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Tire Pressure Monitoring System

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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 12:11 PM
  #1  
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Tire Pressure Monitoring System

The Check on is keep coming on and off and beeping but i look at my tires there find i dont know why its keep giving me the light and the beeps anyone know why??? someone help me
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 01:37 PM
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Go to the dealership and have them look at it. Don't they run on batteries, may be the reason why they are malfunctioning.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 04:48 PM
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When you say "look at them" You do mean "I checked their pressure with a good tire gauge and they were at 32PSI"

Right?

Right!?

You cannot tell the pressure inside your tires by looking at them. a tire, especially a low profile tire like the 8 has, looks pretty much the same at 17psi as it does 32.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 05:22 PM
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I agree with FABRO, go to the dealership. My sensor light goes on and off all the time and it drives me nuts, even when the pressure is OK. I had them checked once, but they couldn't find a problem. Mine don't beep though... It's weird, but I swear to god, it seems like my light goes on mostly on rainy days....
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 08:32 PM
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I had mine come on and beep when I was getting a flat tire. When the pressure gets below 27 psi (what I was told) it will beep.

Otherwise, somewhere around last November after an ice storm my light kept coming on and blinking after I'd been driving about 10 minutes. I took it in and had it checked. One of the sensors had stopped functioning (due to moisture getting in it) so the car wasn't able to detect the sensor was actually there. Which is why it would start blinking.

Since you said it was also beeping (I'm assuming nearly immediately after turning the car on?) it sounds like you are low on air in one or more tirees, so check them with a tire gauge and adjust appropriately.

Someone told me they also beep if they are overinflated. However, when I got the flat fixed, the tire shop overinflated my tire significantly and nothing happened, except that the car didn't feel right, which prompted me to check the air and figure out the problem.
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Old Sep 21, 2007 | 08:47 PM
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BunnyGirl, Sounds like what mine is doing! Sometimes it comes on exactly 10 minutes after I've been driving, and it seems to be on wet days. The only way it goes off is to stop and turn off the car. Although, it does come on sometimes in different conditions, and goes off by itself, but I chalk that up to maybe receiving a signal from someone else's car...


"my light kept coming on and blinking after I'd been driving about 10 minutes. I took it in and had it checked. One of the sensors had stopped functioning (due to moisture getting in it) so the car wasn't able to detect the sensor was actually there."
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Old Sep 22, 2007 | 03:39 AM
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thanks guys for the help
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Old Sep 22, 2007 | 09:11 PM
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Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Originally Posted by FABRO
Go to the dealership and have them look at it. Don't they run on batteries, may be the reason why they are malfunctioning.
I was told that the sensors emit a low frequency radio signal. They are powered by static electricity generated when the wheel turns. Not sure if that is the case, but my sensor light have been driving me crazy for over a month now.

The problem stated when the weather was hot. I was aware that the sensor(s) go off if the tire(s) are over inflated. So, I lowered the pressure by 5 lbs. The light kept on blinking. No change.

The light usually doesn't start blinking until I get up on the freeway for a few miles. The strange thing is if I restart the engine, the light does not come on again.

The same guy who told me about how the sensors are powered also told me that a malfunction in the sensor(s) will leave a code in the computer.

Has anybody heard the same thing? If there is a code, it should be able to be deleted at the dealer. At least, I would think.

Anybody have any other thoughts??
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Old Sep 22, 2007 | 09:36 PM
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Tire Pressure Monitoring System

I forgot to mention I am running 18" x 9" Cobra wheels by Verde. They are crome. The tires are 235/40 ZR 18's by Dunlop. The wheels and tires were mounted 2 weeks after I bought the car brand new back in December of 2005. The sensors from the stock 17" wheels were transfered to the new wheels.

I just cannot figure out why the light is going off after such a long time.
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Old Sep 22, 2007 | 10:49 PM
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A drop in temp, will affect it, in-till it reset it self!!!
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Old Sep 23, 2007 | 12:54 AM
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I am pretty sure I read the sensors run on batteries (don't feeling like going out to the car to get my manual as it's a pretty long walk to employee parking at work) so it's possible that a dead battery could be doing it. I think it does leave a code in the car, because when I took mine in to be checked they told me that their scanner (or whatever it was that they used) said "tire #1" was the problem. Of course, they had no clue what that would be as the tires had been rotated and they didn't know how the wheels were numbered originally sensor wise. I ended up having to bring my car back on a different day as they didn't have sensors available at the dealership, but did at the parts warehouse and I didn't have three extra hours to wait for it to be delivered and then the testing and resetting. What they ended up doing to figure out what wheel it was, was to inflate all the tires and then start letting the air out of it. If the sensor was working properly, when they let the air out to below 27 psi the light would start blinking and beeping. So, they did that on the tires until they found which one it was. Reprogramming the sensor to the car is some really odd procedure, too. I don't fully remember how they did it, but it involved putting in the new sensor and then letting the car sit for 15 minutes or so at least 15 feet on all sides away from other cars that may contain TPMS sensors. Then drive the car for 15 minutes. Then repeat the parked procedure again. It ended up taking somewhere around two hours for them to swap out and reprogram the sensor. At least I haven't had a problem since.
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Old Sep 23, 2007 | 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by ANIBALRX8
A drop in temp, will affect it, in-till it reset it self!!!
Yes, the drop in the temperature was what I was hanging my hat on. I usually run the tire pressure at 35 lbs. and have never had a problem until the weather got up over 100 for a week.

