How to fit a reversing sensor

Until recently, parking sensors and car reverse sensors have only been available to the owners of expensive executive class automobiles. Due to advances in technology, this is no longer the case and many people are choosing to retrofit parking aids to their vehicles. In this guide, we'll show you where to buy reversing sensor systems and how to fit them to your car.

Choosing the right system

All parking sensor systems work via the same basic technology. They send out a high frequency pulse and time the amount of time taken for it to bounce off an obstacle and back to the car bumper. These car radar systems are generally available in two forms, OEM (original equipment manufacturer) systems and third party systems. The simplest, but most expensive way to get a parking system for your car is to take your car to an official dealership and have them fit an official system. This will actually increase the value of your car which is not always the case with retrofitted third party systems. However, if you choose this method you will pay double or even triple the cost of installing a system yourself. Third party systems can be bought online from a variety of outlets, a simple search engine query for "parking reverse sensors" will provide a lot of options.

Installing a third party system

Until recently, all parking reverse aids required the sensors to be mounted on the exterior of the bumper. This meant using a tank cutter or hole saw to drill holes in your bumper and mounting the sensors using the supplied kit. These kits can be purchased and operate very effectively but improvements in the sensors mean that these systems can now be mounted behind the bumper. The advantage of this, of course, is that no holes have to be drilled and the risk of damage and depreciation is reduced. Parkingdynamics.co.uk offer a wireless, no drill system which is installed by removing the rear bumper and fitting the sensors with adhesive tape. The process requires no marking out and can be performed by someone with little technical know how. All of these systems get around the problem of having to wire in the display unit to the loom of the car, by using wireless systems. Generally, the power supply for the parking reverse sensor's electronic control unit is attached to the power and ground supply of the reverse light. This is important as tapping power from brake lights can reduce their luminosity and effectively render your car illegal to drive. Once powered-up, range sensing data is sent to a display via radio signal. Look out for simple displays that can be powered via the 12V socket.