Why do TPMS systems fail?

[Snomas]

I was wondering if anyone has had there tire pressure monitors not give PSI readings if there is another wireless device nearby? I sent back a TPMS system because the monitor would only read the PSI on one or 2 tires and the rest of them were blank.

[holstein13]

I had the TST tire sensors for three years on my old coach and struggled with them on almost every trip until I finally had enough and just gave them away. My coach was only 31 feet long, yet virtually every sensor would stop working occasionally. Sometimes it would spontaneously come back and other times I'd switch out the batteries and re-program the thing (which wasn't fun). A couple of times I had to return them to the manufacturer who sent me new ones.

Originally, I had to unscrew them to add air to the tires until I switched to the pass-through model. But the pass-through model was too close to the rim on the front tires so I ended up having to unscrew those as well to fill.

My main concern was the "lost signal" alarms I'd get while driving somewhere. I found it overly stressful to worry about something that might be going wrong even though I was fairly certain that it was fine.

After I gave them all away, I simply checked my pressures manually on a regular basis and had much more stress free trips.

Now, I've got the "in the tire" models built in that came factory installed and integrated with the trip-tek system and, would you believe it, I'm still having problems with the lost signals. They are replacing the antennas and junctions in a couple of weeks and hopefully that will fix the problem for good.

[wa8yxm]

Snomas wrote:
I was wondering if anyone has had there tire pressure monitors not give PSI readings if there is another wireless device nearby? I sent back a TPMS system because the monitor would only read the PSI on one or 2 tires and the rest of them were blank.

As more and more of our world goes wireless this is going to become a growing problem, however,, Generally no.

I have seen false readings, and no/readings, but the circumstances suggested that the cause was a passing vehicle with the same system and there are only so many ESNs, so I'm guessing the passing vehicle had a monitor with the same ESN (Electronic Serial Number) send a packet to my receiver.

On the other hand I have had a legit alarm tell me that I'd been screwed,, So I added air, kept adding air till I got to the tire store, where they removed the screw and put in a proper patch, So then I'd been "Booted". Total cost, around 25-50 cents in gasoline and about an hour's time.. Not bad.. Another customer of the same company i bought from failed to install his right away.> Same tire, over 2,000 in secondary damage PLUS tire and rim.

[rgatijnet1]

I believe that they fail because they are just cheap knock-offs of the ones mandated by the federal government for all vehicles under 10,000 pounds. The ones on most vehicles have a life span of 5-12 years and 100,000 miles and they very seldom give any problems at all. In fact, until the signal light goes on on your dash, most people do not even give them a second thought.
My experience with the RV TPMS systems shows they are inaccurate and have a battery life of 18-24 months. I use a hose coupled inflation system so I am inflating my duals and my front tires together at the same time. I still get TPMS pressure readings that often show 3-4 pounds of variance between a pair of tires that were connected together during inflation.
When TPMS systems were mandated for automobiles and light trucks, the cost was estimated to be less than $70 per vehicle, for the complete system. Naturally they were dealing with a much larger quantity but they also seem to be built at a much higher quality level than the units sold for RV's.

[cs_homer]

Tire Minder's receiver must go through its third sleep cycle (when there isn't anyone nearby and the display goes off) before it will display NOS. We always just turn our receiver off after the fifth wheel is unhitched and we're stationary for a period of time. Minder Research's staff is excellent and always eager to help solve problems. They have been excellent in our book.

[427435]

bshpilot wrote:

427435 wrote:


These solve the problem of broken extenders.

http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/dill-eaton-9059-7/flexible-valve-stem-extension-7-p-c28-90597

lots of folks swear against extensions - sighting stories of them leaking or causing leaks.

an extension would not have worked in my case, since it was on one of the steer wheels (not an inner duel). My valve stem fractured at the base where the nut met the wheel

These extenders are not pressurized except when applying or checking air. The original valve in the valve stem is left in place and is released by a small wire inside the extender when a chuck is put on the other end of the extender. If the extender fails, no air is let out of the tire.

[RCMAN46]

Pressure Pro has a repeater option. They also have an extended antenna option.

I used the extended antenna with my Pressure Pro system with good results. I mounted the antenna under the rear of my pickup on the trailer hitch.

[bshpilot]

the repeater is a small powered antenna / signal amplifier that "receives or picks up the signal from the sensors & REPEATS those signals to the display/console" -
it EXTENDS the range and can increase the signal quality of the sensor(s) to the console.

