Vehicle Revolution P7 Grill - Front parking sensor woes!

[Danws4]

Hi all,

I have recently installed a Vehicle Revolution P7 grill, (I am informed by them this is their version 2.0) and have to say I have been really chuffed with the fit and finish of the part overall.

I have read about others who have waited ridiculous time periods for their orders, (with some never arriving!) but mine was shipped and received within 10 days of ordering, and considering this was shipped from Hong Kong, I can't really praise the delivery aspect enough.

Out of the box the grill is a single piece article with mesh fully moulded into the oval edge frame, with mounting points picking up on all the original positions, and even using the original screws (Important note that ALL screws need to be cut to a length not exceeding 12mm or the screw will bottom out in the new fixture post and rip the fixture post off the back of the moulding, as I found out on the first fixture, which I've subsequently re-attached with some mitre mate)

The piece is finished in a gloss black paint (unsure if lacquered or not), and was generally very good, and not requiring any enhancement in any way, with a good tight fit on all edges

The dismantle side was straight forward enough, as is the installation of the grill into the rear of the original bumper, with al of this achieved within 45 minutes.

The big issue I've had is the reinstatement of the front parking sensors.

Unaware of the 2 'blocks' that sit on the loom on the upper mounts (unsure whether these act in unison with the PDC sensors themselves or whether these are pedestrian crash detectors?) these required a couple of brackets to be fabricated before they could be remounted.

Brackets suitably made, I reinstalled everything to the new grill, securing the PDC sensors with a surround of weather proof double sided gorilla tape, which held the sensors really firmly in whatever orientation I wanted to suit the cabling and the web of the grill.
The sensors were installed without their rubber sheath as the apertures in the grill were just a little too tight to allow the sheaths to be retained.

As soon as I got the bumper back on the car the front PDC was now constantly activated as if detecting objects immediately in front of the 2 sensors in the new grill.

The sensor positions in the new grill are pretty well replicating the original sensor locations so I was a little stumped as to why the I'm getting the constant activation.

I have since removed the bumper again and unsure of the relationship of the 2 upper 'blocks' on the loom, I have further modified the brackets holding these to now have an offset of 55mm from the face of the PDC sensors as was found when they were mounted in the original front beam, (upper 'blocks' mounted at A, sensor at B)

but whilst this shows a slightly better response from the sensors as in they now only 'constantly see' objects approx. 12" off the front of the sensors, it is still not operating anywhere near how it should and did when in the original front beam.

If anyone with more electronics understanding of the PDC system could please advise any other options for me to try I'd welcome the advice!

[Tel]

It's all to do with the angles the sensors are set at compared to the original. Are they in the same rotational plane as well?

If the sensors are 'looking downwards' or skewed clock or anticlockwise which I suspect yours are, then they will indicate a target earlier than expected

[Danws4]

Hi Tel,

Many thanks for comment as this has proved to be very accurate!
My sensors were originally installed with the wiring plugs at 9 and 3 o'clock, but on the new grille due to having to route the main harness wire lower down, it resulted in the sensors being rotated down so the new mounting positions held the plugs at 8 and 4 o'clock - not massively different but clearly enough to throw the calibration out of whack!
The cure for me was to extend the final branch of loom cabling on each side to provide slack to be able to mount the sensors back in their original 9/3 alignment - all returned to as factory intended as soon as this was achieved.