Technical MK 3 Panda Eleganza rear parking Sensor removal?

[Gary Seven]

Firstly , I'm a Newbie here , so Hello one and all..
The Car is a Mk 3 Panda Eleganza.
My reversing sensors give the 3 second tone of doom when reverse gear is selected, so now I will have to remove them in order to individually test them. I've done the usual stunts like spray them with WD40 and listen for a ticking sound that isn't there. So now its time to get things done.
These are mounted in the black plastic trim on the back bumper. My question is this..
How can I remove this trim piece without damaging it (what is keeping it in place now)? I don't really fancy removing the entire bumper assembly unless I have to.
Or maybe there's a much easier way to fix this problem ?

 

[The Panda Nut]

The sensors go through the bumper. Bumper emoval is only as difficult as undoing the screws. You can probably reach the sensors from behind. There is nothing in Haynes manual about the trim. I strongly suspect its a push fit but the sensors will go right through the bumper as well.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi and welcome

My aftermarket ones are now 'walking out' on their own.. .

Member @SB1500 posted quite a bit regarding these little blighters a while back too

 

[SB1500]

Start with the easier things. Have someone sit in the car and engage reverse (someone you trust). Walk past / try to cover each one.
Make sure they're all clean as well - some cars (cough Citroen cough) can have the rain confuse them... clean / no wax or coatings is important.

I haven't dealt with these on a Panda but a DS3. Most likely the exact same technology.

If you can get underneath and look UP with a torch, you might be able to reach into the inside of the bumper and disconnect then remove them, swap them about to check if it's the wiring or an individual sensor.

You might need to take the bumper off if you want to do it 'easily' and not risk breaking or having an awkward time reaching into tight spots blindly and trying to not break anything. Might save you time in the long run.

These things tend to go one after the other sadly. It might be one causing your problem now but then shortly after, another

If you're on a budget to spend as little as possible, maybe buy one - fit it to the first position. Drive for a day see if it goes away. If not, replace original. Move the new one to spot 2. If needed, if more than one is broken, repeat with the new one in another spot.

Sorry I can't be of much more use. I did have all 4 of my front parking sensors give issues and fail on my DS3, but as it was in 'dealer warranty', they did the troubleshooting and replacement (one by one as each failed). 3 year old DS ... versus your Panda, which is older and I presume has worked perfectly until now Much better quality the Fiats I would say!

 

[AndyRKett]

Fiat used standard for the time Bosch sensors. They just clip in from the back. You can likely unclip them and drop them out from the back by reaching up under the bumper, but if you want to make sure that you don't break anything then its easier to take the bumper off completely.

Once you have the sensor off you can find the part number and buy a replacement.

I am pretty sure with these are linked into the Canbus system of the car but no idea if you can see them in a program like MES. Technically speaking though if you unplug them then they should not give any signal back so no beeping. Unplug all 4 to confirm this. then plug them in one at a time to see which one is giving the constant alarm do make sure there is nothing in the way of the sensor so you don't falsely think that it is broken

 

[koalar]

Do you need to remove the bumper or trim, there's quite a space between the bumper and crash bar, I don’t have the car here at the moment to try

Are you getting an error on the dash

Have you had any spray work done

Have you had a tiny bump at the rear

These are mounted in the black plastic trim on the back bumper. My question is this..
How can I remove this trim piece without damaging it (what is keeping it in place now)? I don't really fancy removing the entire bumper assembly unless I have to.

It's held on by clips, lots of them, it can be removed from the front without taking the bumper off, but there is a very high chance of damaging it.

Or maybe there's a much easier way to fix this problem ?

The sensors are on there own loom I would unplug it and put a meter between

White/green and Light blue/black when reverse is selected, assuming you have some way to measure volts

MultiEcuScan will not help to diagnose the problem, it's not a supported module on the panda mk3

Unlike the 500

If you prefer to permantly delete it you could unplug the control unit and run a proxi

it will require the full version and correct adapter

 

[varesecrazy]

@Gary Seven

let us know what you find,

the aftermarket ones on my panda still seem to work.. But I would like to know what the wiring looks like

 

[Gary Seven]

Do you need to remove the bumper or trim, there's quite a space between the bumper and crash bar, I don’t have the car here at the moment to try

Are you getting an error on the dash

Have you had any spray work done

Have you had a tiny bump at the rear

It's held on by clips, lots of them, it can be removed from the front without taking the bumper off, but there is a very high chance of damaging it.

The sensors are on there own loom I would unplug it and put a meter between

White/green and Light blue/black when reverse is selected, assuming you have some way to measure volts

MultiEcuScan will not help to diagnose the problem, it's not a supported module on the panda mk3

Unlike the 500
View attachment 430742
View attachment 430743

If you prefer to permantly delete it you could unplug the control unit and run a proxi

it will require the full version and correct adapter

Do you need to remove the bumper or trim, there's quite a space between the bumper and crash bar, I don’t have the car here at the moment to try

Are you getting an error on the dash

Have you had any spray work done

Have you had a tiny bump at the rear

It's held on by clips, lots of them, it can be removed from the front without taking the bumper off, but there is a very high chance of damaging it.

