reversing sensors

[trader]

Just bought a "new" touring car and a bit worried that the better half may nudge my pride and joy in the tandem garage. Created a domestic when I made the claim but I have a reversing set up with two sensors sitting around so I'm putting them on regardless (on the front). My query is seeing as they would be on all the time, what would the battery drain be like? I was going to just connect them up to the battery. Do they only used power when movement is detected?
Any views.

PS I have bought one of those infra red lights - I find it fantastic but she plows straight on....

Any views (cost to much to move her on so dont go there!)

[manga_blue]

I had a really tight garage and put in a big rounded mirror to show up the danger points. Worked really well.

[Mr Morlock]

It will not be long before cameras are legislated as mandatory. About 10 years ago I fitted a Bosch Park pilot to an SUV and it cost quite a bit of money at the time. I reckoned it was worth its weight- i.e. one accident avoided and it paid for itself.Today these things i.e. park sensors are not expensive and I would not penny pinch. If its not a good set up and up to date system then buy and get a good product fitted or even go for a camera if a suitable place for a screen is possible. I wouldn't fit it myself either- not taking risks with dodgy connections etc.

[taminga16]

Perhaps your dear wife needs something a little more tangible.
Get a piece of string and attach a small plastic toy to one end, mount it to the ceiling of the garage so that it touches the glass when the car is in the correct spot, simple and uninsulting. I know a shitload of blokes who could not drive their fingers up their own arses!
Greg.

[Mr Morlock]

we all face far more challenges in reversing cars than the often static situations like our own garages but in any event park sensors or cameras detect items that are there but should not be there at least in reverse and increasingly forward as well. Mirrors fitted around garages don't always work well because you need illumination at night.

[Steampunk]

but I have a reversing set up with two sensors sitting around so I'm putting them on regardless (on the front).
PS I have bought one of those infra red lights - I find it fantastic but she plows straight on....

Okay, so you are saying that even when driving in the garage front first she hits things? Stating the obvious, but driver skill is the issue here because what happens when she parks elsewhere?

Not trying to be cynical or funny, but when was the last time she had her eyes checked?

If parking elsewhere is not an issue, then the best band-aid is to just lay something on the ground (blocks of wood) which actually stops the car.

[Magpie]

Ultrasonic Proximity Detector Kit B214
• This kit is designed to be used in a garage not under the bumper bar. Mount on the garage walls or suitable positions so you can see the LED flash to warn you that you are too close

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KG9158

[JBT]

....the best band-aid is to just lay something on the ground (blocks of wood) which actually stops the car.

Installed in all the appropriate areas at our place.

[Cus]

Just bought a "new" touring car and a bit worried that the better half may nudge my pride and joy in the tandem garage. Created a domestic when I made the claim but I have a reversing set up with two sensors sitting around so I'm putting them on regardless (on the front). My query is seeing as they would be on all the time, what would the battery drain be like? I was going to just connect them up to the battery. Do they only used power when movement is detected?
Any views.

PS I have bought one of those infra red lights - I find it fantastic but she plows straight on....

Any views (cost to much to move her on so dont go there!)

In my mind you're mounting the sensors to the car - let me know if I'm wrong; but to answer your actual question: they will use power all the time, depending on the type they have to emit (usually) ultrasonic sound which they then wait for a reflection of the sound, if it reflects "fast" the sensor is close to something which triggers whatever it's plugged into saying "we're close to something" - there are different types of sensors, but they all work about the same way (needs power to emit something, needs power to pick up the signal being reflected, and finally needs power to beep or flash or both)

Having said that, they shouldn't use a great deal of power. I'd be more worried about them doing random things while driving around.
eg: If you're stopped in a turning lane, someone turning in from a side street across the front of the car is likely to trigger it, if you live in the city you're likely to last about 2 days before the better half tries to 'install' the sensors somewhere you'd rather not have them

I've lined up a shelf in the garage so when I can see it through the triangle window on the passenger side, the back of the car is in far enough to close the roller door. (Similar to taminga's strategy)

Something that worked really well for my ex was "the reflector game" - the road we lived on had a series of the blue fire hydrant reflectors on the road, we used to alternate running over the reflectors with the left and right wheels. The benefit of this is it's non-threatening (if you don't tell her why it's a game) and both of you will get very good at knowing where the edges of the car are - no points no wheels, one point one wheel, two points two wheels. She ended up at a nearly 100% hit rate, which was better then me

And finally, to complete the brain dump, remove the flashing light from the kit Magpie linked to, wire it to an air horn, and she'll have a very definitive "you should have stopped already" noise, and let her know that noise = too far - I'd try nearly everything else suggested before this, or you could find yourself beaten half to death with a rolling pin. Not saying all women are violent psychopaths, they just ... are ... sometimes....

[lizard]

I must be lucky my wife knows how to drive

[trader]

She's not happy with sensors in the front "I've been parking in this garage for 40 years and never hit anything!" Okay, I cant argue with that. Thanks for comment and I agree that they could be annoying going off all the time.