Brake Pad Wear Sensor Wiring Loom:Problems withGenuine Parts

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 05 Apr 2011, 21:34

Wondering if anyone else has had this type of problem and solved it?

On my ZX 1.9D (and probably on a lot of other PSA cars from the same era), there is a wiring loom that runs between a plug on the front brake caliper through a hole the engine bay side/flitch panel to a plug inside the engine bay - there is one on each side.

The wire on each side on my car has broken, so I went to Citroen to order replacements (part 6526T2) which arrived.

The wire loom has two groove-ringed rubber grommets glued to it along the length of the wire - one push fits into a bracket to hold it to the strut, the other pushes into a hole in the engine bay side/flitch panel.

The problem is that the grommets on the new wires are much larger than the old ones, which are the original parts the car left the factory with. This means that they are too large to fix to the strut and puch into the hole in the flitch panel (unless you gouge out the hole to make it bigger - not really what you do with genuine parts, eh?). The centre grooved circumferance of the grommets is still larger than the old ones, and so could not really be pared down ith a scalpel and made to fit.

Citroen technical have come back and said that this part number is the only one ever fitted to the ZX range and they've had no previous complaints. This is patently incorrect.

Has anyone had this problem? Are there any other equivalents listed for other PSA vehicles that will fit? Has anyone been in a position of buying genuine dealer parts listed for their car that don't fit?

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 06 Apr 2011, 08:26

if you give me your chassis/VIN No. i will check part No./s for you just in case there is an early/later change,

do this before you tell me the part No. of the loom's you bought,

regards malcolm

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 06 Apr 2011, 17:55

Cheers Citronut.

The chassis is: VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff].

Car is a '95 ZX 1.9D Hatchback Avantage.

The original (broken) parts still have their labels on them from when they were new, although the print is now hardly legible, but appears to read 608133680.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 06 Apr 2011, 19:17

the only option it comes up with is

6526.T2 £11.94

and that No. from your old loom does not look like a citroen part No. and comes up with no items found,

regards malcolm

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 06 Apr 2011, 21:40

This is the same part that Citroen supplied me with, but that doesn't fit an is different to the original part i.e. the rubber grommets are too big to fit.

This is pretty weird - looks as if the supplier/manufacturer of this part has changed the spec right under PSA's noses. I suppose they need to be told about this.

It's alright Citroen UK technical saying 'it's ok 'cos we've had no complaints before', but honestly how many of these parts have they sold recently to be able to make that statement? How many people would bother to replace these sensors on their old ZX? The fact is that they're selling parts that don't fit their cars.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 07 Apr 2011, 08:00

if you are carefull you could cut down the length of the old gromets, then cut off the new ones and place the old ones onto the new loom,

and if you like you could supper glue them in place,

regards malcolm

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 07 Apr 2011, 21:19

Yes, that's going to be my last resort, though 'careful' is an understatement.

The two rings of rubber are moulded onto a rubber, barrel-shaped bud. This in turn is glued to the sheath that lines the actual wire. The wire isn't one continuous sheath - this is joined underneath the grommet moulding, so cutting it risks exposing/cutting the two wires that run inside it.

The biggest problem is the depth of the groove between the two rubber rings. The original is deeper than the new one, and it will be bery hard to cut out a deeper groove within 3mm space in the hard rubber without wrecking the whole thing.

For the time being, I'm trying my hand with PSA technical again - I've sent them a picture as evidence too. My angle is that they need to get a grip of their supplier first as they're producing goods that are out of spec![/list]

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 07 Apr 2011, 22:12

I've recently bought one of these. You've got me worried now. I haven't tried fitting it yet. It's still sealed in the bag. I can see a white label, wrapped around the cable, with some writing and numbers on it:-

LEAR
TANGER
9608133680 9608133680
etc etc

Is this the same as yours?

I've measured the outer diameter of one of the grommets and it's about 22mm. That was a rough measurement with the cable still in the bag.

Edit: I just noticed that my number is the same as the one on your original cable, but you missed out the first "9" in the part number. It's 9608133680 not 608133680.

I think it's probably made by "LEAR AUTOMOTIVE MOROCCO". That's from a Google search for lear tanger.

Paul

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 08 Apr 2011, 22:08

Yes, these are exactly the same parts as the ones the Citroen Dealer supplied me with.

I've still had no response from Citroen technical. Looks like they need to lean on their north-african supplier!

I've a picture that shows the difference between the two parts, but it doesn't seem to be possible to attach these to the threads on this forum?

You'll probably have to buy a new bracker for your strut to fit these, though fitting them to the flitch panel may be impossible.

I'll try and PM them to you and Citronut.

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 08 Apr 2011, 22:23

Post by **RichardW** » 08 Apr 2011, 22:38

Dunno what's happened there, but I'd take them back, get a refund, forget about the pad wear sensors that never work (they've been removed from modern cars - the Xsara Picasso and C4 don't have them), check the pads peridoically, and replace when required.

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 08 Apr 2011, 23:04

I can see the difference in that picture, and the cable I bought does seem to have the larger grommets. At least brake discs are cheap these days, so if you do score them, then it's easy enough to just change them.

Paul

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 08 Apr 2011, 23:17

i think you will find the plastic sleave should/does run right through the gromet on the old loom, but it has just split/torn as it comes out,

just try slitting the gromet down the side so you can remove it from the sleave,

the other option is as RichardW says take them back get a refund, then try and repair the old one's if there is enough wire showing from the conectors,

regards malcolm

geb042 · Post by **geb042** » 11 Apr 2011, 21:49

Unfortunately, reusing the old looms isn't an option as the wires were snapped clean in half on both, which is why I was replacing them.

So far, Citroen Technical have been strangely silent, which means I'll probably never get an answer.

So, I'm going to buy a new bracket for the strut that will (hopefully) fit the new looms. As for the bracket ont he flitch panel, I'm going to widen the threshold of this so that it will take the new loom, paint it, leave it to harden, then fit the new loom. It's probably the only way.

Why do PSA have parts made from suppliers based in North Africa? I mean, it's hardly a world renown centre of technological and manufacturing expertise is it?

the_weaver · Post by **the_weaver** » 11 Apr 2011, 22:31

The supplier is the Lear Corporation. It's a big multi-national company with headquarters in America. They've got factories all over the world, including Morocco. The factories tend to be in areas of cheap labour.

www.lear.com

Paul