Parking Sensor Issue in RR HD Rear Bumper

[GATORB8]

Installed the Rugged Ridge HD Rear Bumper on Sunday, and I'm having an issue with the center parking sensors. Currently only the center sensors are seeing yellow range with no rear obstruction.

The rear sensors on mine were assembled differently than others i have seen, there is no three piece housing, the sensors simply click into a heat welded clip on the OEM bumper (plastic rubi). The sensors were transferred one at a time to the corresponding holes, and thy were aligned the same (in the stock setup, each of the sensor connectors pointed "in" towards the center of the bumpers.

With no housing on the sensors, they just sit centered in the holes in the HD bumper, held in by the Rugged Ridge bracket:

Any recommendations for trouble shooting? I can't isolate by disconnecting the sensors since it causes a system error when I disconnect one.

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[GATORB8]

Bump, any ideas?

 

[Terminex]

I just installed mine 2 weeks ago and had the same issue.

(while i am happy with the finish quality, & packaging, i am NOT happy with the sensor mounting)

if you have larger tires, and do NOT have a relo bracket, remove the spare as a first step.

i have seen your tag before, so i am going to assume, you were already able to rule out the tire.

next, try loosening the mounting bolts. On the 4 bolts that connect from underneath the frame rails, remove the 2 bolts farthest from the bumper. (1 on each side)

while “twisting” / pushing up on the bumper put a thick stainless or grade 8 washer in between the bumper mount plate and the frame rail on each side, and reinstall those 2 bolts through the washers.


this is going to change the angle the sensors are pointing. This resolved the issues on mine. The bumper was essentially angling the sensors down a little, and this got the sensors back to the correct angle.

hope this makes sense.

 

[GATORB8]

I just installed mine 2 weeks ago and had the same issue.

(while i am happy with the finish quality, & packaging, i am NOT happy with the sensor mounting)

if you have larger tires, and do NOT have a relo bracket, remove the spare as a first step.

i have seen your tag before, so i am going to assume, you were already able to rule out the tire.

next, try loosening the mounting bolts. On the 4 bolts that connect from underneath the frame rails, remove the 2 bolts farthest from the bumper. (1 on each side)

while “twisting” / pushing up on the bumper put a thick stainless or grade 8 washer in between the bumper mount plate and the frame rail on each side, and reinstall those 2 bolts through the washers.


this is going to change the angle the sensors are pointing. This resolved the issues on mine. The bumper was essentially angling the sensors down a little, and this got the sensors back to the correct angle.

hope this makes sense.

Thanks! I’ll give it a shot.

 

[GATORB8]

I’ve got the damn thing touching the body at the top, and it’s still going off. (Spare removed)

 

[Terminex]

Well that sucks.

how do you have each sensor oriented in the bumper?
I.e when looking at the sensor from the connection side, are all of the wiring connections on the “inside”? (Are all of the sensors oriented so the connections are pointed to the center of the bumper?)

 

[GATORB8]

Well that sucks.

how do you have each sensor oriented in the bumper?
I.e when looking at the sensor from the connection side, are all of the wiring connections on the “inside”? (Are all of the sensors oriented so the connections are pointed to the center of the bumper?)

Yep, that's what I did with the original install, and I spent a couple hours flipping them both ways last night with no improvement.

 

[Terminex]

Are you getting the red alert or the amber alert. Is it consistent or intermittent?

you might need to try 2 washers.

 

[GATORB8]

Are you getting the red alert or the amber alert. Is it consistent or intermittent?

you might need to try 2 washers.

I did two, that had the bumper in contact with the center of the body and was still throwing the yellow alert. Seems to normally be yellow with occasional fits of red.

It seems to be the driver center doing it, but could be both centers. They seem to angle downward slightly in the holes, flipping them doesn’t seem to make a difference.

Maybe if I grind down the lower portion of the ring on the bumper the sensor fits in, I can get it to point up more.

Do you happen to have a pic of your sensor out of the bumper? I didn’t have any loose housing on my stock bumper, they were heat welded, so I’m wondering if another sensor p/n would angle differently.

 

[Terminex]

No pics, but the sensors i pulled out of my 21 rubicon bumper were identical to the sensors from my 19 sahara.

sorry man, i am out of ideas.

 

[GATORB8]

No pics, but the sensors i pulled out of my 21 rubicon bumper were identical to the sensors from my 19 sahara.

sorry man, i am out of ideas.

Appreciate your help, I think it's likely that my sensors are "seeing" the ground like yours.

I almost wonder if putting another spacer on the rear coils will do it. I could push up on the rear frame to lift the jeep and get it to stop occasionally.

 

[Terminex]

Do you have a leveling kit on your jeep?

while i have a small lift, i still have the factory rake. (Nose down)

if you are level, you might be right & that could be the difference.

 

[GATORB8]

Do you have a leveling kit on your jeep?

while i have a small lift, i still have the factory rake. (Nose down)

if you are level, you might be right & that could be the difference.

I lifted this weekend, took 1/2” out of the rake with the Teraflex 1.5” space lift. I did the bumper first and it did it before the lift. Maybe it’s just enough to keep the washer trick from working.

 

[Terminex]

Yeah, i actually did 2 sets of the teraflex 1/2 spacers (1” total front & rear) on my 4xe rubicon while waiting for lifts other than the mopar to become available.

 

[Terminex]

Hey man. check out this thread.

Severe False Alert Sensor Warnings fwhile in reverse after adding an aftermarket tire/wheel to the existing or an aftermarket spare tire tailgate mount | 2018+ Jeep Wrangler Forums (JL / JLU) - Rubicon, Sahara, Sport, Unlimited - JLwranglerforums.com

I was SURE that the system only used the sensors, but who knows anymore.

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