Backup Sensor System Installed

[John320]

When I bought my new X3, I had not purchased the park distance control option.
It didn’t take long to realize, I was finding difficulty in judging the distance behind me
when backing up towards an other vehicle. (Once that hood disappears below the tail gate
It’s all a guess for me from then on) Maybe after a few months I’d get better, but instead
I’ve installed backup sensors purchased on EBay.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Car-Parking-Reverse-Sensors-Backup-Speaker-Alarm-Auto_W0QQitemZ370074486081QQihZ024QQcategoryZ1498Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I wasn’t positive about trying this till I spoke to my wife who said; “Are you nuts,
you want to cut holes in the bumper of your brand new car, I’m not helping to pay for a new bumper if………….………and……………………………!!!” You get the idea.

.............. So with her encouragement I went ahead.

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I removed the bumper by following the instructions from: How to install a BMW Factory trailer hitch. http://www.x3world.com/articles/x3/body-style/16752-how-install-bmw-factory-trailer-hitch-2006-x3.html
The only difference in my 2008 X3, no Styrofoam is used behind the plastic, it’s
now a rebound (honeycomb) plastic strip.

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I found the BMW factory installed sensors to be so widely spread, that they pick up
too much stuff on the sides and the buzzer becomes a distraction when parallel parking.
I just want to know the distance of the car behind me. So I was able to find spaces behind
the plastic cover that would allow the sensors to fit, and be closer then the factory would
have put them. (Lots of room if you wish to put them further apart)

So after drilling the holes, (and yes that first one is a real hart stopper, but it works just great) placed in the sensors and taped the wires together, running them to the right
where the large plastic covered hole for the trailer hitch would go, then drilled a new hole
through that plastic cover using the same drill bit (it came in the kit by the way) as the sensors. I purchased a rubber grommet to fit it the hole previously, and it’s the right size to allow the wires to be fed through. With that in place, I sealed it up with a little silicon.

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Then fed the wires up the inside corner and secured the small box
with Velcro to the side.
The ground wire just went to the bolt on the left. The power line is connected
with a 18-14AWG self stripping tap connector to the back up light wire in the bundle
just above. It’s the thicker of the two wires colored the same, blue with a yellow line. I had to take the back panel off the lift tailgate to find the correct wire that went into the backup light. That took an extra hour, (I hadn’t realized the back up light was in the tailgate, and not in the cluster of lights in the corner)

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The buzzer comes with a very long wire that could reach up to the front without difficulty, but I just mounted it on the back side wall, because it’s loud enough
to be heard easily.

So that was about 3hours for the entire bumper on/off, drilling and wire placement stuff.
1 hour to find the right wire to connect to, and half an hour to finish off.
Total cost was less then $40

The system works very well, with the different alarm sounds at 3feet, 2feet, and 1 foot.

[BMWx307]

Hello

this is a great, I am trying to install one set too.
Can you please post more pictures about to connect to backup line?


Thanks

[John320]

Hello

I have this shot:

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As I say, I broke into the blue wire with a thin yellow line

[elbojemio]

John are the white colored sensors match the white color of the rear bumper?

Cheers!!:thumbup:

[John320]

elbojemio- the sensors are just a little brighter white then the Alpine White
of the car, but I have to say unless you really stare at the bumper, you don't
notice it. Once I put them in, I started to look at other car bumpers, and I was
amazed at the color differences some manufactures pass off.

[elbojemio]

Thanks alot John!!!:thumbup:

[elbojemio]

John good day!! I'm kinda confused :confused: with the blue wire with thin yellow stripe. I saw 4 of them in the bundle. Can you help me?

Thanks again.

[3seriesbmw]

How useful are these sensors....weird question I know but are these that helpful?

[John320]

elbojemio; Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I was away on vacation.
There are many shades of blue, and I should have been more specific.
The blue is a light-colored blue, one might say almost pale-blue,
with the thin, straight yellow line running the length, ( not circling around it)
Hope this helps and again I apologize for being so late on my reply.

[John320]

In reply to: How useful are these sensors.
For me they are extremely helpful in being able to judge the distance behind me.
When backing up to wards a car for example, I can go right back to the last warning solid buzz (1 foot)
with confidence. Yes I turn my head and use the mirrors, but the car behind will have disappeared out
of sight at that close a distance. This would be in a tight spot in a parking lot type thing. If the tail gate
is to be opened, I go back to the one foot buzz and then pull ahead a few inches.
(I should say too, that I have a white back bumper, and I'm trying to keep it that way)

Second it the safety aspect with these types of sensors, they will pick up on anything in your way,
not just metallic objects, dogs, cats, kidds...etc

I'm not saying they are they are necessary for everyone, but it does make a difference, and on those
occasions my wife or Kidd's drive the car, they too feel more confident with them installed

[elbojemio]

John, Thanks for all the info's you gave me. I successfully install my PDC and working very well on my X3.

Cheers!!!:thumbup: