New parking sensors not working - have I forgotten something?

[nizzehult]

New here so be gentle

I have a tricky question about parking sensors.
I have a C3 2007 1.6 HDi and when I bought it the "Parking assistence faulty" message came up every time I put in reverse.
Lexia said that two sensors were faulty so I ordered them from Latvia for less than £25 inkl P&P. Not Valeo (original) though.
These actually:
https://www.ebay.com/itm//192622051090?

It was quite easy to change them both and now the faulty message is gone from the display.
So are also the error codes in Lexia.
But...the sensors are not detecting any objects when I reverse the car!
No beeps or ATTENTION message in the display.

Of course the system isn't bypassed by the button I have on the dashboard.
Running Lexia will find the ECU and all tests are accurate.

Have I missed something here? Some kind of initialation or calibration?

[GiveMeABreak]

The best way to test these are to put the car in reverse with the ignition switched on, then put your finger gently near the surface of each sensor and you should feel a 'pulsing' on each of the sensor surfaces. Do this to each one and if you don't feel this on any, then they are duff.

It is possible that they electrical connection side is working, but that the sensor itself is not. The cheap ones flooding the market are going to vary in quality and probably won't be as well-made as the originals - which are currently retailing at £117.28 for part 659095.

You can get the anodised ones (Part 6590A5) which are made by Bosch and also specified for your car for about £40 inc postage if you look.

Here's a link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw ... 5&_sacat=0

If Lexia is not determining a fault then as I said it is likely the circuit is operational, but the sensor is duff. I would return them and do not buy the same generic type again.

[nizzehult]

The thing is that according to service.citroen.com using my VIN it clearly gives the specific part no: 6590 95.
That is the reason I ordered a sensor that should be equivalent with this number.
But that number is not in reference to my car in most of the ebay sales so something is wrong here...

My old sensor has the connector at rear but even though if I Google this number (687920A) I will find pictures of sensors with exactly the same number - but with the connector on top?? What? None of the ones in your link are right.

Taking a closer look at the old ones will show three(!) different numbers:
687920A on the top part, the one that is coloured. That number is printed or more likely: melted into the plastic.
602767 on one half of the upper part. The black half. That is also printed/melted.
687855 on the part that is the other half, beige, where the connector is located. That is more of a solid number that is molded into the plastic.
Which one is right??

Sure I will test them "by the finger" but I guess that none of them are operational. System is down, more or less. Until correct sensors are used.

[GiveMeABreak]

The reason there are 3 types is the anodised one, the painted one and the non painted one, which is 659095 and the one I referenced. Just pick the one you need.

However, the point I am trying to make is that the ones you have linked to are not genuine ones, they are just aftermarket ones and are saying they are compatible with the OEM part number.

The original Citroen / Peugeot one’s are £117 each! The aftermarket ones will be of varying quality so expect to have issues.

[nizzehult]

I have new theory - which means my 659095 sensors are OK:

My original stereo has been replaced by an aftermarket model.
The steering stalk control to the stereo do no longer work after that, a special adapter is required if you want this feature:
http://www.soundevo.co.uk/connects-2-ct ... ntrol.html

But! If you also have parking sensors, they suggest another model:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/ctsct00 ... rse-sensor
This probably has to do with the fact that the stereo itself is part of the parking system and will therefore generate a beep when the objects are found but if the stereo has been replaced: no beeps.

Makes sense?

[GiveMeABreak]

If you'd mentioned that before I would of been able to tell you that straight away!
The Head Unit is NOT just a radio - it performs a lot of the access to diagnostic function and configuration options of the car. Remove this and you remove functionality. I don't ever recommend replacing the head unit on these vehicles....

[nizzehult]

I see. Thanks for clearing this out.
The reason I replaced the radio is that I really needed HF + USB support.
I was glad when i saw that the radio was a standard DIN stereo - but obviously it wasn't that simple....

[GiveMeABreak]

No problem - The parking sensors are just one function that will be affected - you will also loose the ability to programme certain options (if you have them) like auto wipe in reverse, guide me home lighting, and check on the listed faults etc. Just so long as you know this. Always keep the original Head Unit safe though.

[nizzehult]

Well, the engineers at Connect2 has been working on this and by pressing a combination af buttons on the stalk control you can emulate the buttons on the radio and then get access to the functions you are mentioning:
http://www.connects2downloads.co.uk/c2/ ... T003.2.pdf
But they are not cheap...the model I need is about £65 + shipping....very close to what I paid for the new stereo..

[GiveMeABreak]

I would of been easier to get something like a Yatour unit with Bluetooth that would handle your hands free and MP3 on a USB or SD card, which would leave your original Head unit intact.

[nizzehult]

Maybe. Price is about the same but I'm not so sure that Yatour will support my 256GB external HDD. My £85 Kenwood does - and do also have support for voice recognision commands and some other handy funcions to operate it. It also comes with an external wired microphone ready for the sun visor. It's not obvious how the Yatour picks up the voice and if it is using your phones microphone you have to mount it on the dashboard.
The truth is that the VDO RD4 is technic that is almost 15 years old and to get the functionalty that we are getting used to today an upgrade must to be done.

[GiveMeABreak]

The RD4 is still in use today on new vehicles believe it or not. The later RD45 ones do have integrated bluetooth for hands free calling and streaming, but of course won't be anything like the newer touchscreen systems on the latest models. Many on here though have upgraded to a higher spec. OEM unit to maintain compatibility with the vehicles systems. So that would of been an option, but as long as you are happy.

[nizzehult]

You were right.
I changed to my original radio and tried the new sensors. No problem!
But I had some problems (re)installing it (using Lexia). Radio was OK but the multifunction display failed so I had no station information etc while I tested it.
Well, it has been removed now anyway. The Kenwood is back.
Will keep looking for a (used) CTSCT008.

[GiveMeABreak]

I always recommend you allow the car's ECUs time to switch into sleep mode on the network before disconnecting. Then always remove the Quadlock connector first as that contains the power. It should always be the last connection when putting everything back. It is not unknown to brick the display if not careful - as the display screen is also an ECU and controls the RD4 functions.....

Then when making any changes in Diagbox, always allow the car's BSI to sleep first, before powering the ignition on and testing the radio - sometimes the BSI needs a while to check the changes on the network when swapping over.

[nizzehult]

OK. Well, I'm running Lexia on an old laptop with XP from the stone age and it's very frustrating to wait for it all the time so I might have disconnected the Quadlock to early.
If I find a RD45 - will it work bolt-on in my car? You can find chineese RD45 for about £65 (free shipping) - do they work as the original radio?
https://www.ebay.com/itm//322935784170?

When I reinstalled my unit it asked for my VIN and wanted to send that information to some database on Internet. It took me a while before I figured out how to go around it.
My consideration now will be: is it worth £75 more for having parking sensor function on my £1700 car?