Parking Aid Module gone again!

[Bouldermobile]

My 9.5MY V8V is now in need of its third Parking Aid Module in as many years (11,000 miles covered in that time and mostly not in reverse!) having somehow blown up the previous ones; also had to replace three faulty sensors during that same time frame.

I thought I would take the latest broken one apart to see what it contained. Here is a photo of one side of the PCB:


The circled item gets extremely hot as soon as the module is activated so I was wondering if anybody with electronics experience could tell me what this part is and whether a replacement is likely to be found?

Thanks for any assistance.

[Bouldermobile]

Hello Pete, thanks for the quick response.

My question was posed as much out of curiosity as a quest to fix the offending part; new modules are approximately £105 + VAT plus some dealer coding to get it talking to the front sensors, etc.. That said, some PCB repair companies offer a two year warranty as opposed to a AM parts twelve month warranty so given that this module lasted fourteen months before dying it may work out cheaper in the long term to have one fixed (that said yet to try for a repair price).

Interesting what you say about the water ingress. My car is a RHD model and so the module is tucked below the battery, behind the carpeted trim that is located behind the drivers seat. I would hope there isn't water ingress in that area but the corner you highlight does sit at the top of the module and the module itself is not sealed within its plastic casing. There are no water marks on the casing (inside or out) or on the reverse of the PCB.

[Bouldermobile]

Hello Martin,

I had compiled the above to Pete as you posted your response.

So it it possible that the rain runs in from the rubbish boot design and somehow finds its way down into this module. Presumably it can't be condesation due to the water marks being localized in the top corner.

Do you think there would be any harm in sealing the replacement module casing prior to fitting?

Thanks.

[Bouldermobile]

I wondered about the water working its way down the loom but the location of the multi plugs means the water would have to track upwards to reach the corner with the water marks.

I also thought the fault would be most likely to occur during or shortly after either washing or driving the car in the rain, neither were true as it failed as I reversed into the garage after a 200 mile, completely dry journey.