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BMW E46 320i 2001 Parking Distance control problems

17K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  ray t 
#1 ·
Can anyone out there help???
My PDC system stopped working last month and all I get now is a 4 second bleep when engaging reverse.
The car had to go in for routine servicing, I asked the BMW service dept to diagnose the problem. (extra £36 for this)
They said it was the PDC unit and would cost £140 to replace.
Now, me being a skin flint said no thankyou!!
I bought a s/h PDC unit and fitted it. Just the same still not working.
I tried the original and the replacement units in my friends bmw 320i and they both worked, so the PDC unit is OK, Fuse OK. I visually checked all the pins and plugs at the control box end and I cannot hear any ticking noises from any of the sensors so what next??
At last I am now going to ask the questions :- do the bumper sensors work in series ?, is there a master sensor ??, if one goes do they all go ??? and finally what else can I check?

Seadog
 
#7 ·
I have seen problems where a faulty sensor has caused the system to shut down....thats why the PDC unit is issuing the beep for a few seconds when reverse is engaged..its the PDC telling you that the system is faulty.However when they checked it at the dealer.the faulty sensor should have shown up.Do you have front AND rear PDC??Checked the wiring behind the rear bumper.I think that there should also be a connector block in the boot area in one of the corners.Check the connections there as well.
Robbo
 
#9 ·
.However when they checked it at the dealer.the faulty sensor should have shown up.Do you have front AND rear PDC??Checked the wiring behind the rear bumper.I think that there should also be a connector block in the boot area in one of the corners.Check the connections there as well.
Robbo
thats probably because they didn't even look at it - they arn't interested in spending time finding faults and fixing things. They just want to replace parts like discs and pads as its easy...

An decent auto electricion would have found that fault for probably £20, and then fixed it pretty cheaply i would imagine.

Don't ever pay a main dealer half an hours labour to 'diagnose'.... they don't know how to
 
#8 ·
thats why the PDC unit is issuing the beep for a few seconds when reverse is engaged..its the PDC telling you that the system is faulty.However when they checked it at the dealer
On EU cars Robbo, there is a car memory setting that you can enable to tell the driver reverse is engaged and this is the long beep sound you get. It may be different for US cars :)
 
#10 ·
seadog,
As Neal has pointed out there is a Car/Key setting for the beep feature,is that how yours was set up prior to the problem you are now having??If the green LED in the PDC button is flashing,and the audible beep is given for a few seconds there is definately a fault in the system.
Not all BMW dealers are thieves and bandits,and more often than not it is the technician who is diagnosing the problem that is the idiot....and believe me when I say that I have worked at numerous dealers in the Middle East,The States and the UK,and there are quite a few clowns......technicians and customers out there:)
 
#11 ·
I have a very similar problem on my 320d SE. When I engage reverse, I either get a constant beep that stays for as long as reverse gear is engaged. Other times, the beep will last for three or four seconds then the sensors will work correctly. And to confuse matters more, sometimes it will work exactly as expected. By that, I mean when I engage reverse all is silent until I actually reverse near to something.

Any ideas???
 
#13 ·
I've actually got a diagnostic box and Carsoft software on my laptop, but at the moment am struggling to get it working correctly. Everytime I try a test, it fails half way through and shuts the program down. Will sort it soon hopefully and will indeed check the codes.
 
#14 ·
Read the codes and all is good with the PDC system. The computer did not throw up any codes so I'm at a bit of a loss.

The fault changes every time I select reverse. Sometimes it works perfectly, normally after a descent drive. Other times I just get a 5 or 6 second tone then it begins to work. Other times I get quick beeps as if I am nearing an object even if I am completely clear. :mad
 
#16 ·
Yes mate I had a read right through the thread. Maybe missing something, but not too sure about the relevance to the PDC problems I am having.

I have got the Carsoft working great now, thank you. I have reset all the codes and been driving it today and will check the codes again tomorrow to see if anything has come back.

Quick question! How is it possible to have so many faults listed but not have a light up on the dash?
 
#18 ·
Been having a look for the last few nights, but there is no option on the carsoft programme that allows you to view live data of the sensors etc. I'm struggling to figure out why it is so intermitant. Would I expect to see a failure code if there is something wrong?
 
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