Friday, September 23, 2011

How does a "low tire" sensor work?

My 2008 Honda has a dash light that comes on when a tire has low air pressure. How can it do that? The tires aren't hooked up to anything.How does a %26quot;low tire%26quot; sensor work?The tire pressure sensor doesn't actually measure the tire pressure. It uses the wheel speed sensor (part of the ABS) to measure very minute differences in rotational speed between all four tires. When it senses a difference from what a nominally good tire is, it will turn on the tire pressure light. Note that you will need to check the tire pressure in all tires, as it doesn't indicate which tire is the problem. Once the tire pressure is adjusted, reset the light according to the owner's manual. You'll also need to do this after changing to a spare.How does a %26quot;low tire%26quot; sensor work?There's actually two different types, direct and indirect. What the other guy described was indirect.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_pressuHow does a %26quot;low tire%26quot; sensor work?It uses a sensor inside the wheel, behind the valve stem. This system is called TPMS Tire pressure monitoring system.



When tire pressure is low, it sends out a signal to a reciever that indicates which tire is low, then your indicator lights come on.



These sensors are battery powered, they last about 7-10 years.

They transmit to RF signals.