Author Topic: TPS "----", not battery  (Read 3907 times)

Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #20 on: August 30, 2019, 11:05:16 AM »
Jimmy, now you are fully updated like the Ninja H2 SX and the ZX-14R  8) ;D

Ha- "updated"!

Quote
... that is my plan when /if Kawasaki does not cover them under my actual 2nd warranty extension.

Oh, it will be covered.  Mine were.  If the dealer says otherwise, you have full recourse.  AND it is a great time to get tire mounting free.

my problem is the annoying warning.... I just hope they will quit without the flashing screen warning.

Unless they just go completely dead/defective and suddenly, you will have to put up with months of annoyance.  Been there, done that.
Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline PH14

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #21 on: August 30, 2019, 04:36:03 PM »

Unless they just go completely dead/defective and suddenly, you will have to put up with months of annoyance.  Been there, done that.

I went through well over a year of low battery warning. Seriously annoying. So happy it finally died.

Offline Freddy

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #22 on: August 30, 2019, 06:21:46 PM »
It's a lot quicker and almost as easy just to fix it and ride safer.   :chugbeer:
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Offline jimmymac

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #23 on: August 31, 2019, 07:57:25 AM »
Updated indeed. If I have to rely on my dash to ride safe, crash me now. ;D
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Offline PH14

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #24 on: August 31, 2019, 10:35:16 AM »
It's a lot quicker and almost as easy just to fix it and ride safer.   :chugbeer:

Fix what? Replace the sensor? I have never had a tire pressure sensor on any vehicle, give me any warning except a warning saying the sensor is bad. I have had tire issues during the years I have had vehicles with sensors, but I have always caught them before the sensor did. Know sensors can be good, but I also know I don't need them. They have cost me more over the years than they have benefited me.

Now, had Kawasaki not designed the warning so badly, I probably would have had it replaced, under warranty. After the warranty, no, the cost does not justify its benefit for me.

Offline Poseidon

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #25 on: August 31, 2019, 12:20:02 PM »
Fix what? Replace the sensor? I have never had a tire pressure sensor on any vehicle, give me any warning except a warning saying the sensor is bad. I have had tire issues during the years I have had vehicles with sensors, but I have always caught them before the sensor did. Know sensors can be good, but I also know I don't need them. They have cost me more over the years than they have benefited me.

Now, had Kawasaki not designed the warning so badly, I probably would have had it replaced, under warranty. After the warranty, no, the cost does not justify its benefit for me.

Early last summer, I was on my way home. Maybe 3-4 miles away from the house. I noticed something didn’t feel right with the bike, and looked down at the dash at the TPS reading. It hadn’t started warning me yet, but I was definitely loosing air pressure in my rear tire. I was able to keep riding the rest of the way home, but the warning for low tire pressure came on just as I was pulling into my drive way. The tire was for all practical purposes, completely flat by the time I got it parked in the garage, got off, and got my gear off. I had picked up a nail and it was loosing air pretty fast considering the nail was still in the tire.

Long story short, I agree with you that you can feel when there is a tire pressure issue before the dash warning comes on, but had I stopped to check it out along side the road, I never would have made it home before it went flat. With TPS, I was able to watch the air pressure dropping and could gauge when/ if I needed to pull off and stop. For this reason, I like having it.
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Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #26 on: August 31, 2019, 02:50:14 PM »
Long story short, I agree with you that you can feel when there is a tire pressure issue before the dash warning comes on, but had I stopped to check it out along side the road, I never would have made it home before it went flat. With TPS, I was able to watch the air pressure dropping and could gauge when/ if I needed to pull off and stop. For this reason, I like having it.

The active low-pressure warning is, indeed, useful.  The whole TPS system is useful.  Knowing there is an issue ahead of time or real-time is valuable.  Easily knowing tire pressures so you can keep them correct also extends tire life tremendously and improves fuel mileage and safety.

What isn't useful is a low battery warning taking over the screen forever, until you press a special "cadence" which is very difficult (and dangerous to do while driving) and then results in a super-bright red light for the entire trip.  Same thing with the fuel warning.

It makes me want to hit a Kawasaki engineer.  What SHOULD happen is a warning that takes over the screen and you press and hold the handle button for 5 seconds to clear it.  Plus it should have had an ambient light sensor to dim the dash indicator (non-dial) lights at night.  The high-beam light is so bright, I had to put a 75% tinted sticker over it so I am not blinded at night when I use them.  That red light is too bright at night, also.

So, back to TPS.  The question that people are asking, which is valid: is Kawasaki's implementation of the TPS system worth the price of sensors, the difficultly with their installation, the inability to check tires until having considerable distance from home, the annoyance with the inevitable low battery warnings, and the way the warnings work?

I know if the batteries had been external (so larger and more easily replaceable or even rechargeable), most everyone would be happy.  Maintenance would be cheap and easy, and warnings would be short and rare.  But, alas, here we are...

Someone could make some good money designing replacement, rechargeable, external sensors that are compatible with the bike's ECU.  Add a buttons on them to manually wake them up when wanted (in addition to auto-wake), and an integrated right-angle chuck so they don't have to be removed to fill air, and I know I would buy them immediately :)  THAT would be a good design.

