Aftermarket Parking Sensor Systems

[Magenta]

I'm looking at fitting rear parking sensors but don't like the idea of drilling the bumper. Has anyone got any experience of the electromagnetic type of sensors (rather than ultrasonic). I understand these are hidden behind the bumper and work by detecting 'moving' objects (i.e. only when the car is moving). Apparently they do have a smaller range therefore work only when you are moving closer to an obstacle which is more practical in my mind. I think one make available is Taurus which is in the form of a long strip the length of your bumper.

I had the factory fitted ones on my previous Mk7 and you get a lot of 'false alarms' from such things a pillars to the side of the car so there is a dangerous tendency to ignore the warning !

[Stewie316]

I believe you can get them color coded to match your fiesta. I've seen very few fiesta's with them but they do look pretty good and semi hidden. I've actually thought about getting them done to the rear in the future.

[orcomma]

never heard of electromagnetic sensors but surely they would only work on ferromagnetic (ie steel/iron etc) metal objects like cars, not for eg concrete walls or bollards?

i have the ford sensors and reversing camera combination and i dont get any false positives :)

[antman99]

I understand what you are saying about drilling but I paid £20 off eBay and my dad and I drilled the holes without even having to remove the bumper just using careful planning, no holes in the boot and simply place the box under the carpet at the side, if you can find someone you trust to do it I would go down that route as my ones are better than my girlfriends £400 nissan ones and in my previous experience the ones that go inside the bumpers are a bit rubbish to be honest, if you are massively fussed have you considered the number plate surround ones, although I have no experience with those.

Anthony.

Edited August 8, 2011 by stef123
mind your language please

[iNath]

I understand what you are saying about drilling but I paid £20 off ebay and my dad and I drilled the holes without even having to remove the bumper just using careful planning, no holes in the boot and simply place the box under the carpet at the side, if you can find someone you trust to do it I would go down that route as my ones are better than my girlfriends £400 nissan ones and in my previous experience the ones that go inside the bumpers are a bit rubbish to be honest, if you are massively fussed have you considered the number plate surround ones, although I have no experience with those.

Anthony.

I've got the same - my Dad drilled the holes (use masking tap and measure several times first!) and then the control box is hidden in the boot. Mine has audible warning that gets quicker when you're closer and also a screen that gives you distance to object and visual indication of distance (lines on either side getting closer to center)

Kit - £30

Colour coded myself

[mintalkin]

good info on the electromagnetic sensors here

http://www.parkingdynamics.co.uk/Electromagnetic-Parking-Sensor-Buyers-Guide

[JohnWB]

I've got the same - my Dad drilled the holes (use masking tap and measure several times first!) and then the control box is hidden in the boot. Mine has audible warning that gets quicker when you're closer and also a screen that gives you distance to object and visual indication of distance (lines on either side getting closer to center)

Kit - £30

Colour coded myself

Could you tell me where you got the kit from, as it sounds like a good deal.

[Magenta]

never heard of electromagnetic sensors but surely they would only work on ferromagnetic (ie steel/iron etc) metal objects like cars, not for eg concrete walls or bollards?

i have the ford sensors and reversing camera combination and i dont get any false positives :)

I understand what you say but it is claimed that electromagnetic sensors work on concrete pillars, walls, even people. I don't know how they work.

The factory-fitted sensors on my previous Fiesta worked quite well with minimum number of false-positives. Another car (a Vauxhall) I had with factory fitted ultrasonic sensors was over sensitive, picking up things up to 2 metres away unnecessarily and also, unexpectedly, if I reversed off a drive with a slight camber, it would pick up the road surface making me brake to avoid some unseen obstacle! It's all down to correct positioning though.

[irononreverse]

From reading about them, they generate an electromagnetic field and if any object enters that field, altering it, then it will detect it. It only works when the car is moving, since it detects changes in the field, it's not actively firing off ultrasound.

They can detect any object as long as you have some movement from either the object or your car so it sounds pretty good to me. Beeping when stationary annoys me.

[Musketter]

If you look inside the bumper and the grey plastic trim at the bottom of the bumper, you will see that the correct holes positions are marked in the plastic (I believe it was a circle with a x but not certain).

I used a red hot needle, held in a pair of pliers to burn a very small hole hole in the bumper from the back. I then drilled the hole from the front and they lined up perfectly.

Hope it helps