Are are headlight levelling sensors the same?
Discussion
My 2011 Ford Kuga headlight levelling sensor is very stiff and obviously yucky and corroded on the inside. It is a sealed unit and I see no way to strip it to clean/rejuvenate.
Very similar looking sensors are available for BMW, Honda, etc for about £30 to £50. The Ford one is £280.... perhaps because it comes mounted to some bent tin as a mount. Volvo C30 shares the same sensor, but other Volvos don't. And I can't find any Volvo C30 ones either.
Obviously the angle of operation is dependent on the mounting, but are they same otherwise? Connectors look identical. Do I risk buying a cheap one that has the correct orientation and fitting it to the Ford, or do I risk at best some error codes, and at worst damage to the canbus or wiring?
Very similar looking sensors are available for BMW, Honda, etc for about £30 to £50. The Ford one is £280.... perhaps because it comes mounted to some bent tin as a mount. Volvo C30 shares the same sensor, but other Volvos don't. And I can't find any Volvo C30 ones either.
Obviously the angle of operation is dependent on the mounting, but are they same otherwise? Connectors look identical. Do I risk buying a cheap one that has the correct orientation and fitting it to the Ford, or do I risk at best some error codes, and at worst damage to the canbus or wiring?
Is this the sensor on the axle?
It'll almost certainly need to be calibrated when installed for the first time due to a known nominal position (I think we use 10l of fuel and no passenger/driver for example) which the garage would need to do I think, this will then tell the sensor/lamps where the base position is to start operating.
The actual sensor may be common, but often will have a unique bracket. Be careful though, some sensors have the levelling data programmed into them, and others are passive.
It'll almost certainly need to be calibrated when installed for the first time due to a known nominal position (I think we use 10l of fuel and no passenger/driver for example) which the garage would need to do I think, this will then tell the sensor/lamps where the base position is to start operating.
The actual sensor may be common, but often will have a unique bracket. Be careful though, some sensors have the levelling data programmed into them, and others are passive.
It is mounted on a bracket attached to the chassis, with a drop link to the lower suspension arm.
I would expect it is pre programmed as the arm angle would be consistent in all installations as none of the linkages are adjustable.
It would be great if you could steer me what to buy to try. The unit is marked as:
tedrive vp4n5f-13d007-ca
I would expect it is pre programmed as the arm angle would be consistent in all installations as none of the linkages are adjustable.
It would be great if you could steer me what to buy to try. The unit is marked as:
tedrive vp4n5f-13d007-ca
McTrucky said:
It is mounted on a bracket attached to the chassis, with a drop link to the lower suspension arm.
I would expect it is pre programmed as the arm angle would be consistent in all installations as none of the linkages are adjustable.
It would be great if you could steer me what to buy to try. The unit is marked as:
tedrive vp4n5f-13d007-ca
There are generally two types of sensor, I would expect it is pre programmed as the arm angle would be consistent in all installations as none of the linkages are adjustable.
It would be great if you could steer me what to buy to try. The unit is marked as:
tedrive vp4n5f-13d007-ca
1) Passive where the system has just a potentiometer inside it, this just relays a voltage difference back to the car. If you're just replacing this then maybe no need to re-initialise as the logic/data will be in the ECU somewhere.
2) Intelligent/pre-programmed where the system has data installed within it, in this case you'd almost certainly need to initialise it when fitting to the car.
I'd have no idea what to buy, and to be honest wouldn't try to do it myself even with knowing how it much of it works having designed some of these systems, probably getting it via the dealer would be the best option, sorry.
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