How to Tell If Your Car’s parking Sensor Has Gone Bad? A Knowledge Base

All cars nowadays come with a parking sensor as its standard feature. And while it is true that they rarely fail, it is always good to know about the signs of a possible malfunctioning.

Ideally, as per mobile auto electricians operating in Wangara – you can perform an inspection the car’s parking sensor by making use of a tactile examination, a smart phone and even a multimetre.

FYI – there are 2 distinctive types of parking sensors. The more common variant – ultrasonic (seen in conventional cars) and the other being electromagnetic fitted within the front and rear-end of the car’s bumper (seen in premium cars).

Digging Deeper Into Some Common Parking Sensor Malfunctions

There are plenty of reasons why your car’s parking sensor malfunctions. The most common ones include as follows –

· Moisture seeping through the cracks and into the housing

· Some electronic component of the parking sensor malfunctioning

· The working surface of the parking sensor getting contaminated

· The parking sensor suffering from mechanical damage due to a severe impact or accident

· The parking sensor suffers wire damage; particularly seen in its front fascia from exposure to chemicals, dust and dirt.

· Some noticeable signs of defects pre-existing on the parking sensor due to its being of low quality

Due to these damages, your parking sensor won’t work properly at all. And in the off-chance that it does, then it could trigger off a series of false signals. What’s more, during winter when the parking sensor gets short-circuited during the rainy season, the parking sensor will display errors on its dashboard display.

Ways to Check Those Parking Sensors

· Start With a Proper Visual Inspection

To properly determine the efficacy of you parking sensors, you should start off by performing a thorough visual inspection. To do so, start the engine and put it in first gear or reverse. Don’t drive though.

The wise course of action would be to ask your friend to perform such actions in the vehicle while you go ahead and inspect the sensors properly.

To inspect rear-end parking sensors; you must hit the gear-shift in reverse. As for the front sensors; you have to hit the first gear on manual or set the driving mode on auto. If the sensor activates and operates; it should emit noticeable 5-10 clicks every second more so whenever an object approaches it directly.

You could sense the sensor vibrating by moving your fingers atop it. Look to check each parking sensor and ask the partner in the cabin to check the way the system responds to your touches. If the sensors do not work, then it could be have issues.

· Check the Sensors with the Help of a Smartphone

To catch the weak vibrations emanating from them; you can make use of your smart phone’s voice recorder. To perform the diagnosis; you need to activate the app and take your phone near the parking sensor. It should not take you anymore than 30 seconds to record the signal. Check for visible signals with clear and audible sounds. It will help determine if the sensors are functioning properly or not.

· Check the Sensors with the Help of a Multi-Metre

As local electricians operating in Wangara would state – perhaps the most reliable mode of checking the parking sensors is by using the multimetre. In order to perform the inspection; the multimetre should be set at electrical-resistance measuring mode. Plus, the sensors would have to be separated from the vehicle.

You need to pay-attention to the 3-contact parking sensors which usually feature – a plus; as the first contact, signal as the second contact and a minus as the third contact.

Furthermore –

· The resistance should be above 0.5 mehohms between plus and minus

· The resistance between minus and signal contact should be 2-40 kohm

· The resistant between signal and plus should be 2-40 kohm.

Can’t Do It Yourself? Contact Auto Electricians in Wangara for Help

If you don’t have the tools or the luxury of time to do it yourself, then you can simply schedule a visit from reputed mobile auto electricians to diagnose your car’s signal sensor.

They will come down at your chosen time of convenience and lend you the assistance which you want.