Ive found that w/ the repeater on - i can extend the time between battery changes....where the batteries might be marginal or slightly weak (due to age) - I've been able to avoid changing the battery by turning on the repeater.

its nearly 60 feet from my display console to the rear tires of the toad and I've found that the repeater is not necessary - but it is nice to have (i installed it in a rear closet, on a switch).

to my knowledge TST is the only TPMS manufacture that offers a repeater option - http://tsttruck.com/product/tst-507-repeater/

[Snomas]

67Cutlass: What is a repeater and what does it do? I might consider the TST system since a lot op people have good luck w/them.

[67Cutlass]

For those of you that have sensors dropping out while driving.

Are you using any wireless digital thermometers? Typically these wireless thermometers operate at the 433Mhz frequency the same a most TPMS systems. They do cause interference.

I have a wireless thermometer with three remote transmitters. I was having a lot of sensor dropouts until I found out about the wireless thermometers causing interference. I have the TST 507 system and called TST about this problem. I talked to the owner and he acknowledged there is an issue with these wireless thermometers. The fix was to install a repeater. Once I did that no more problems with sensors dropping out.

[bshpilot]

427435 wrote:


These solve the problem of broken extenders.

http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/dill-eaton-9059-7/flexible-valve-stem-extension-7-p-c28-90597

lots of folks swear against extensions - sighting stories of them leaking or causing leaks.

an extension would not have worked in my case, since it was on one of the steer wheels (not an inner duel). My valve stem fractured at the base where the nut met the wheel

[427435]

bshpilot wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:


No need to manually check pressures if you have a TPMS.

In fact manually checking pressures may cause problems. Schrader valve sticking and resulting in a slow leak.

including flexing of the valve stems which can weaken them and cause them to split & leak (ask me how i know) 😉

TPMS systems work for me because i wasn't checking the tire pressures as much as i thought i should have (i wanted to check them before we departed for any trip and before we pulled out of a campground)....got busy, got lazy....didn't want to deal with dragging stuff out or the weather was bad (rain/cold) or the weather was good (too hot & sunny)

now i just turn the monitor on to check the tire pressure - nothing to do UNLESS i need to add air !

These solve the problem of broken extenders.

http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/dill-eaton-9059-7/flexible-valve-stem-extension-7-p-c28-90597

[bshpilot]

RCMAN46 wrote:


No need to manually check pressures if you have a TPMS.

In fact manually checking pressures may cause problems. Schrader valve sticking and resulting in a slow leak.

including flexing of the valve stems which can weaken them and cause them to split & leak (ask me how i know) 😉

TPMS systems work for me because i wasn't checking the tire pressures as much as i thought i should have (i wanted to check them before we departed for any trip and before we pulled out of a campground)....got busy, got lazy....didn't want to deal with dragging stuff out or the weather was bad (rain/cold) or the weather was good (too hot & sunny)

now i just turn the monitor on to check the tire pressure - nothing to do UNLESS i need to add air !

[Camp2Camp]

In fact manually checking pressures may cause problems. Schrader valve sticking and resulting in a slow leak.

____________________________

Good point! Thank you.

[RCMAN46]

Camp2Camp wrote:
Thank you all for the helpful comments regarding TPMS.


I think the best we can do is check the pressure manually each morning before we start out, and hope the tpms works if ever there is another blowout.

Thank you!

No need to manually check pressures if you have a TPMS.

In fact manually checking pressures may cause problems. Schrader valve sticking and resulting in a slow leak.

[Camp2Camp]

Thank you all for the helpful comments regarding TPMS.

We are gun-shy regarding tire blowouts because we had two of four tires blow out on a single trip. Being that we only carry one spare, it was a huge mess waiting for roadside assistance. We aren't sure why the tires blew. The tread looked good, the pressure was at 50 psi, and we had a lightly packed trailer (approx 4900 lbs). This was our first weekend trip with our newly purchased 2007 Forest River Rockwood TT. We drove about 75 miles and the left rear tire (tandem axle) blew. We changed the tire, continued the trip, and camped for the weekend. On our way home, around 100 miles into the trip home, the front left tire blew. We don't know when it blew, we were rolling along on 3 tires at 60 mph when thankfully someone honked at us and indicated a flat on the TT. By now we had no spare, it's Sunday afternoon when roadside assistance costs 3X the normal price, and service is few and far between. We waited 6 hours at the side of the road before we got someone out with a tire and a jack that could safely lift the trailer.

The tire experts inspected the tires and agreed the tread looked good. The only reason they could suggest for the blowouts was that the tires were 2006 tires. We since leaned that tires should be replaced every 5 years regardless of wear. We replaced all five tires (including the spare) with new tires, but we want to be able to know that are tires are safe and the mirrors on the tow vehicle don't show the TT tires. Hence the TPMS. I think the best we can do is check the pressure manually each morning before we start out, and hope the tpms works if ever there is another blowout.

Thank you!