but at the connector where all four sensors connect to the main car loom (a single connector under the car). This has also corroded in a similar fashion and again a wire had snapped.

 

I first checked the sensors were ok.. by swapping them with another "working sensor and position" which confirmed that the wiring was at fault, and then traced the wiring to find the fault (simply continuity checking).

 

I eventually spliced in some new cabling (solder joints and heatshrink) and now everything is back up and running (well the parking sensors anyways..)

 

So just a thought but maybe yours is starting to corrode giving an intermittent fault as the cable makes and breaks with movements?

[smitch]

I'll have a look and see if I have the same problem. Funnily enough, they have worked absolutely fine today without a hint of a problem

[TinTentTourist]

Thanks to this forum I have identified a non-clicking front sensor as a faulty one, though I recognise it could be a broken wire... My question to those who know these things... Can I get the sensor out from the front or do I have to take the bumper off?

Thanks

[Saif Rehman]

Thanks to this forum I have identified a non-clicking front sensor as a faulty one, though I recognise it could be a broken wire... My question to those who know these things... Can I get the sensor out from the front or do I have to take the bumper off?

Thanks

 

IIRC then yes the bumper will need to come off but i have also heard people just pushing the sensor out so try to prise it out first, it may take a while due to all the dirt/grime.

 

The front bumper does come off quite easily if its any help. You will need to remove the engine tray, remove the three screws holding the bumper underneath the car. Remove the three screws on each side from the wheel house liners. Remove 4 screws from the radiator grill. Pull the bumper forward, but before you take it off you need to remove wires for the temperature sensors, parking sensors, headlamp washer hoses etc. If i missed anything out then i have also attached a pdf doc showing how it is done.

 

 

The above picture shows how the sensors are fitted, so you may get away with it by trying to prise it apart.

 

PDF also attached for removal of bumper.

 

Galaxy_Front_Bumper_removal.pdf

Galaxy_Rear_Bumper_removal.pdf

[mk2vr6]

. You will need to remove the engine tray, NOT! remove the three screws holding the bumper underneath the car. Remove the three screws on each side from the wheel house liners. Remove 4 screws from the radiator grill. Pull the bumper forward, but before you take it off you need to remove wires for the temperature sensors, parking sensors, headlamp washer hoses etc. If i missed anything out then i have also attached a pdf doc showing how it is done.but please ignore it as its the mk1 model and not yours!

 

The above picture shows how the sensors are fitted, so you may get away with it by trying to prise it apart.

 

PDF also attached for removal of bumper.

 

Galaxy_Front_Bumper_removal.pdf

Galaxy_Rear_Bumper_removal.pdf

[TinTentTourist]

Thanks guys. I think I'll take the bumper off and have a look at the wiring. If I do have any broken wires it will be easier to see and fix - also, if I swap a sensor for the one next to it which I believe does work, I will be able to confirm the sensor is the fault and not the wiring!! (That's plan A :rolleyes: ) It will all have to wait until I get some more double sided tape to put the number plate back on though!! Thanks again.

[mk2vr6]

. You will need to remove the engine tray, NOT! remove the three screws holding the bumper underneath the car. Remove the three screws on each side from the wheel house liners. Remove 4 screws from the radiator grill. Pull the bumper forward, but before you take it off you need to remove wires for the temperature sensors, parking sensors, headlamp washer hoses etc. If i missed anything out then i have also attached a pdf doc showing how it is done.but please ignore it as its the mk1 model and not yours!

 

The above picture shows how the sensors are fitted, so you may get away with it by trying to prise it apart.

 

PDF also attached for removal of bumper.

 

Galaxy_Front_Bumper_removal.pdf

Galaxy_Rear_Bumper_removal.pdf