EFI/RFI interfering with TPMS?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,340
Likes: 6
From: Redmond WA
EFI/RFI interfering with TPMS?
There's some road construction near my home and twice in the last week, I've driven by the area and my TPMS comes on with a "Service Tire Monitor" message and showing that the right rear wheel has lost communication with the TPMS.
This has never happened any other time. I think they're working on some underground electrical conduits. Is it possible that EFI or RFI is causing this one sensor to lose communication (if so, then why not the right front)? Is this a sign that sensor may be about to fail in some way?
This has never happened any other time. I think they're working on some underground electrical conduits. Is it possible that EFI or RFI is causing this one sensor to lose communication (if so, then why not the right front)? Is this a sign that sensor may be about to fail in some way?
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,007
Likes: 2,706
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Some kind of electrical signals above ground could be more likely, I would expect dirt to do a fairly good job of attenuating any interference.
Either way, I'd probably just keep an eye on it and see if it happens anywhere else. You should still be under warranty for a while, right?
Re-training the car/sensor match probably wouldn't do anything, since they are working normally most of the time.
Either way, I'd probably just keep an eye on it and see if it happens anywhere else. You should still be under warranty for a while, right?
Re-training the car/sensor match probably wouldn't do anything, since they are working normally most of the time.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,340
Likes: 6
From: Redmond WA
Jim, it's happened a third time, at approximately the same spot. Must be something there, but it just seems unlikely. The trench is probably six to eight feet away from the road surface, and there's nothing on the surface. RFI attenuates at the square of the distance, and in addition to the six to eight feet, I'm probably another two feet away from the curb. So, something one foot away from the source gets 100 times the RFI plus whatever amount of attenuation caused by the dirt? Could a bad high voltage power line cause something like that?
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,007
Likes: 2,706
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Jim, it's happened a third time, at approximately the same spot. Must be something there, but it just seems unlikely. The trench is probably six to eight feet away from the road surface, and there's nothing on the surface. RFI attenuates at the square of the distance, and in addition to the six to eight feet, I'm probably another two feet away from the curb. So, something one foot away from the source gets 100 times the RFI plus whatever amount of attenuation caused by the dirt? Could a bad high voltage power line cause something like that?
Maybe you need to drive faster past that spot?
Racer
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 440
Likes: 6
From: Hillsboro Oregon
That's what I was thinking in my previous post; some kind of interference but not necessarily from a buried cable. People occasionally report all kinds of strange interference problems with the car that go away at a different location. Sometimes they can figure out what happened, sometimes not.
Maybe you need to drive faster past that spot?
Maybe you need to drive faster past that spot?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,340
Likes: 6
From: Redmond WA
I drove by that spot in another of our vehicles, also with TPMS but doesn't seem to be bothered by it. They're digging a trench that looks like it's going to hold a power circuit of some sort. The area behind it is currently a grassy field that will probably soon have a Microsoft or Nintendo building going up.
Drive faster past that spot - I like that! Thanks to both of you for the input.
Drive faster past that spot - I like that! Thanks to both of you for the input.
