Are parking sensors all the same?

Jez

Jez

Jez

Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
33,073
Hi there,

A while ago someone scraped along the back of my damaging one of my parking sensors, it needs to be replaced, which leaves me with the problem that it turns out that they are aftermarket, and i cant get a replacement.

I notice on ebay that parking sensor kits cost very little, does anyone know if one of the sensors from one of those kits would work with my system if i connected it to the cable currently going to the broken sensor?

Basically wondering if they are all the same, or whether its likely that sensors from different kits wouldnt work with another kit.

Thx :(
 
I'm not a driver (currently learning) but I do study electronics. I can only guess but I would imagine they are not all the same. Some sensors work just by ultrasonic whilst some use ultrasonic and radar (at least the kits seems to, I can't see why the ones already fitted would be any different). Even if you knew it was ultrasonic, I would imagine the voltage output of the old and replacement sensors would be different at the various distances which would result in an odd/no output. Just a guess though mate, I have no actual experience with electronics in relation to cars and I'm only studying at A-level. Hopefully someone with actual experience can give you a decent reply. After reading tommy_knockers' threads, I had to contribute something to motors :D
 
They aren't all the same,.

I'd replace the lot, as one emits and one recieves and are installed in pairs and need to be lined up etc.
 
[TW]Fox;10871880 said:
You ever tried parking 4.7+ metre long Saloons? It's not like parking a little Fiat hatchback where the car stops where you can see out the back window.
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Some of are able to park ~18.3ft* long American scrap heaps without parking sensors :)

That said, I'm starting to warm to the idea of them now that a friend has had them fitted to his LWB XJ8. They do seem to work really well. Obviously I'd never have them on any car I own, as it would be admitting that I'm not a Driving God™, but I can see why other people really like them now.

* - that would be around 5.5-5.6m for the mathematically challenged. And dear God I hope I got that right after making that crack....
 
JRS said:
Some of are able to park ~18.3ft* long American scrap heaps without parking sensors :)

That said, I'm starting to warm to the idea of them now that a friend has had them fitted to his LWB XJ8. They do seem to work really well. Obviously I'd never have them on any car I own, as it would be admitting that I'm not a Driving God™, but I can see why other people really like them now.

* - that would be around 5.5-5.6m for the mathematically challenged. And dear God I hope I got that right after making that crack....
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You realise you can buy a set for 25 quid, why not get them anyway for the sake of it? Makes parking better.

Anyway the point for me is that i have a bloody great hole in my bumper and a system which beeps at me all the time because one of the sensors is knackered - it needs to be replaced regardless of whether i wanted the system or not.
 
jez, can you post up a pic of the sensor i have a few spare ones in my garage, dad's a driving instructor so fits them to his cars..
 
DannyW said:
jez, can you post up a pic of the sensor i have a few spare ones in my garage, dad's a driving instructor so fits them to his cars..
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How the sensors should look:
dsc00338yt4.jpg


The aids sensor, note the missing ring which goes on to hold it in place, its just sorta wedged in the hole at the moment
dsc00339tr8.jpg
 
iBot said:
Dont let fox see that dirty car!
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Its actually clean quite a lot of the time these days, it gets used very heavily however, therefore in this horrible weather and where i live down 4-5 miles of small country lanes from the main road its unfortunately going to be dirty some of the time.

Shame you couldnt find any sensors danny :(
 
Jez said:
You realise you can buy a set for 25 quid, why not get them anyway for the sake of it? Makes parking better.
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I know. But as I say, it would detract from my Driving God-ness™ ;) It's fun to wind up friends by effortlessly slotting that car into parking spots, especially when said friends have proven themselves incapable of parking Saxos and Fiestas without crunching bits of bodywork!

[TW]Fox;10871952 said:
It's a station wagon. FWIW, I find parking an E39 Touring far far easier than the Saloon and found its lack of parking sensors not a problem.
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I'll certainly admit that I have a slightly harder time in a Delta 88 (the sedan version of my car). But not to the extent that I need parking sensors necessarily.

The absolute hardest car to park in the world, ever, is the Jaguar E-Type coupé IMO. I think that may have been compounded by the fear of crunching it's rather expensive freshly restored bodywork though....
 
[TW]Fox;10871952 said:
It's a station wagon. FWIW, I find parking an E39 Touring far far easier than the Saloon and found its lack of parking sensors not a problem.
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Lorry drivers get along fine without sensors.. so do Busses :p
 
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