Rear parking sensor`

[Audi_Butler]

Hi all.

Does anybody know where I can get hold of a single parking sensor? Audi have diagnosed a fault with the left side sensor on my A3 and quoted me £170 just for the part. At Vag Parts it's £170 for the complete set of 4 sensor and loom.

I kon wit's just one sensor that's gone so I was hoping I could just buy one. If anyone's got one knocking about or knows of somewhere I can get one please let me know.

No singular ones on ebay either.

Cheers.

Butler.

[ChrisIDS]

Hi Butler,

The parking sensors are ultrasonic transmitters and receivers. There are four, so I assume two are transmitters and two are receivers. Which ones are which on the bumper, I don't know ! They are not complex parts; just a high-frequency microphone and speaker, effectively. The transmitter transmits a short, high-frequency pulse, which is reflected by the object you -don't- want to reverse into and received by the receiver. The distance is determined by the time it takes for the signal to be received; the further away the object, the longer it takes for the signal to return.

You can buy these raw parts, in pairs (one Tx, one Rx) from maplin.co.uk, about £5 a pair.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?...source=15&SD=Y

They are fairly standard components, used in thousands of different applications and devices, so it -may- be possible to retrofit this devices into the existing moulding/casing.

All this, of course, is just a guess from an electonics engineer and these parts may not be suitable, due to size, etc. But, for five squids, it's surely worth investigating :-)

Cheers,
Chris

[Audi_Butler]

ChrisIDS.

Great effort. There is A maplins 5 mins from my house. It's worth a shot.

In the mean time if anyone finds a place that sell the proper Audi parts singularly, just in case this doesn't work. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks.

Butler.

[esoteric_mind]

Each sensor is in fact a transceiver (they transmit and receive).

I'd be very surprised if you could attach any old sensor to a factory fitted system.

As Chris should well know (being an engineer), the sensor will have individual characteristics which are generally calibrated by the head unit/controller.

Therefore, attaching a sensor from a different system will likely mean one of the following:

a) It won't work at all
b) The sensitivity will be either too high or too low

if you can't find a one off sensor for your system, then go for the VAG parts set. At least you'll have spares for the future!

[Audi_Butler]

I was thinking all the sensors sent and received. Otherwise the width or the car might not be covered. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

I've not found anywhere as yet. My main problem is that I don't really want to splash out £170 right now. I'm trying to save for my wedding!

I can live without the help this would give me anyway for a while until a cheaper alternative comes my way. I'll just use my eyes!

Butler.