Installed parking sensors (non BMW)

pvr

pvr

Dutch
 Ruler of the South East UK
I bought some parking sensors a while back from rclick (http://www.rclick.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=52&products_id=698) and a few weeks ago, just before the snow arrived, I finally fitted it in the Polo. Cheap at £30.

First - remove the bumper:

img00188201011271322.jpg


Car without bumper :D

img00189201011271513.jpg


Fitted the self adhesive strip on the inside:

parkingsensor1.jpg


I connected the control unit right under the rear light and fed the cable to the bumper by creating another hole in the metal which is protected by the rear light in this car (painted the hole as well).

Only two wires needed to connect: Earth and 1 wire to the reverse light.

The beeper I fixed next to the parcel shelf.

How does it work? When you select reverse, the unit beeps twice to let you know it is functioning and active.

When there is an object within 60 cm of the car, wherever the strip is attached, it will beep and starts to beep faster when you get closer. Once within 15 cm, it is a continuous beep.

For £30, extreme good value I would say and very easy to install.
 
Yes. You can cut the strip to size, and even if you break the strip, you can just join it back up by overlapping it.

It is pretty impressive how well it works actually.
 
Good stuff. That's cheaper than a similar but alternative one I'd seen around 12 months ago and posted on here. For £30 I think I'll fit one to the van (5.3metres is NOT fun to reverse park).

Shame there's no equivalent hole-less system for the front of the Z4...
 
You could install it at the front of the Z, but you would have to manually activate it though (the reverse light power is actually a nice touch for the power supply to the unit).

Having it permanently powered at the front would drive you nuts.
 
pvr said:
You could install it at the front of the Z, but you would have to manually activate it though (the reverse light power is actually a nice touch for the power supply to the unit).

Having it permanently powered at the front would drive you nuts.
Click to expand...
Hmm, given me a possible idea: rather than wire an additional switch in, the power/activation of it could come from wiring it into the front fogs. Then, just switch on the front fogs when parking. Front fogs are otherwise useless anyway and I never use them.

Although TBH I rarely park in spaces that require me to know the limits of the front end of the car, so probably not worth the hassle. But when I do I really struggle with gauging the front end purely because I never do it...
 
Looks good... looks like at least one of my parking sensors might be knackered, looks like this solution is actually cheaper than buying a 2nd hand sensor off ebay LOL!
 
The work is in removing the bumper and cleaning the inside. Preferrably also not being -10c outside (hence the hairdryer in the picture to heat the plastic up).

The electric connections are so simple (reverse light) that it does not even warrant a mention.

Not sure what you get for the difference price from Parkingdynamics, the one I got was for the "fun" factor on the Polo and for £30 it was just that. I could not recommend one over the other as I have no idea how long this one will last.
 
aquazi said:
thats very clever.. how effective have you found it?
Click to expand...

What I like:

- When selecting reverse, you get a double beep to let you know that the sensor works and is active.
- The sensor works around every part of the bumper, including the wrap around.
- Sensor is sensitive, starts beeping at 0.7 metres or so, and increases in frequency until you get about 30 cm when it goes constant.

What I don't like:

- Once the sensor detects something it beeps with the interval (i.e. you are far enough away), but it continues to do so even when you have passed the object. What I mean is that if a passenger walks behind the car whilst you are starting to park, it catches that person and starts beeping. If the person has gone away, it will still beep even though there is nothing there anymore. Only way to stop that is to get out of reverse, then select reverse again. Not a major thing, but a bit annoying.
 
pvr said:
aquazi said:
thats very clever.. how effective have you found it?
Click to expand...

What I like:

- When selecting reverse, you get a double beep to let you know that the sensor works and is active.
- The sensor works around every part of the bumper, including the wrap around.
- Sensor is sensitive, starts beeping at 0.7 metres or so, and increases in frequency until you get about 30 cm when it goes constant.

What I don't like:

- Once the sensor detects something it beeps with the interval (i.e. you are far enough away), but it continues to do so even when you have passed the object. What I mean is that if a passenger walks behind the car whilst you are starting to park, it catches that person and starts beeping. If the person has gone away, it will still beep even though there is nothing there anymore. Only way to stop that is to get out of reverse, then select reverse again. Not a major thing, but a bit annoying.
Click to expand...

I like the idea that they offer full coverage and dont leave gaps like normal PDC sensors.... and for that price i may get some for my bro's golf.
 
With VW, just remember you have to remove the rear wheels to get to the screws to remove the bumper. Bumper removal itself is extremely simple on a VW. I also bought a special Jack attachment from Detailing World that specifically works for VW to lift the car and I had made wooden blocks for the axle stands.

I always double secure a jacked car with axle stands as well as a jack losely put underneath in case a stand collapses at the side I am working on.
 
I'm seriously impressed with these - very tempted to get them back and front for the van and try and sort some trigger out for the front. I already have the foglights wired into main beam so that's not an option (I don't have a foglight switch in the dash). Might be a problem having the bike rack mounted permanently on the rear - not sure it it would either pick it up all the time, or would just work below it...
 
In the manual, it states that if there is metal nearby, you simply have to wrap the metal in tape. Then it will not interfere with the sensor.
 
I like this. I think I'll have a go at fitting to the front of the Z4 - work's quiet this week so I can look into options for wiring / switching to keep as OEM as possible, anything I've seen with front PDC has always had a button to push.
 
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