TPMS failures

[wanderingbob]

We hear constantly about the wonders of TPMS systems . Anyone ever have a failure ?

[hohenwald48]

rbpru wrote:


Technology does not replace common sense.

Modern day blasphemy! Technology has to replace common sense as nobody has any common sense these days. If it wasn't for technology who would we blame and sue when something goes wrong? 😉

(My tongue is firmly in my cheek folks. Don't get anything in a wad.)

[rbpru]

I have had my TPM indicator go off four times, two false readings and two flat or almost flat tires. They are handy but if they were not there; it would be no different than the other cars and trucks I have driven over the last 50+ years.

Technology does not replace common sense.

[GMandJM]

Yep - battery saving mode kicks in when it's off the valve-stem. Mine are rarely off the vehicles except for verifying air pressure and the yearly changing of the batteries and o-rings, so I don't really know how long it takes for BSM to kick in.

Yeah, it's a good idea to contact the companies. I've been doing that. Talked to TST and TireMinder and e-mailed back and forth with PressurePro. No one e-mailed me back from EEZRV.

Interesting what each had to say, but prefer to verify that information whenever possible with people who actually own and use the systems.

[93Cobra2771]

GMandJM wrote:

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
I know a couple of things relating to it: The sensors are triggered on the motion of rolling along down the road and turns itself off when sitting still. Usually by the time I hit 25MPH or so the monitor is reading pressure of all sensors. So no battery life lost while parked.

Where are you getting this information?

When my car is sitting in the garage, I can turn on the TST monitor and within a few minutes I will get PSI and temp readings even if the car does not move.

It requires a bit of time for all the sensors to register with the monitor. Motion does not trigger them.

As far as I know, TST sensors do not "go to sleep".

I have read a manual for another brand that does have a sleep mode. TireTrakker, IIRC.

After reading my manual, it states that the sensors drop into "battery saving mode" when there is zero pressure. In other words, when you remove them from the valve stem.

It also says "automatic activation when vehicle is in motion". I'm not sure if that means they are "asleep" until motion is detected, or if it means there is nothing to do to check tire pressure, or what.

I'm sure TST would be happy to elaborate. They have, quite honestly, one of the best customer service departments I have dealt with in years.

I think if you have any questions about specific systems, then the customer service should be contacted for the respective company. There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation regarding TPMS systems and their functionality.

I don't quite understand the reluctance to use/rely on a TPMS. Yes, you should visually inspect tires at each stop. But you can't do that while physically driving. Even if the TPMS doesn't perform exactly like everyone thinks it should, why not have that extra bit of insurance while on the road?

And trust me, if it loses pressure like a blowout, it WILL alarm you pretty darn quick. Within seconds. I have tested it myself by removing the sensor from the stem while the monitor is in my hand. Or, as an alternative, just don't use a TPMS and run it down to the rim/blowout on the road as so many people have reported doing, while tearing off the side of their camper. There has been TWO cases where the TPMS has saved me. Once, I had a tire starting to delam, and temp went up. Other time, picked up a nail and had a slow leak.

Is it a perfect system? Nope. But I'm going to run one as insurance and a backup to normal vigilance.

Again, I encourage everyone to contact whichever TPMS system manufacturer they wish and ASK QUESTIONS. Don't rely on information you see on the web. Call and ask.

[GMandJM]

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
Why the heck does the monitor scan though the sensors every few seconds AND it appears to give an instant alarm if it looses the signal...

That is the way our TST system is designed/manufactured...and that is what some of us are not happy about:

If our monitor loses a sensor's signal, the reading displayed for that sensor is from the monitor's stored memory.

The monitor will continue to give a phantom/memory reading for up to an hour while it tries to "find" the lost sensor signal. Everything will look normal on the monitor and you won't get any warning of a dropped sensor signal.

After that hour or so, the monitor is programmed to give up waiting for the lost sensor signal to come back.

After that hour the memory readings stop, you hear a beep and the reading for that sensor goes blank on the monitor.

Like you said, a TPMS is an aid, not a fix.

It isn't perfectly 100 percent reliable.

[GMandJM]

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
I know a couple of things relating to it: The sensors are triggered on the motion of rolling along down the road and turns itself off when sitting still. Usually by the time I hit 25MPH or so the monitor is reading pressure of all sensors. So no battery life lost while parked.

Where are you getting this information?

When my car is sitting in the garage, I can turn on the TST monitor and within a few minutes I will get PSI and temp readings even if the car does not move.

It requires a bit of time for all the sensors to register with the monitor. Motion does not trigger them.

As far as I know, TST sensors do not "go to sleep".

I have read a manual for another brand that does have a sleep mode. TireTrakker, IIRC.

[Heavy_Metal_Doc]

Ok..so now I am a little confused, as well.....Trying to keep an open mind and I am a bit of a tool / gadget nut so I'm interested here.....
Why the heck does the monitor scan though the sensors every few seconds AND it appears to give an instant alarm if it looses the signal, but yet the info being brought out here says the sensor only sends out a PSI reading every 2 minutes??? That makes no sense at all in my mind that the monitor connects and "sees" the sensor every few seconds but doesn't take an actual reading.