The first thing I did was lower the pressure down to 32 lbs. No difference. Now that the weather is back to normal, the pressure is still 32 lbs. and the light still comes on after driving for a while.

I have a guy who is very close to a service manager at a mazda dealer in my area. When I get some time, I will take it to him and have him take a look at it. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Old Oct 25, 2007 | 09:55 PM
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Tire Pressure Monitoring System

OK! I finally had time to take the car into the dealership. They put it on the computer and found no codes. Next, they tested each sensor and found the left front was bad. Of course they did not have the part in stock so I had to order it.

Fast forward a few days. The part came in, but the dealer could not install it because of the size of my wheels. 18x9.5 chrome cobras. My tire guy said he will gladly install the new sensor.

I will let you know what happens. After fussin' with this thing for the last couple of months, I am not too sure what will happen.

Stand-by! Film at eleven!!
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Old Nov 2, 2007 | 12:54 AM
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Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Well, I had my tire guy install the new tire sensor and it seems to be working properly. No more flashing light!! After dealing with the problem for the last few months, I still am not sure if the original sensor was bad after all. I guess I am a bit gun shy by now.

I had the car out for a nice run a couple of days ago. Nice sunny day, warm and little traffic on the freeway. After the usual time (when the light would began flashing), NO LIGHT! I am running 33lbs. pressure so let's see if it lasts.

Now, the only thing left remaining is the question of how the sensors are powered. We looked at the bad one we took out and could not tell if it was battery powered, or not. If any one hears about this question, let us know.

Last edited by DavidSr; Nov 2, 2007 at 12:57 AM.
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Old Nov 2, 2007 | 10:34 PM
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TPMS gives you an alarm below 28psi or if you switch your tires to wheels without TPMS. It's pretty common when the temperature drops to have to put a few pounds of air in the tires.

Just use the compressor that came with the car and pump them up.
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Old Nov 2, 2007 | 10:35 PM
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Interesting. Thanks for the updates! I'm still playing around with my warning light issue, but hopefully it's just an inflation problem. I've already had one sensor replaced last year. It's just a matter of making the time to do something about it. It's not high on my list at the moment. And I have a spare tire kit in my trunk, so in case it's really a problem, I'm covered!
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Old Nov 2, 2007 | 11:56 PM
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by the way check your tire pressure wend the tires are cold (before you drive the car in the morning). by driving the car the pressure will go up 3 to 4 psi and by that time, if you are droving to the tire store, they will tell you that the tire pressure is fine, went in fact it is 3 or 4 psi below the 32 psi mark!!!

I recommend getting a digital tire gauge from Radio Shack, there $9.99 each
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Old Nov 3, 2007 | 07:18 PM
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I hate the TPMS - they destroy your tire balance. Just check the amount wheel weights Mazda had to put on!

I'm TPMS free now
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Old Nov 6, 2007 | 07:35 PM
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Tpms

Originally Posted by Nemesis8
I hate the TPMS - they destroy your tire balance. Just check the amount wheel weights Mazda had to put on!

I'm TPMS free now
Not sure what you mean when you say the TPMS destroy your tire balance. I don't care how many weights had to be put on to balance the wheels. They are all on the inside and you can't see them anyway.

So, if you are TPMS free, what did you do about the flashing light in the dash?
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Old Nov 6, 2007 | 11:05 PM
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duck tape...
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Old Nov 7, 2007 | 05:57 PM
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I just took the batteries out of the smoke detector and now when I start the fires I'm not bothered by all that beeping!
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Old Nov 7, 2007 | 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by midlife crisis
I just took the batteries out of the smoke detector and now when I start the fires I'm not bothered by all that beeping!
Nice............and not one word mis-spelled either.........how do you do it?
Jeez! That's not at you, it's at half the posters in this thread.

Last edited by Mazurfer; Nov 7, 2007 at 06:46 PM.
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 05:12 PM
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But, my punctuation was poor! It should have been written:
I just took the batteries out of the smoke detector and now, when I start the fires, I'm not bothered by all that beeping!
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Mazurfer
Nice............and not one word mis-spelled either.........how do you do it?
Jeez! That's not at you, it's at half the posters in this thread.
*shaking head in disbelief* I hope you were joking... Does it really matter any more - as long as you can still understand what is being said? I mean, look at all the internet speak, shorthand and acronyms... this is not your father's english language anymore. And please take into consideration our friends who have english as their 2nd language...
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 07:16 PM
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Originally Posted by midlife crisis
But, my punctuation was poor! It should have been written:
I just took the batteries out of the smoke detector and now, when I start the fires, I'm not bothered by all that beeping!
ha ha....I realized that of course, but I gave you a break on the punctuation.
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