The sensors are on there own loom I would unplug it and put a meter between

White/green and Light blue/black when reverse is selected, assuming you have some way to measure volts

MultiEcuScan will not help to diagnose the problem, it's not a supported module on the panda mk3

Unlike the 500
View attachment 430742
View attachment 430743

If you prefer to permantly delete it you could unplug the control unit and run a proxi

it will require the full version and correct adapter

Like I said in my original post, I cleaned everything and tried the widely recommended WD40 spray on the sensor to drive out any unwanted moisture. As I have only had the car for some 3 months, I have no real idea as to how the car was treated in regards to any slight rear impact prior to my ownership. There appears to be no information on the dash regarding the sensors or the reverse readings. I presumed it was an audio report only. This might be an indication of another problem if there should be a graphic of some sort, but there is no way of knowing that without experience of this model. The replacement sensors supplied by eBay turned out to the wrong diameter and don't fit the holes in the bumper. So I will be hunting for some that do fit over the next few days.

 

[AndyRKett]

Like I said in my original post, I cleaned everything and tried the widely recommended WD40 spray on the sensor to drive out any unwanted moisture. As I have only had the car for some 3 months, I have no real idea as to how the car was treated in regards to any slight rear impact prior to my ownership. There appears to be no information on the dash regarding the sensors or the reverse readings. I presumed it was an audio report only. This might be an indication of another problem if there should be a graphic of some sort, but there is no way of knowing that without experience of this model. The replacement sensors supplied by eBay turned out to the wrong diameter and don't fit the holes in the bumper. So I will be hunting for some that do fit over the next few days.

there is no visual indicator on these, just beeps but you could use the sensors you have to test the system and see if you can get it to beep before spending loads of time trying to track down the exact sensors. there should be some sort of auditory warning to say they are active when you out the car in reverse.

 

[Gary Seven]

there is no visual indicator on these, just beeps but you could use the sensors you have to test the system and see if you can get it to beep before spending loads of time trying to track down the exact sensors. there should be some sort of auditory warning to say they are active when you out the car in reverse.

Thank you for the information, I will stop staring at the dashboard from now on. When the car goes into reverse I get the 3 second tone, which is supposed to be an indication of an error. As to what type of error, well that is where we are at, so far. It may take some time to obtain the replacements that actually fit the bumper thanks to eBay telling me that items fit when they obviously do not. The "Your Garage" feature on eBay leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[koalar]

Higher end fiats that have warnings that flashes up briefly on the LCD

Normally give a warning symbol on the dash, plus a message 'Rear parking sensor unavailable'.
No idea if the Eleganza should do this as I have never had one


Ebay listing are all over the place, part numbers don't match, often years are wrong, lots of parts changed slightly in 2006 and again 2009 sometimes it doesn't matter but things like thermostat listed as fitting 1.2 2004-2012 are just plain wrong

Autodoc aren't much better have the 100hp bump stops and cross springs listed wrong recently


I normally use the forums eper and search for the part number first, it so has a useful feature to list previous numbers

 

[SB1500]

Higher end fiats that have warnings that flashes up briefly on the LCD

Normally give a warning symbol on the dash, plus a message 'Rear parking sensor unavailable'.
No idea if the Eleganza should do this as I have never had one


Ebay listing are all over the place, part numbers don't match, often years are wrong, lots of parts changed slightly in 2006 and again 2009 sometimes it doesn't matter but things like thermostat listed as fitting 1.2 2004-2012 are just plain wrong

Autodoc aren't much better have the 100hp bump stops and cross springs listed wrong recently


I normally use the forums eper and search for the part number first, it so has a useful feature to list previous numbers

Forum sponsor Shop4Parts is very very good at part numbers (expert level)

 

[Gary Seven]

Higher end fiats that have warnings that flashes up briefly on the LCD

Normally give a warning symbol on the dash, plus a message 'Rear parking sensor unavailable'.
No idea if the Eleganza should do this as I have never had one


Ebay listing are all over the place, part numbers don't match, often years are wrong, lots of parts changed slightly in 2006 and again 2009 sometimes it doesn't matter but things like thermostat listed as fitting 1.2 2004-2012 are just plain wrong

Autodoc aren't much better have the 100hp bump stops and cross springs listed wrong recently


I normally use the forums eper and search for the part number first, it so has a useful feature to list previous numbers

This is an update.
Today a local garage fitted four new sensors of the correct type. But there is still the same problem. I wondering should there be a control box for the reversing sensors and where (if there is one) would it be located ? The loom heads up into the panel behind the reversing light side cluster. Would it be jammed up inside a space this tiny ? I think I need an Auto Electrician..

 

[koalar]

This is an update.
Today a local garage fitted four new sensors of the correct type. But there is still the same problem. I wondering should there be a control box for the reversing sensors and where (if there is one) would it be located ? The loom heads up into the panel behind the reversing light side cluster. Would it be jammed up inside a space this tiny ? I think I need an Auto Electrician..

Under the front seat I believe

 

[koalar]

It's networked the right software will tell you what the problem is

MultiECUscan does not support on the panda

I have delphi and WoW no idea if its supported in either of them

I don't have parking sensors so can't try, If you pass by Crewe your welcome to have a quick try

Examiner will but that dealer only mainly

It's worth disconnecting the battery unplugging it and and inspecting. It's location is subseptable to knocks and spillages

This drawing is LHD

Fuse is in the engine bay
Unit is under the seat
Buzzer is in the headlining
Unit goes back to the rear sensors and forwards to the body computer mainly


If you have a multi meter I could try and find some voltage points to check

PS

Each sensor has power, ground and signal

They all should have

white/green positive
light blue/black negative

With the signal all different colours

This is connector under the seat

Should be the same colours

Pin 5 white/green positive
Pin 6 light blue/black negative

If they are different let me know as there were slight differences

 

[AndyRKett]

If the control unit is under the front seats then there is a high likelihood it has gotten wet at.