kErb

Hi Guys

I am experiencing an intermitent PDC failure on the car. I get a warning message stating "PDC Failure" plus the normal screen appears showing the car diagram. The normal warning noise & coloured indication on the screen as you manoevre are inoperative. From searhing the site I gather that this can be due to either a sensor failure or a fault with the PDC module. The module for the E60 is apparently located in the spare wheel well, can anyone shed any light on where it is located in the E61 as my spare wheel well is empty? I want to check that it is dry before I take the car to the dealers to diagnose as the car is out of warranty. I say that it is an intermitent fault as it has happened 3 times previously just after washing the car, but then it starts working again. As always your help is appreciated.
Thanks
Kerb

juliann

Possibly moisture in a sensor. With PDC on (and intermittent fault replicating itself), put a finger over each sensor in turn and see which one(s) 'buzz' (a bit like static) and which don't. No 'buzz' is faulty. The ones in the centre of the bumpers give a better 'buzz' than those on curved edges so feel & listen carefully to side ones. If you identify one, check the wiring into it. If they all behave the same and you still have the fault, it points to the control unit.

kErb

Hi Juliann
Thanks for the advice, I will check the sensors out. Will one faulty sensor stop them all working? Do you know where in the car is the PDC module located?

juliann

The 'good' sensors should still buzz if there are faulty ones. I haven't checked, but I would suspect the module is behind either the LHS or RHS trim panels in the boot. Check here for the part numbers to identify the right module : http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?mo...hg=66&fg=05

The sensor that gets moisture in it on my car is in the front bumper, it only happens about once every 4 months so I've never bothered to investigate further . It was a salesman at the dealer who showed me the buzzing trick - despite public opinion, some do know something !

kErb

Hi Juliann

Thanks you are 100% correct. All the senors make a buzzing noise except for the one on offside front bumper. I gave it a bump with the palm of my hand which cleared the fault on the dash. I think this sensor must be broken as all the sensors now show on the dash display, except for that one.
I need to check the wiring first, but I guess its off to the dealer for a new one, do you know if the sensor is accessible without taking the bumper off?

juliann

I don't, but I would suspect that it's a bumper off job. I'd also imagine that they're a fairly hefty cost so might be worth checking if http://www.quarrymotors.co.uk/ have one in your colour or if you want to go through the dealer network, benchmark your local dealer against Cotswold BMW who tend to use a different (lower) price list than some others http://www.cotswoldcheltenhambmw.co.uk/

kErb

Well I've looked on e-bay but there isn't anything available at the moment, I've e-mailed Quarry Motors but they haven't respnded yet. My local dealer quotes ?109.18 inc vat with a 2 week delivery time. I guess I' wait and see what Quarry come up with and then decide from there. seems a lot of money for a sensor, but its probably cheaper than scrapping the bumper.

norwegianE61

before buying something new, try to squirt some WD40 into it (from the outside). It got one of my sensors working again after it had stopped buzzing.

kErb

Thanks, I'll give the WD40 a try. Quarry didn't have anything in the correct colour, they had a blue one for £35.00 but then it will need painting, which starts to get close to the price of a new one. Also if I buy new at least it is guaranteed, whereas a 2nd hand one may fail aswell.

kErb

WD40 didn't work unfortunately. I've struck lucky and found a replacement on E-Bay for £46.00 in the right colour listed as new and unused aswell - result!!
Does anyone know if I can get at the outer sensor from behind the wheel arch liner or if I have to take the bumper off? Does anyone have a DIY / pdf on the front bumper removal if I have to go that way?

As always your help would be appreciated.