Hi all,

I'm having a problem with my PDC system, 90% of the time it doesnt work and gives a continuous beep from the rear and flashing light indicating a fault.

I have been reading up on the topic and I understand that the advice is to press the button and listen to each sensor for a ticking to identify if one is a dud...

The problem is that none of the sensors are ticking at all! It is like the system fails to start up for some reason, but every now and again it will work and function fine for that journey, then next time I start the car it doesn't work again.

Any ideas what could be the cause, faulty module possibly?

Is there any way of testing the module itself?

Thanks in advance
Adam

If its the rear and your getting no joy from either of the four sensors then the plug for the rear loom is located under the bumper skin underneith the drivers side rear lamp, so i would start there and make sure the plug is connected correctly and the connections are clean

There could also be a short where the harness crosses under the plastic and over the metal bumper (DAMHIKT)

I had a control module fail as well. YWC000930 replaced with updated YWC000931 from Dan at Duckworth's

Thanks for the advice

Is it a bumper off job to check the connector plug and the wiring harness?

It's easier to take the bumpers off, then you can totally rule it out.

If none of he sensors are ticking (front or rear) the the fault is most likely with the rear sensors as the contol module will deactivate both. Issues with the front will only deactivate the front.

Front and rear bumper removal is fairly easy, remember to have something soft to place the bumper on before you start work. It is perfectly doable for a single man but two people is easier. On your own it should take about 20 mins to remove and another 20 to replace.

As Steve has mentioned above check for chaffing of the wiring. This will have to be repaired as the PDC loom is not separate on the FFRR and forms part of the engine bay loom on the front. The rear I believe has a plug in loom under the drivers rear light cluster.

If there is no chaffing evident and all of the connectors are clean try swapping the front and rear sensors between the 2 bumpers to see if you can isolate a faulty sensor. If not then replace the control module, behind the fuse board in the drivers side boot compartment. As Steve has already mentioned the part number above I will skip that bit, also the BMW X5 module will work. There is no coding required it is just plug and play.

The PDC is a real pain in the arse if it develops a fault. Most of the time you don't get the long beep or even the flashing light to indicate a fault, you are just expected to magically realise the sensors aren't working! 06MY 4.4 V8 Autobiography Cairns Blue with Navy & Parchment Interior

Just a quick add on to Steve's above - rear bumper is easy, unless first you have to remove the mud flaps. A grinder may be required. If your car has them, just give yourself a bit of extra time -

 Where do you go after one of these . . . ?

Great info, thank you very much for that.

I'm going to do this properly at weekend, I've got rear mudflaps so will factor that in also.


I'm not sure if this is a red herring but one thing I didnt mention is that I had a new alternator and battery fitted a few weeks back, I gave the battery a good charge after it was fitted also. After this the sensors worked fine consistently for a period, then gradually started getting more intermittent over the past few weeks until now they are only working 10% of the time.

No other signs of low voltage from the battery or anything like that so I cant imagine it is the battery voltage, its a new big Bosch battery. I may just be total coincidence...

Ok bit of an update... I took the bumper off and decided to replace the rear wiring loom to the sensors as I was convinced there was a broken wire in there somewhere and the loom was only £40 so it seemed worthwhile.

Unfortunately this made no difference to the problem and the PDC is still very intermittent, working about 30% of the time now.

I had it plugged into a diagnostic machine today and all sensors front and back are reading fine but there was an error code that wouldn't clear reading something along the lines of "general voltage issue in PDC system".

Has anybody seen this before? I'm assuming it is either a faulty. PDC module or a problem with the wiring powering up the PDC module. Not quite sure what to do next so would welcome any ideas if people have had a similar issue

Thanks all
Adam

I couldn't hear mine ticking either, I thought I was going deaf so I went to the Doctor who all covered his bases and diagnosed "Sensory Impairment" boom boom

OK I'll get my coat!  Geoff

if the sensors and the wiring are ok then the next step is to replace the pdc control module... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Despite my poor joke, mine have only worked immediately after a reset for a few seconds in the 3 years I have had the car. The IIDTool suggests that both the front offside and the rear offside sensors have a fault, is that likely to be an accurate diagnosis (is each sensor individually checked) or is that just generic for any of the sensors being suspect, and as I said no clicking as by the time I get round to either the front or rear as the system seems to have shut down
I might actually get round to seeing if this is something I can cross off my list - New Years resolution  Geoff

Any update on this Adam as I have a similar issue with my PDC?

Mike

I have a funny issue with my PDC on my 53 4.4 vogue
They go insane even when there is nothing near them and then randomly work ok occasionally. My IIDtool says there are no faults, so am I right in thinking this is probably the wiring harness?

Thanks guys.

Water ogress into the sensors probably... 06MY 4.4 V8 Autobiography Cairns Blue with Navy & Parchment Interior