Jump to content

Citroen tyre pressure sensors


JohnD

Recommended Posts

Anyone found these a problem?    I had the sensor in one wheel replaced, as it was warning "Flat tyre" when pressure was good.     A week later same fault in another wheel!   Are they all going to go wrong?

Citroen C5, 2011.

John

Edited by JohnD
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something else (expensive) to go wrong...….

And while the sentiment (improved road safety) is good, it seems that they may have the opposite effect sometimes

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=107029

Scary..... something to check!  Especially since by its very existence going to reduce the frequency with which you go near your tyre valves!

I think I prefer the (perhaps less accurate) systems that use wheel speed monitoring via the ABS system rather than discrete (and frequently troublesome) wheel sensors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Nick Jones said:

 

I think I prefer the (perhaps less accurate) systems that use wheel speed monitoring via the ABS system 

+1 

Mine has proved able to sense a 2psi difference which I would consider accurate enough as a means of detecting a problem while on the move.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow!   Thank you for the link, Nick!   As said in that the Citroen message board is full of similar complaints.   Looks like I should replace them all.       I would buy some and replace them myself, but I'd need to take the tyres off and refit them, and they need to be linked to the car's internal wireless (I presume) system, which only a dealer can do.    Perrhaps I can negotiate a discount for bulk?!

On the good(ish) side, at the same time, the right hand indicators started flashing double quick, but this is 'only' due to the failure of the front bulb.       The fault warning system didn't even bother to raise it's head to note this important failure, but I suppose the rapid cadence of the remaining light tells the story   I hope I can manage that, and it won't mean a major disassembly of the wing to get at it.      

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought an external kit for the truck, the type that screws onto the valve. Have to say, it works a treat! Actually, monitoring the truck tyres was a secondary bonus, what I wanted was a system that could monitor my trailer whilst towing, as I realised that if I had a blow out I would likely never realise due to size and power of the truck, so the system I got covers both, and I can "couple/uncouple" the trailer as required.

The girlfriend has the inwheel sensors on her Fabia, that has similar issues to what you describe John. Thanks be honest, we just ignore it most of the time!

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a set of the external pressure monitors, which act as valve caps on  my car transporter trailer.   They report through a solar powered device that sticks to my windcsreen and flashes if they go down.  Great!     I've had tyres deflate on the trailer, and you can't tell until you stop and find a shredded tyre.

Better, when I complained that the batteries in two of the four sensors had only lasted a few months, the manufacturers, TyrePal, sent me a new set!

Yes, simpler and easier to replace than the internal ones, but a faff to check tyre pressures, as the special caps are secured with thin lock nuts, whih have to be wound right back to take a tyre pressure guage.    Becomes a complete procedure, with a 1/2" spanner, when it should be easy with the gauge.

John

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, andymcp said:

I have no personal experience of such technological marvels...

Likewise.  The Jones fleet has no such luxuries, though we do have a couple of cars with remote central locking now......

 

2 hours ago, DeTRacted said:

Mine has proved able to sense a 2psi difference which I would consider accurate enough as a means of detecting a problem while on the move.

Completely agree, however..... My father has a newish Honda Jazz with the ABS based system.  This seems to be upset by relatively modest amounts of wheelspin, something that can occur quite frequently due the number of muddy single-track lanes he has to drive on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote, me: "On the good(ish) side, at the same time, the right hand indicators started flashing double quick, but this is 'only' due to the failure of the front bulb.       The fault warning system didn't even bother to raise it's head to note this important failure, but I suppose the rapid cadence of the remaining light tells the story   I hope I can manage that, and it won't mean a major disassembly of the wing to get at it."

Pah! Et merde du cochon! That'll teach me to buy a Citroen and expect to maintain it myself.      Granted, it only takes two small self-tappers, albeit with antitamper heads (star) to get in, and I have the bits, but then!    The bulb looks like this when I finally was able to detatch it from its mount:

P1040511.JPG.6732108a88adba51d9b040b497187b11.JPG

Never seen another like like and neither had my Halfords, in their stock anyway.   It's some idiosyncratic French doodad, so I might as well reassemble and get the delaer to stick a new one in when I get the wheel sensors done.    Pah!

John

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

1 hour ago, JohnD said:

It's some idiosyncratic French doodad

There ought to be laws against foolery like that......:mad:

Quick reading of the forums suggests that there may even be two different bulbs, both apparently unique to Citroen (one possibly including the holder) dependent on the year of the car (facelift or pre-facelift).

The guy I bought my A6 from in 2003 swapped it for a new C5 (in 2003) intending to keep it long term.  When I last saw him in about 2012 he'd already had two cars since......  Still, I owe my (very long-term) ownership of the A6 to the meanness of the local Citroen dealer with their trade-in offer so thanks to them :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got to love French cars :) 

When I was moonlighting in a garage in france doing diagnostic stuff I saw some shockers.. Can't remember if it was Renault or Citroen but at one point one of them decided to do a wiring loom in which all the wires were the same colour gray but cunningly identifiable by printing unique numbers along the length of each wire.

