Is there a fuse for the pdc?
My symptoms are:

"PDC Failure" on Idrive. The ON Screen PDC display shows no sensors working at all. The PDC screen does come up when reverse gear is selected. Th PDC button blinks consistantly when PDC is activated.

Anyone any ideas?

 

Hi,
The PDC controller is in the boot, if you remove the spare wheel and the lining for the boot.
Under there is a black foam cover which you can just lift up, you'll see the PDC controller (black box with 4 cables connected into it.

Power off the igition (remove key) and then remove all cables from the controller.
Then start/stop the car with it disconnected for a minute or so.
Then again power off the igition (remove key) and then reconnect all cables to the controller.
Then try the car again and see if the controller resets and comes online.

If it doesn't that usually means its either the controller thats failed, or 2 or more PDC sensors have failed.
Once 2 or more sensors fail the controller shutdowns and you'll also get the PDC Failure messages.

If you have the car in reverse to activate the PDC and then put your ear right up to each sensor you should hear a "clicking", do this on all front and rear sensors.
If you hear nothing or its very slight on some sensors then they need replacing, some people advise spraying WD40 into the sensor etc... personally it never worked for me.


If you have INPA/DIS or anyone you know has it plug it into the car to test the PDC, if will show what ones are working.

Hope this helps,
Mark

 

The blinking means that the PDC controller is working but one (or more) of the sensors is damaged/clogged/non-functional.

Here's the easy way to find the problem:
1) Turn on the PDC so that you see the flashing green light
2) Put your ear to each sensor and listen for a "click click click click..." sound

If you find one sensor that is bad - examine it closely and see if there is anything 'stuck' in the gap otherwise you may need to replace it.
If all the sensors in the front or rear bumper are not clicking then the connector may be loose or have been damaged.

(Source: I've rebuilt my PDC wiring harness and replaced sensors...)

 

I would also make sure that the boot spare wheel well is nice and dry as quite a few cars have had expensive failures due to water leaks into the boot. In their infinite wisdom BMW decided to utilise the space under the spare wheel for housing numerous electronic components in addition to the PDC controller (how many depends on how loaded your car is with accessories) which being the lowest point takes a soaking in the event of water ingress with predictable results.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I've narrowed it down to the two rear sensors. PDC Failure comes and goes.

Is it a tough job to check the connections at the sensors?

 

No so bad if its 2 sensors, 1 is most likely failed and the 2nd is failing, which is why it doesn't always happen.
The rear sensors need the bumper removed to replace or check the connectors, its not a hard job just takes time as there is a lot of screws around the wheel arch etc....

To be honest the connector is most likely fine, and since you need to remove the bumper your as well to get the 2 new PDC sensors and replace them in one go, save you time later on.

Mark

 

Thanks.

Anyone ideas on where to buy for less?

I'm in Ireland

 

Your cheapest bet would be to source Ebay for some used sensors. I have 4 LCI PDC sensors available but I'm only selling the complete set. Either way you will probably have to repaint them to color match your car.

Buying them brand new gets them color matched from the factory, but obviously costs more $$$.

 

Is it possible to acces the front right PDC sensor located under the headlight washer from the actual headlight bay by removing the headlight? It will be much easier to remove the headlight then the bumper.

 

yes you can
but anyway to remove headlight you must unscrew some bolts from bumper