Then we get into how often CAN it connect / send a reading and not use up the battery in the sensor? Well that to me is a tough one too.....I know a couple of things relating to it: The sensors are triggered on the motion of rolling along down the road and turns itself off when sitting still. Usually by the time I hit 25MPH or so the monitor is reading pressure of all sensors. So no battery life lost while parked.
My cars wheels sensor also run on batteries, though I am not sure how often they "talk" to the monitoring system built in to give me a warning on the dash. Those batteries are 6 years and 190K miles old and no failures yet. I do know that it takes about 2 minutes of driving after I fill a low tire for the light to go back off, so maybe teh 2 minutes to read thing is right.
All this in consideration, I would expect TST to use similar components and technology.
Again, TPMS is just and extra aid, not a total fix for a problem, IMO....I still do visual / manual inspection often before and during trips.

[GMandJM]

I've heard the Doran system referred to as a PP before and thought it was the same co, but an older version.

Thanks for setting us straight on that.

[RCMAN46]

The Doran pressure monitoring system is not the same as the Pressure Pro TPMS system.

Two totally different systems.

The Pressure Pro system does alarm on temperature but does not display the temperature

[GMandJM]

Did your Doran PP even measure temp back in the day?

[hohenwald48]

Back in 2007 I had a motorhome with the Doran Pressure Pro system. Had sensors on 6 moho tires and 4 toad tires. Had a blowout on the toad and only indication was the frantic waving from the driver in the lane beside me. Had a flat on the inside left rear dual and the only indication from the Pressure Pro was about 10 seconds after I heard the tire flapping. I sold the system.

I'm sure technology has improved since then but I still wouldn't have much faith in them. I check pressures every morning before getting under way and give all tires a "feel" for heat and swift kick at every stop.

Some things you just have to leave to fate. 🙂

[GMandJM]

Coolerman wrote:
I searched and found the other 6 page thread on the TST system. That thread is more about the loss of the sensor connection to the monitor and that taking an hour to report to the user. So far no solution to that has been presented. I guess I will hold off and research more before buying.

You're right: There's no user-setting on our TST monitors to shorten the duration for a lost sensor signal alert.

I've tested mine and the monitor gave memory readings for nearly an hour when the monitor was miles out of sensor range.

FWIW, I got an e-mail from PressurePro that stated:

"In the case of a "missed" signal, the miss generally is recognized at the 5 minute update with three dashed lines, - - -, and the tire location that was missed is highlighted. In most cases, the sensor signal will pick up on the next 5 minute update. The longest you could possibly go without being alerted to a "missed" signal is 5 minutes."

I don't have the PressurePro system, so I cannot confirm that.

If anyone has the most recent PP system and is willing to test it for us, alot of us would probably appreciate it.

[cameronpatentla]

cameronpatentlaw wrote:

Coolerman wrote:
OK, the MANUAL states, "The SENSORS take a reading for temp and pressure every 6 seconds, but only transmit the LATEST reading every 5 minutes." The Web Site FAQ states, " The readings are sent every two minutes, except if a low pressure, fast pressure change or high temp reading occurs, then it transmits the data instantly. So which is it?

The fast leak mode that detects pressure drops of at least 6 PSI lower than the low pressure setting, transmits that data immediately. That would seem to indicate that it would detect a blowout in semi real time.

I searched and found the other 6 page thread on the TST system. That thread is more about the loss of the sensor connection to the monitor and that taking an hour to report to the user. So far no solution to that has been presented. I guess I will hold off and research more before buying.

Keep in mind that these low voltage devices are optimized to save battery life. It takes a lot of juice to transmit, versus just taking the readings and storing the latest readings in memory (in the device). So if everything remains nominal, then the transmitter is not activated (except every 5 minutes). In other words, each reading has a threshold--and each subsequent reading is checked against the threshold (in a loop). If the latest reading is + or - some window tied to the threshold (e.g., the threshold is 50 psi +/- 5 psi), no "emergency" transmission is made. But, if the latest reading is outside the window (e.g., it senses 40 psi), then the transmitter is activated immediately and the reading is sent to the monitor (which triggers the alarm). If it transmitted the reading to the monitor every 6 seconds, you'd be replacing the battery in the TPMS transmitter every 3 days.

Oops, sorry Coolerman--now I see what you are pointing out! There is a discrepancy between the Manual and Website. I guess the most important thing remains that there be an immediate transmission if there is a reading outside the window.

[cameronpatentla]

Coolerman wrote:
OK, the MANUAL states, "The SENSORS take a reading for temp and pressure every 6 seconds, but only transmit the LATEST reading every 5 minutes." The Web Site FAQ states, " The readings are sent every two minutes, except if a low pressure, fast pressure change or high temp reading occurs, then it transmits the data instantly. So which is it?

The fast leak mode that detects pressure drops of at least 6 PSI lower than the low pressure setting, transmits that data immediately. That would seem to indicate that it would detect a blowout in semi real time.

I searched and found the other 6 page thread on the TST system. That thread is more about the loss of the sensor connection to the monitor and that taking an hour to report to the user. So far no solution to that has been presented. I guess I will hold off and research more before buying.

Keep in mind that these low voltage devices are optimized to save battery life. It takes a lot of juice to transmit, versus just taking the readings and storing the latest readings in memory (in the device). So if everything remains nominal, then the transmitter is not activated (except every 5 minutes). In other words, each reading has a threshold--and each subsequent reading is checked against the threshold (in a loop). If the latest reading is + or - some window tied to the threshold (e.g., the threshold is 50 psi +/- 5 psi), no "emergency" transmission is made. But, if the latest reading is outside the window (e.g., it senses 40 psi), then the transmitter is activated immediately and the reading is sent to the monitor (which triggers the alarm). If it transmitted the reading to the monitor every 6 seconds, you'd be replacing the battery in the TPMS transmitter every 3 days.