Car proximity sensor lead connectors.

[Davhill]

'Evening all,

Newbie here and electronics tyro with a simple question.
I'm upgrading the proximity (parking) sensors on a car and need help.
The kit consists of eight sensors (four front, four rear) that go in the bumper mouldings.The leads then go to a control box in the boot that has a feed to a display on the dash. The control box takes its power/execute feed from the car's reversing lights.

The snag is that I need to introduce a male to female connector into each sensor lead so that the sensors can be disconnected to allow the bumper moulding to be removed for repair or replacement.

The sensor leads are in a mini coax material. The outside diameter is 2.68mm. If I strip some insulation off, there is a loosely woven set of copper wire strands that (I think) act as shielding as well as being a conductor.
Inside this is a white plastic/Nylon centre core which, when I take off some insulation, reveals tinned or steel wire strands. The wire gauge is very thin throughout.

I've been trawling the web to try and find what sort of connectors I need but I've no idea what to get. The rear sensors' connectors can live in the car boot but the front ones will have to go under the bonnet somewhere. For this reason, I expect some degree of water resistance would be needed.

I'm quite happy to solder the hardware into place so all I need is guidance on the correct type.

Thanking you in advance,

David

 

[Martaine2005]

Hi David and welcome to EP,
You could probably get ideas from 'nano jst' connector or 'micro jst'.
Also 'Molex' connectors.

But how often does one remove a bumper?
It could be just as good to cut, solder and heat shrink when required. Not as nice though admittedly.

EDIT: Nothing special is required. No voltage restrictions etc. Just what works for you.

Enter those search terms and look at the image tab for ideas.

Martin

 

[Davhill]

Thank you Martin. I'll take a look for what you suggest.
The owner of the car in question often has to park opposite a country pub on a quiet rural road. The snag lies in some pubgoers parking by ear. It's always the rear bumper that is damaged and it's always minor paint damage and that adds up. Usually, the moulding has to be fixed and resprayed twice a year.
The car is a convertible with poor rear vision so it has parking sensors and a reversing camera. I'll see if it's possible to rig the rear camera to record when its own proximity detector fires. If not, I'm considering adding a sticker to the rear bumper...