Fine, presumably, when the thing is brand new (well not even, really..) but after years of use the exposed parts have all the numbers rubbed/washed off by contamination or covered in oil etc.  So you end up either unwrapping the loom or testing continuity between connectors, either way it took bloody ages.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, JohnD said:

I have a set of the external pressure monitors, which act as valve caps on  my car transporter trailer.   They report through a solar powered device that sticks to my windcsreen and flashes if they go down.  Great!     I've had tyres deflate on the trailer, and you can't tell until you stop and find a shredded tyre.

Better, when I complained that the batteries in two of the four sensors had only lasted a few months, the manufacturers, TyrePal, sent me a new set!

Yes, simpler and easier to replace than the internal ones, but a faff to check tyre pressures, as the special caps are secured with thin lock nuts, whih have to be wound right back to take a tyre pressure guage.    Becomes a complete procedure, with a 1/2" spanner, when it should be easy with the gauge.

John

 

I hear you! My system is also TyrePal, those locknuts are a right pain in the danglies!

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found this: https://www.tirereview.com/changing-tpms-sensor-batteries/

Although battery-less sensors are being developed, at present they work off a battery, which has a life of about five years, 'conveniently' a bit more than the guarantee period.   So that mine are probably just running out of battery juice.       Less dramatic than a blow out, thank goodness, and of course no chance of getting any discount from Citroen!    The sensors become a consumable, just like brake pads, or engine oil.

The article suggests that sensors should be checked at tyre replacement.    I'll enquire at my local tyre depot - they might be able to replace my sensors at less cost than the dealer, especially if I buy some new tyres at the same time.

John

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/29/2019 at 6:06 PM, JohnD said:

Pah! Et merde du cochon! That'll teach me to buy a Citroen and expect to maintain it myself.      Granted, it only takes two small self-tappers, albeit with antitamper heads (star) to get in, and I have the bits, but then!    The bulb looks like this when I finally was able to detatch it from its mount:

P1040511.JPG.6732108a88adba51d9b040b497187b11.JPG

Been trying to source one of these.    Turns out that the difficulty I had removing the bulb from its holder was because - that's not its holder, it's part of the bulb unit!

I don't know how many other Sidewayzers have Citroens, but to sprerad the expensive learning, it's a Philips "Hypervison" bulb, that looks like this:

1 PHILIPS Front Amber/Orange Indicator PSY24W 24W Bulb Citroen C5 light/lamp

The dealer would have charged me an hour to do the job, but I can get one from the Bay for a tenner.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A tenner is alot for an indicator bulb......  

I've tended to stay away from French cars.  Dad had a Peugeot 404 SW in Africa - that was one tough old thing.

Brother has had an Mk1 R5 (catastrophic rot, driveshaft issues), R21 (various odd failures and always shedding odd bits of plastic), Talbot Samba (rot + puked all it's coolant out of the exhaust pipe moments before hydraulic-locking during an MoT test).  Citroen BX 16v - and absolute rocket ship when working but clutch wore out and NOONE (me included) wanted anything to do with that job.  The chimp that eventually did it only put about half the bolts back which resulted in a string of scary failures (like starter dragging along the road by it's cable at 60mph).  It finally got fired for total unreliability mainly due to the leaking sunroof dumping water into the car which kept finding its way into the ECUs mounted under the seat at the lowest part of the floorpan - genius!  Followed by the final French thing...... a Renault 19 16v.  I forget what finished that off but it also went wrong often.

We had a 205 many years ago, which was a nice drive when working but had a wide range of faults ranging from the merely irritating to the downright dangerous.  Our only low-mileage main-dealer purchase ever......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Bulb arrived today, all the way from China!   And it's a perfect match, down to the markings, indicators back from hysterically fast to normal.  Yes, Nick, a tenner's a lot for a bulb, but the dealer would have charged me five times that.      Clearly, with the tyre pressure sensor experience ( ihave yet to need new tyre, to waiting on that to get the tyre fitters to change the sensor) after six years, and twice the guarantee period, it's getting int the eletricla component failure window.  Ho hum.

New one looks just like this, the OE bulb.   I've reassembled the bulb on the holder, which is part of the bulb assembly, not to be pulled apart!.    Was still fiddly to detatch from the connector on the loom!   But all plastic, protected conacts with no risk of the corrosion that plagues our classics.

Because look, red rubber o-ring, there's another on the actual bulb and one on the loom connector.  The original bulb is clean and no road dirt after six years of use, because the sidelight/indicator lamp assembly has two airvents, each protected by a little rubber splash-proof cover, so like all the lights on the Citroen , this has perfectly clean lenses.     There are some advantages to modern car design!

John

IMG_20191114_130847[1].jpg

Edited by JohnD
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...