TPMS failures

[wanderingbob]

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

[Coolerman]

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.

[Heavy_Metal_Doc]

RCMAN46 wrote:

Rapid loss of pressure can take as long as 15 seconds. I do not consider 15 seconds as near instant alarm.

If you had a tire blow on a trailer at 60 mph you can travel 1/4 a mile in 15 seconds. Enough time for that tire to cause signicant damage to the trailer.

I do agree with that. And that is why I edited to add that part about watching temps. I do look at the TPMS as a help, but not the end-all-be-all to tire troubles.

[RCMAN46]

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:

Coolerman wrote:
If a TST system takes an hour to alert you to loss of sensor signal, how long does it take to tell you about a blowout, or loss of pressure? Sounds sort of worthless to me? I'm in the market for a system and that is good to know.

I have a 507 TST system.

Recently I adjusted the pressures on my 10 sensors.

When I removed the sensors 8 of them took about 15 seconds before the receiver alarmed. 2 sensors took about 5 seconds.

Ummm...yeahhh....I'm not sure what TST 507 system other have been using. Maybe older version? I dunno.....But mine works just like RC MAN posted - lost signal = pretty near instant alarm.

.

You have interpreted what I said wrong.

There is loss of signal and rapid loss of pressure. Two different things.

Loss of signal will take at least one hour before the receiver will alarm.

Rapid loss of pressure can take as long as 15 seconds. I do not consider 15 seconds as near instant alarm.

If you had a tire blow on a trailer at 60 mph you can travel 1/4 a mile in 15 seconds. Enough time for that tire to cause signicant damage to the trailer.

[Heavy_Metal_Doc]

RCMAN46 wrote:

Coolerman wrote:
If a TST system takes an hour to alert you to loss of sensor signal, how long does it take to tell you about a blowout, or loss of pressure? Sounds sort of worthless to me? I'm in the market for a system and that is good to know.

I have a 507 TST system.

Recently I adjusted the pressures on my 10 sensors.

When I removed the sensors 8 of them took about 15 seconds before the receiver alarmed. 2 sensors took about 5 seconds.

Ummm...yeahhh....I'm not sure what TST 507 system other have been using. Maybe older version? I dunno.....But mine works just like RC MAN posted - lost signal = pretty near instant alarm.

I also know it will go off fairly fast for pressure alarm. I changed the pressure in my tires and forgot to reset the monitor. It went off as soon as it cycles through all the sensors and got took readings. Maybe 15 / 20 seconds.

And I kept an eye on the temps as more of sign of trouble than air pressure - a low tire gets pretty hot.
Being the first time I have traveled with the system, I watched it pretty closely even checking to see how the hot side on the sun varied from the shadowed / cold side. Not much, but you can see a few degrees difference.

[Coolerman]

I am downloading the manual for the 507 TST system to see if they tell this information. I want something that alerts me in real time to a blowout/temp change, or change of tire pressure. In 15 seconds, a lot of damage can occur to my camper if a tread separates...

[ktmrfs]

Haven't had one fail, but I have had one SAVE me from a likely blowout on the trailer. Warned me of a low tire, slow leak, checked it, was low, pumped it up, was able to make it to a gas station, pulled a nail out. Without it more than likely I would have suffered a blowout on the trailer, since it lost pressure fast enough that it would have gone flat in about 1 hour.

[RCMAN46]

Coolerman wrote:
If a TST system takes an hour to alert you to loss of sensor signal, how long does it take to tell you about a blowout, or loss of pressure? Sounds sort of worthless to me? I'm in the market for a system and that is good to know.

I have a 507 TST system.

Recently I adjusted the pressures on my 10 sensors.

When I removed the sensors 8 of them took about 15 seconds before the receiver alarmed. 2 sensors took about 5 seconds.

[Coolerman]

If a TST system takes an hour to alert you to loss of sensor signal, how long does it take to tell you about a blowout, or loss of pressure? Sounds sort of worthless to me? I'm in the market for a system and that is good to know.

[RCMAN46]

GMandJM wrote:

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
...
In my case, the alarm went off instantly when the signal was lost every time.

That isn't how TST monitors work.

Correct each time you got the alarm you did not have current pressures for at least one hour.

[GMandJM]

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
...
In my case, the alarm went off instantly when the signal was lost every time.

That isn't how TST monitors work.

[Heavy_Metal_Doc]

RCMAN46 wrote:
When a TST tire sensor fails it will take one hour before the monitor will alarm.

Same for loss of signal.

Sorry you musta had a bad experience, but I used the TST system for a 4k mile trip this season and my only problem was that my set up puts me right on the edge for signal strength. I need to add the repeater, even though I was assured by many that I would not need it.
In my case, the alarm went off instantly when the signal was lost every time. I got tired of trying to get it to "catch" again, which required getting the receiver closer to the TT tires (not easy / fast when trying to get miles down the road). I learned to just cycle the power off and back on to the readout unit and then it just flashed silently 'till the signal was caught again at the next fuel stop.

[cameronpatentla]

The great thing is that if your tire and wheel separate from the axle and go rolling down the hill with the TPMS attached, even though the monitor still shows pressure and temp for up to an hour, you may experience other sensations and feedback external to the monitor to alert you that there may be a problem. Depending on how you lived your life, the loss of the TPMS in that situation may be the least of your worries. 🙂

[RCMAN46]

When a TST tire sensor fails it will take one hour before the monitor will alarm.

Same for loss of signal.

[GMandJM]

Aftermarket (external) TPMS units are a great safety feature, but, as lanerd said, they don't give you an excuse to not do your due diligence.

The advantage of a TPMS is that it can alert you to changes in PSI and temp while you're en route.

The downside is that sensors aren't high-output devices and also many things can interfere with the signals.

Unfortunately, most monitors don't let you know immediately when a sensor's signal is lost; they give you readings from memory for up to an hour.

By the time you get an actual lost signal alert, you've had no signal for that hour or so duration. The reading on your monitor is from the TPMS system's memory.

You might not NEED a repeater/booster, but using one gives your TPMS system the best chance of working properly.

[GrandpaKip]

I have the TST507. Worked great on a 5000 mile trip out west. Then started giving no info on certain tires. Changed batteries, no good. Got in touch with TST and they sent a repeater in 2 days to see if that was the problem. I installed it in the front pass through. Next trip and all subsequent trips, all is fine. Fantastic customer service.