The parking sensors on my 2010 XKR have started working intermittently (more off than on) after the recent winter rains when I left the car outside for a few days. I get the 'parking sensor inoperative see your dealer' message on the info screen and the red light on the parking sensor switch blinks 6 times.

Initially I tried to see if it was a sensor however none of the sensors were 'ticking' when I put the car in reverse and checked with a stethoscope. Then out of the blue, they started working this past weekend and then quit again (more rain).

It seems to be a moisture related issue and more likely at the control box end than the individual sensor (otherwise I would have expected one sensor to be out and the rest to be still active) so I was wondering if someone can let me know where the parking sensor control box is on the 2010 XKR convertible so I can pull it and clean the contacts.

I may also charge the battery this weekend just in case this is the start of the ubiquitous low battery electronic gremlins.

 

On the 2010, the parking aid control module is located in the front passenger footwell, behind a protective panel.

More likely a harness short as the module is well protected, but without knowing the codes it's a bit hard to help.

Theres a pin point guide in the workshop manual. You can download it here.

http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Auto...XKworkshop.pdf


Type in "parking aid" and you should get plenty of info before you decide to visit the shop.

 

Thanks Shawn. So if I understand this correctly, I need to plug in my OBD II Scanner into the reader and see if any DTCs are present? I think my OBD scanner only returns P codes but will give it a go this weekend to see if the DTC code can be read and whether it pinpoints the exact cause of the fault. Thanks very much for the link to the PDF - very helpful. Cheers

 

Correct. You'd need a Jaguar specific code reader to read the sensor codes (B codes). They're listed in the manual, but there are plenty of tests you can run and possibly resolve before getting to the codes. The manual is set up rather nicely for this as it gives you tests in a logical order, though you will encounter some that require knowing the code.

There is a cheap code reader that gets mixed reviews called the icarsoft i930. It should get the job done for this purpose.


Walmart has them for $120.

 

Thanks Shawn. I'm going to go out on a limb and start with the sensors in the front bumper since when I was driving the car along the freeway the Auto Cruise Control shut down due to the spray on the road. I suspect I may have some connection issues in the front sensors and/or harness connectors and will pull them apart and make sure they're dry and seated properly. I'll also disconnect and recharge the battery before I pull it apart, just in case it is a voltage related issue.

 

Yep that can certainly cause a problem. Car washes play havoc on the sensors as does snow and rain.
FYI, it's Sean, not Shawn.

 

So I haven't been able to fully diagnose this yet, but got a little further with the trouble shooting. I noticed that if I leave the car out on a particularly 90+ hot sunny day, then the parking sensor will sometimes start working.

When this happened recently, I had somebody walk all the way around the car and all the sensors emitted their audio warnings correctly and showed an object when the person walked past them on the info screen, so I believe the sensors are fine.

I didn't switch the ignition or engine off, went for a 45+ mile freeway drive and when I stopped and put the car into Reverse, I got the same 'fault in the parking aid' message.

So I am wondering whether there is a sensor built into the rotating dial gear shifter that may not be passing the signal to the parking sensor control box when 'reverse' is selected since I would have expected the system to have worked properly at the end of the trip given that the engine/ignition hadn't been switched off.

Next stop will be to locate the parking sensor control box and clean up the electrical connectors.

 

So after the warmer weather arrived and the sensors started to work properly (intermittently), it is now June and the sensors appear to be working normally now. I did end up with a blocked a/c drain (even though my car's VIN is theoretically later than the date on which it was 'fixed') and this leaked some condensate onto the passenger side footwell a couple of months ago as the weather started to warm up.

I then switched the a/c system off and just run outside air through the vents and am wondering if the a/c condensate managed to cause some connection issues since the sensor control box is somewhere around the passenger side footwell.

I plan to take a quick look at the blower motor and blower motor control module in the near future and will check out the parking sensor at the same time.

At this point however, it seems as if the parking sensor failure and resurrection may be related to the a/c condensate leaking into the passenger side footwell after the a/c drain became blocked over the winter.