TPMS issue

[Stiggysaurus]

I recently installed some aftermarket wheels and tires on my truck with Ford OEM tire sensors (HC3Z‑1A189‑A) by a third party tire shop. They said they'd try to program the TPMS sensors and I didn't get any lights on the dashboard after driving it a couple days. Problem was I noticed however that the tire PSIs weren't being correctly shown by the driver display screen and the Ford dealer today told me they weren't not able to detect the sensors and reprogram them.

Any advice?

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[Stiggysaurus]

not correctly, as in not calibrated to the correct tire? or just not reading the right pressure ?

do all 4 at least show pressures? that would rule out battery issues.

myself....i'd deflate them and re-inflate them in the proper sequence and see if it fixes the problem

Not reading the right pressure. I set them to 31psi but the display shows something else.

 

[Muscleford]

Inflate in the orrect order.....why would this make any difference, you rotate the tires changing their order. Does this mean you have to program them every time you rotate the tires?

 

[Msfitoy]

Not the same as in 1-2psi or 10-20psi? Once every other months, one of mine goes haywire and goes offline...then it comes back...

 

[Big Blue]

Not reading the right pressure. I set them to 31psi but the display shows something else.

Not the same as in 1-2psi or 10-20psi? Once every other months, one of mine goes haywire and goes offline...then it comes back...

Yeah, the OP never told us what they are reading. Not intended to be used in place of a good gauge.

Side note: When I rotate my tires, after a few miles they all find their new homes without doing anything.

 

[Stiggysaurus]

They were reading 34/33 when the tires were measured over 35 with my gauge and didn't change when I dropped them down to 30. Now to add more confusion: they were showing numbers before I dropped the car off at the dealership and now this afternoon after I picked it up and the service advisor told me again they weren't able to reprogram them, they just show "--" at each corner on the display.

So before my issue was they were showing incorrect numbers now they're just showing blank lines. No TPMS light has come up yet either.

 

[Dsc]

A couple of comments based on the original post...
1) You said third party shop installed new sensors, the part number is correct and only application is Ranger per Ford's part site. Are you sure they installed the correct ones? Price should have been around $50 each. Only way to be sure is to break the bead on one tire and check.
2) Do you still have the original rims and tires? Reinstall and see if the problem is fixed. This would narrow the problem to the new setup.
3) Also it looks like the training tool is still the same as one used since 2006. This can be bought for about $10. Is limited in what you can do because it just allows the system to relearn the new TPMS IDs. As some have said the system seems to be able to learn them on their own.

 

[Big Blue]

They were reading 34/33 when the tires were measured over 35 with my gauge and didn't change when I dropped them down to 30. Now to add more confusion: they were showing numbers before I dropped the car off at the dealership and now this afternoon after I picked it up and the service advisor told me again they weren't able to reprogram them, they just show "--" at each corner on the display.

So before my issue was they were showing incorrect numbers now they're just showing blank lines. No TPMS light has come up yet either.

+- a couple Psi is not unheard of between the sensor and the gauge measurement. They are intended to look for loss of pressure or low pressure in one tire compared to others. Also did you drive it after you lowered it to 30. The sensors require the tire to be rotating to wake the sensor up and it takes the TPMS some time to reset the displayed pressure. Usually a trip around the block does it. Same thing for it to find the new position after rotating tires. Not sure what your dealer did that they are not displaying anything. The TPMS sensors on our Rangers are set to be self learning in Forscan, that's why they find themselves after rotating.

 

[slowmachine]

They were reading 34/33 when the tires were measured over 35 with my gauge and didn't change when I dropped them down to 30. Now to add more confusion: they were showing numbers before I dropped the car off at the dealership and now this afternoon after I picked it up and the service advisor told me again they weren't able to reprogram them, they just show "--" at each corner on the display.

So before my issue was they were showing incorrect numbers now they're just showing blank lines. No TPMS light has come up yet either.

The sensors and the gauge each have acceptable margins of error that are defined by their manufacturers. When you “stack” the acceptable deviations in accuracy, you can easily see several PSI difference from the reading you would get from a calibrated reference gauge.

Once upon a time, it was common to see a calibrated reference gauge in tire shops, that was used to adjust the readout of the working gauges (the old stick-type with the pocket clip) that the floor workers used throughout the work day. I haven’t seen a shop like this in a long time, but most shops never allow customers into the work area these days, so they may still be there.

I have read, and believe from my own experience, that a good driver can feel a 1/4 PSI difference in pressure from left to right, and most easily on the front axle. I can easily feel the difference with most street tires. My tire pressure gauge is a digital model from Longacre Racing, with a readout that indicates pressure to 0.1 (1/10) PSI. It is sufficiently repeatable to get the tires within 1/4 PSI of each other. Whether it is accurate in an absolute sense, where the gauge indicates actual pressure with a high degree of accuracy, is of little importance. The measurements need to be repeatable, with a small enough margin of error to eliminate noticeable difference in tire performance.

All of the above is a lead-in for this. You can ignore the numerical difference between the measured gauge readout and the TPMS numbers. Buy a gauge of sufficient quality for your goals, and use it in a methodical way to maximize its accuracy potential. Inspect your tires for abnormal wear, and use a tread depth gauge to monitor evenness of wear across the tread. Adjust static PSI to the tread wear. And, if you ever encounter a tire shop, race team/shop, or manufacturing facility with calibrated reference gauges, you can ask them to test your gauge.

 

[Stiggysaurus]

New turn of events, now the TPMS light is on. I'm thinking there's an issue with the sensors I got, maybe they were DOA.

 

[Big Blue]

Where did you purchase the sensors from ?

Not sure how long the batteries last, but there is a date code on the package. Assume that is the production date.

Last year while looking on Amazon & Fleebay, I noticed photos with date codes that were several years old.

Photo below is the TPMS I purchased in 12/2020 from Benny @LevittownFordParts.com, less than two months old at the time. I added this sensor to the matching spare wheel/tire I built up. Will find out if it works after tire rotation coming up soon.

Yeah, I believe the manual posted earlier says not to use if over a year old.

 

[Stiggysaurus]

Resolved: the sensors I bought were either faulty or ”expired”. Swapped in my old sensors and everything is working correctly now. Thanks everyone

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I am going to bring this thread back to life for a moment.

I am having a similar issue, except I am still using my OE sensors. I took my truck in for new tires. The dash read 40 psi when I arrived, and the tires were spot on at 40 psi, per the Discount Tire digital air gauge. After the new tires were installed, the Discount Tire digital air gauge is reading 37 but my truck is not reading anywhere between 38 on one tire and 42 on the others. All the pressures are the same, I checked them again to be sure.

Is there a way to reset the sensors (through Forscan would be great) to read actual pressure? I would be okay with 1-2 off, if it hadn't been spot on before the new tires. I know the shop didn't mess anything up, since they all work, just not reading spot on like before.

Thoughts?...

 

[Silverfox]

Happened to me when I put new tires on but cleared up by the time I got home.

 

[Dsc]

Drive the truck for about a half hour to stabilize the pressures, then check the dash values against your air gauge. They should be very close, but a good air gauge is the value to use.

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