hi all

my (stock) backup alert is on the fritz.

2005 cabrio, stock

after a particularly cold snowy night, now when i put the car into reverse, i get a long beeeeeep, as if i am right on top of something. the beep stops after 10 secs or so. occasionally, it does not beep like that. either way, the alert does not work at all, in any way.

if you listen closely to the actual sensors, you can hear a faint clicking every half sec. this is normal. i think... think! that one of my sensors isnt making that click. the others are, but even if i cover them, the unit doesn't respond or make any noise. They've made that click before, i've noticed it in the past.

any suggestions? i would prefer to do my own work and troubleshooting...

Some questions to help things along: are my symptoms indicative of a bad sensor module? If so, is it easy to replace them, or is it likely a bad wire/connection/crimp/how do i get into the bumper to check that out? Am i completely off base?

Thanks!

 

Nothing, eh?

Can anyone tell me how to pop out the sensors/where the connectors are located? I've checked my bentley manual, it is not helpful for connector locations/etc.

How about whether or not the sensors are available for sale thru mini?

Has no one ever had this problem before?

thanks
Eric

 

You have a sensor going bad. Mine is the same right now but I have noticed that on a really hot day it starts to work for a little bit. What I think is happening is that the actual sensor is breaking from from the casing and it is picking the casing up as an object. My thought is that on a hot day the glue melts a little and rebinds it to the casing a little. Of course, this is all a guess. I plan to pull mine out when it warms up a little.

You have to pull the bumper to get them out and the connectors are back there. Once I figure out which one is having the problem I am going to try and fix it.

 

Are you sure about that?

Seems unlikely (given my circumstances) because after a few seconds of solid beep, it stops beeping, even though i'm still in reverse. Then, if i get out of rev and back into it, no beep, but also, it doesn't work. This would suggest a short or some such that is shutting down the whole backup system. After a restart of the car (off for awhile) it is back to a solid beep for a few seconds, then repeat.

Also, i'm 90% certain that 3 out of 4 sensors are clicking like normal, and one is silent.

removing the bumper looks difficult given the right tools (which i don't have (lift, etc)) and annoying in the cold.

 

It is a bad sensor for sure and what you are hearing it is complaining until it fails its test then stops working until power is cycled (at least this is what a MINI tech told me). I was told that it was likely a failing sensor and that they should be replaced but it wasn't cheap.

What I have noticed on my own is that on a really hot day they would suddenly start working and when it was cold it would never work. Mine have been doing this for almost one and a half years now so I have gotten a good feel for the cycle.

Pulling the bumper is not that hard, but it is a pain if it is cold outside which is why I am waiting. If I can repair it, I will do a writeup on it and post it up for everyone else.

 

It was in the sun this morning, and worked fine.

I emailed my local dealer yesterday, and they called me back and left a message saying that this problem could be related to/somehow wind up taking out the power steering pump cooling fan and that would cost $500. Am i mishearing them, or is this the craziest attempt to pull one over on a customer since blinker fluid?

How much were you quoted for a new sensor?
do they come painted?
where is the connection located?

 

Nope, the sensors are on the same circuit as the power steering pump. When the fan fails it can cause this issue as well. That being said, I checked mine and it was fine.

 

interesting (and weird).

So what you're saying (and they're saying) is that a failing PDC system can be a symptom of a problem with the power steering fan?
How can i check? Which fan is it?

How much were you quoted for a new sensor?
do they come painted?
where is the connection located?

edit: Just spoke with the dealer, they say that a single sensor will run ~250 and that all told, if they do the repair, it will cost 350-400. They also acknowledged that if the sensors work occasionally (i.e. it is in the sun), the problem can't be caused by the power steering fan having blown the fuse.

Please let me know if you find a decent price on the sensor (my car is BRG, hopefully i can find the right color)... there's no way I'm paying $400 to get my PDC working again, especially when an aftermarket one costs a fraction of that.

I wonder how the sensor is broken and if it is conceivable to remove it and somehow repair it. it certainly seems likely that the other 3 sensors are likely to die at any moment as well...

thanks
Eric

 

Eric, send a message to Gray Raven. He might be able to get you one cheaper. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ay-raven-.html

FYI, if you look under your MINI you will see a small fan (looks like a computer fan). That is the PS pump fan.

 

Ok, so i found the part:

07 66206989068 ULTRASONIC-SENSOR - BLACK 0.06 4 $136.04ADD TO CART

07 66200306567 ULTRASONIC-SENSOR - CODE - UNI/MET. 0.01 4 $211.19ADD TO CART

66200306567 was superseded by 66202180149.

Any idea what the difference between the two might be? Quite the cost difference indeed.

thanks

 

Not sure, sorry.... Dave (Gray Raven) might be able to help out.

 

Okay, pulled the bumper enough today to get the sensor out. It looked okay, and when i was playing with it, it came back to life.
Thought it might be the connection, so i mucked with that, and put it back -- still problematic.
I noticed that if i push on the potting in the back it got better. I tried removing the potting to play around in there, didn't get very far, then decided to try to take off the front part.
Big mistake. pulled the front off, broke wires, now it's dead for sure.

Just a heads up, and all. Though i doubt i would have been able to fix it even if i got the potting out.

Going to buy a non painted one and use touch up paint on it.

BTW, getting the bumper off a cabrio is a pain.

Eric

 

Does anyone know if the sensors have remained electrically and physically the same throughout the new mini build (r50 thru R58 or whatever it is these days)?
I'm seeing a fair number of sensors for R53, but i technically own an R52, and comparing the part numbers isn't working well since they're all different colors. I can't seem to get a common thread to reassure me that i can just purchase whichever and it'll work.

Anyone certain about this?
thanks
Eric

 

Not sure on this... You might try REALOEM to see if they have different model numbers.

 

Okay, finally had a warm enough day to finish.
There are a lot of sensors for sale on ebay.co.uk -- not ebay.com. Search for the mini part number or MINI PDC and you'll find them.
The various sellers i found either had cheap parts and expensive shipping or vice versa. I got one all told for $70 USD, plenty less than what the $tealer wanted for it.

I primed and painted it and installed it. Works great. No problems. NO PROGRAMMING. Was plug and play. No need for a dealer visit or anything.
Taking the bumper off the first time took me 30 minutes, the second time took 5 minutes.

 

About once a year on average, the fuse for my Park Distance Controller (backup sensor) blows. Does this mean that until I replace the fuse, the power steering pump fan is inoperable as well?

If I wanted to verify this for myself, can I just look at the power steering pump fan with the car running? Should the fan be blowing any time the car is running, or is there some kind of thermostat to control the fan as well?

 

Not sure, but I believe that it runs full time. You should be able to just look and see.