doblo
Member
How easy is it to fit reversing sensors to a Doblo & how much would it cost?
Technical Reversing Sensors
- Thread starter doblo
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Technical Reversing Sensors
Sensors? Waste of money. Ok down to approx 30cm then you're blind.
And the beeping is soooooo annoying.
I bought a wireless camera off ebay, cost about £50 (colour).
Had to mod the inside of the silver trim above the number plate but the camera fits up inside there a treat (held in place with body filler).
Wire routed through the tailgate to the top then back down the body to the reversing light.
Screen fits just nicely to the underside of the parcel shelf above the mirror (shielded from the front by the shaded area of screen), held on with double sided sticky pads.
Power cable runs onto the parcel shelf, down inside the trim beside the window & into the fusebox, taking power from a spare.
Screen is always in standby with the ignition on & displays the image when reverse gear is selected.
I can see most of the width of my bumper & barely see the tailgate back to about 4 feet. People are amazed when they see me squeeze into parking spaces & my towbar is an inch away from someone's bumper
Only drawback is that a lot of people like to use video senders to transmit a TV signal or security camera signal so you can pick up telly progs or security footage as you drive past. Seems strange to start with but you get used to it.
If I had to do it again I'd possibly consider a camera mounted in an enclosure then surface mounted where the top brake light is, I'd also prefer one that works in near dark conditions. Mine's OK but you have to press buttons to lighten the screen at night, the brakes & reverse light help to illuminate the area.
And the beeping is soooooo annoying.
I bought a wireless camera off ebay, cost about £50 (colour).
Had to mod the inside of the silver trim above the number plate but the camera fits up inside there a treat (held in place with body filler).
Wire routed through the tailgate to the top then back down the body to the reversing light.
Screen fits just nicely to the underside of the parcel shelf above the mirror (shielded from the front by the shaded area of screen), held on with double sided sticky pads.
Power cable runs onto the parcel shelf, down inside the trim beside the window & into the fusebox, taking power from a spare.
Screen is always in standby with the ignition on & displays the image when reverse gear is selected.
I can see most of the width of my bumper & barely see the tailgate back to about 4 feet. People are amazed when they see me squeeze into parking spaces & my towbar is an inch away from someone's bumper
Only drawback is that a lot of people like to use video senders to transmit a TV signal or security camera signal so you can pick up telly progs or security footage as you drive past. Seems strange to start with but you get used to it.
If I had to do it again I'd possibly consider a camera mounted in an enclosure then surface mounted where the top brake light is, I'd also prefer one that works in near dark conditions. Mine's OK but you have to press buttons to lighten the screen at night, the brakes & reverse light help to illuminate the area.
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doblo
Member
I notice there are some advertised overhead.
http://www.parkingcameras.com/store/home.php
http://www.parkingcameras.com/store/home.php
DobloDynamic
New member
I picked up my 120 Doblo Dynamic last week (I'll let you know about the buying process once I have sorted out some issues with the dealer over the sale). I specified a number of accessories, one of which were parking sensors.
When I picked up the car (Tailgate not Doors), I found that the sensors were fitted in the number-plate surround and not in the purpose designed positions moulded into the bumpers. At first it looked as though they worked fine as I reversed up to the garage door. Sunday Mrs DD and I went to a caravan display and reverse parked up to a large plant pot - BUMP!. 'Knickers' says I - the sensors picked up the plant pot at the same time that I made contact. Today I reverse parked in a supermarket slot with a Honda (low bonnet type) behind me. 'Knickers' says I as the towbar made contact (just 'kissed') with the numberplate of the car behind. No hint of damage to either vehicle.
Clearly the dealer-fitted sensors were not appropriate for the installation:
1. The number plate is quite high up on the tailgate and the sensors can't see down far enough.
2. The number plate slants forwards on the tailgate directing the sensors upwards compounding 1. above.
I have been to the dealer and complained that the installation is not fit for purpose, but in fairness to the dealer, I shall let you know the response I get from them before I start slinging mud / names about. I did order the sensors after going through the Fiat accessories catalogue, and illustration was of the rear bumper. I suspect that the dealer has not fitted a Fiat installation but some other after-market one.
To sum up then - if you have a Doblo - make sure the sensors (which I find invaluable) are fitted into the proper place which is in the pre-moulded locations in the bottom of the bumper!
When I picked up the car (Tailgate not Doors), I found that the sensors were fitted in the number-plate surround and not in the purpose designed positions moulded into the bumpers. At first it looked as though they worked fine as I reversed up to the garage door. Sunday Mrs DD and I went to a caravan display and reverse parked up to a large plant pot - BUMP!. 'Knickers' says I - the sensors picked up the plant pot at the same time that I made contact. Today I reverse parked in a supermarket slot with a Honda (low bonnet type) behind me. 'Knickers' says I as the towbar
made contact (just 'kissed') with the numberplate of the car behind. No hint of damage to either vehicle.Clearly the dealer-fitted sensors were not appropriate for the installation:
1. The number plate is quite high up on the tailgate and the sensors can't see down far enough.
2. The number plate slants forwards on the tailgate directing the sensors upwards compounding 1. above.
I have been to the dealer and complained that the installation is not fit for purpose, but in fairness to the dealer, I shall let you know the response I get from them before I start slinging mud / names about. I did order the sensors after going through the Fiat accessories catalogue, and illustration was of the rear bumper. I suspect that the dealer has not fitted a Fiat installation but some other after-market one.
To sum up then - if you have a Doblo - make sure the sensors (which I find invaluable) are fitted into the proper place which is in the pre-moulded locations in the bottom of the bumper!
A word of advice from my experience. Mrs O's Dobbin was rear ended in a hit and run last year, I could not say if this affected the rear parking sensors, but after repair they did not work. The body shop told me that this should be easy to resolve, as they were roiginal equipment, but that had they beeen after market fittings they rarely have any success getting them working again.
When I asked the dealer to test them they told me the same story.
When I asked the dealer to test them they told me the same story.
My post at #2 is based on experience of both types. My dad's honda had four sensors built into the rear bumper & a small display gave info from each one based on distance of each sensor from object. As I said before though, the sensors were OK down to 30cm, where the display would give a constant bleep by way of warning - 12" away from an object is no use if you want to hitch a caravan or trailer, it's also no use where you are trying to reverse into a tight parking space, especially if there is a skip or other sloping sided item behind.
With the four sensor system I discovered there were blind spots between the sensors so the bleep bleep would suddenly stop as though there was nothing there, leaving you wondering just what the sensors had detected.
On the other hand, the camera sees all & allows you to park within a gnat's hair of the car behind, no bleep bleep just a clear image of exactly what is there.
With the four sensor system I discovered there were blind spots between the sensors so the bleep bleep would suddenly stop as though there was nothing there, leaving you wondering just what the sensors had detected.
On the other hand, the camera sees all & allows you to park within a gnat's hair of the car behind, no bleep bleep just a clear image of exactly what is there.
sensor kits have angled mounting rings to compensate for angled (rounded) bumpers & they are adjustable so is the sensitivity.Add to this most fiats have the holes pre-marked on bumper reverse so take it back & let them fit them properly this time.
