How Do Doran TPMS Sensors Die?

[RickO]

I've had my Doran 360 for a couple of years now of constant use and this week got a solid "lost sensor" message from one of them. Is this the typical symptom of a dead battery and about the longevity I can expect?

I'm going to be at The Rally in Louisville in a couple of weeks and believe they have a booth there so I'm hoping they can provide me with a swap (or ten) ... for a price of course.

[1ciderdog]

I've been using a Doran Pressure Pro for several years and have not had a battery go dead on any of the six sensors. I have had No Sensor on the readout as well as three dashes (---) on the readout screen. They seem to correct themselves after a brief period of time. If you are stopped could the sensor be in a the postion where the signal is having difficulty getting through the motorhome to the control head? I think my manual says it only updates every five minutes so if you are traveling it should correct itself. Also on mine there is a low battery indicator on the control head - does yours have that?

[RickO]

Thanks Bob. This started when I started a 400 mile jaunt across Pennsylvania and was a solid failure the whole way. I also have a signal booster mounted in the rear of the coach so I don't think it's an obstructed signal. I don't believe my Doran 360 has a low battery indicator but I'll sure check.

[Dr4Film]

Rick,

I installed a new Doran TPMS in May and the next day I took off for Alaska. About 2000 miles into the trip, I had one sensor on my Pace Cargo Trailer wheel that stopped sending a signal and gave me a "Lost Signal" alert. Pulled over and checked the tire pressure, checked the sensor, re-installed the sensor and went on while keeping a close watch of that wheel. It corrected itself very soon and never gave me another problem until a month later. I decided to take a trip down to the Kenai for some fishing and boat tours. I took the sensors off of the trailer and installed them on my toad. Cruised down to the Kenai with no problem, however when I headed over to the Homer Spit I got another "Lost Signal" alert on the same sensor. This time it did not correct itself. When heading over to Seward for the boat tour it never worked all the way from Homer to Seward. I contacted Debbi Gerdes at Doran Customer Service and explained what had happened and told her that I thought the sensor had gone bad and was defective. I asked for another sensor to be sent out to my Alaskan address. She did that very quickly but said that I needed to send in the defective one for testing to make sure it was really dead otherwise they would have to charge me for the new sensor they had sent to me. I received the new sensor and installed it without anymore problems. I haven't heard back from Doran as to what they found with the old sensor.

Dr4Film ----- Richard.

[wa8yxm]

With the pressure pro system you will, occasionally get a "Sensor Not Reporting' (Lost sensor) message just because.. Because all the sensors use a semi-random schedule for reporting and sometimes the left front and the right rear most sensors will transmit at exactly the same time.. simple physics says the Driver's front wins.

Sometimes you will get false readings that have nothing to do with your vehicle.. I'ave had it happen where the vehicle passing me had PP's and the same ESN on both his sensors (at least one of 'em) and mine, giving me a false reading since the wheel just outside my window was way closer than the tire on my Towed.

And, yes, a dead battery will show up as "Lost Sensor" as well.

To test.. If you have a handy jump start battery or other 12 volt portable "Car" plug the receiver into the portable battery and sit next to the tire in question for 20 minutes.

[Catch and Release]

I have been having problems with my Pressure Pro system dropping signals from the towed and occasionally the rear tires of the coach since I bought the system in 2007. Last year Pressure Pro recommended I buy the remote repeater. I installed it at the rear of the coach and still have the same problem.

I started our trip to Mich from Houston this week and have discovered an interesting issue. The system works perfectly when I am parked with the slides in or the slides out. When we get rolling and go above 55 mph the system starts dropping signals from the toad and the rear axle of the coach after 20 minutes. If we never go above 55 mph, we never lose the signals. If after we lose the signals at speeds over 55 mph and we slow down to 55 or below, we get the signals back.

There has to be a plausible explanation for this observation. Any ideas?

Don

[Dr4Film]

A follow-up to a recent previous post regarding one sensor that went defective on me and gave me a "Lost Signal" alert, the Doran Pressure Pro Company has completed their testing of the sensor I returned and according to their scientific test standards which they performed on a bench test, the "defective" sensor was "well within operating specifications". However, Debbi Gerdes will be using it as a "Demo" and they are not charging me for the new replacement one.

TIFWIT

Dr4Film ----- Richard