Just call me "Captain Hindsight"...
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Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline Freddy

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #27 on: August 31, 2019, 06:58:17 PM »
Updated indeed. If I have to rely on my dash to ride safe, crash me now. ;D

 :rotflmao:  Good for you jimmy.  I like em but we don't need em.   :chugbeer:

Following on from maxtog, the issue I have with them is that the Low Battery warning will flash even when the battery is still slightly above 3v, which is lower that a new battery for sure but not below 3v.   :banghead:  The threshold should be something lower than 3v.
The best substitute for brains is .............what?

Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #28 on: August 31, 2019, 08:41:39 PM »
Yep, front continues to be intermittent.  Left home and it worked, couple of miles later, nothing.  Then several miles later, it was back and stayed back.  Left destination and it didn't work, couple of miles later it was working, then halfway home it cut out and stayed off.  Each time this happens where it ends up dead at my destination, I take a photo of it with ODO before shutting off the bike.  Very odd.
Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline Freddy

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #29 on: September 01, 2019, 01:38:19 AM »
......... I take a photo of it with ODO before shutting off the bike.  Very odd.

Yes very odd behaviour.   ;D
The best substitute for brains is .............what?

Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #30 on: September 01, 2019, 05:45:06 AM »
Yes very odd behaviour.   ;D

I learned my lesson the first time I had the sensors replaced.  How can you "prove" something is broken to a dealer (and thus, Kawasaki, who has to pay) when it is intermittent?  Because I guarantee if I took the bike in, they would ride it around the block and it would "work fine for them".  And I know you all know what I mean, because odds are, it has happened to you with something.  The first time it was low batteries.  After months of intermittent errors that became almost full-time, they tested it on the warmest day while it was sitting in the sun and, sure enough, no low battery signal.  They waited overnight and tested it the next morning and saw the error.  But with something like this, who knows.

Although, right now, my tires won't pass inspection (which I never both with, anyway) they still have thousands of miles of life left.  I will arrange it such that I will get this fixed with free mounting/balancing (of at least the front tire).  I might not wait as long this time, though.  Depends on how intermittent the problem is.  I can tolerate this a LOT more, since there are no annoying warnings (and, most of the time, I can still eventually get a reading on the pressure, and it is only half the tires).  But the longer the wait, the better the chance if the rear is going to fail and I can get that covered, too.  My 9 years of warranty permanently end on 04/06/2020; I wish it could be extended, again.
Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline lather

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #31 on: September 01, 2019, 06:55:28 AM »
Yep, front continues to be intermittent.  Left home and it worked, couple of miles later, nothing.  Then several miles later, it was back and stayed back.  Left destination and it didn't work, couple of miles later it was working, then halfway home it cut out and stayed off.  Each time this happens where it ends up dead at my destination, I take a photo of it with ODO before shutting off the bike.  Very odd.
My front did exactly that when it got about 7 years old.
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Offline lather

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #32 on: September 01, 2019, 07:00:04 AM »
:rotflmao:  Good for you jimmy.  I like em but we don't need em.   :chugbeer:

Following on from maxtog, the issue I have with them is that the Low Battery warning will flash even when the battery is still slightly above 3v, which is lower that a new battery for sure but not below 3v.   :banghead:  The threshold should be something lower than 3v.
The real problem is that lithium ion batteries take a few seconds to come up to full voltage if they have been idle for a while. Kawasaki should have programmed a delay in the warning to compensate.
Nothing worse than having your balls go missing.

Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #33 on: September 01, 2019, 07:15:40 AM »
The real problem is that lithium ion batteries take a few seconds to come up to full voltage if they have been idle for a while. Kawasaki should have programmed a delay in the warning to compensate.

Agreed, that would have been helpful, too.
Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #34 on: September 01, 2019, 07:17:18 AM »
My front did exactly that when it got about 7 years old.

Yeah, but these are the "newly redesigned" sensors :(   I guess some things never change.
Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline PH14

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #35 on: September 01, 2019, 09:31:01 AM »
I learned my lesson the first time I had the sensors replaced.  How can you "prove" something is broken to a dealer (and thus, Kawasaki, who has to pay) when it is intermittent?  Because I guarantee if I took the bike in, they would ride it around the block and it would "work fine for them".  And I know you all know what I mean, because odds are, it has happened to you with something.  The first time it was low batteries.  After months of intermittent errors that became almost full-time, they tested it on the warmest day while it was sitting in the sun and, sure enough, no low battery signal.  They waited overnight and tested it the next morning and saw the error.  But with something like this, who knows.


When I wanted mine replaced under warranty, I took a picture if the low battery warning the morning I took the bike in to the dealer. It went away after riding some, so I wanted it documented. They accepted the picture, as proof the battery was failing and replaced it.

My last extended warranty ran out in June. I struggled with whether or not to get the TPMS replaced again, but decided to let it die.

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #36 on: September 03, 2019, 04:25:01 PM »
Had to replace the rear sensor on my Indian.  It would start out ok and then I would stop.  It wouldn't register for a long time after the stop.  Got the two dashes and a warning light on the dash.  Thank goodness Indian did not copy Kwackers on the taking over the screen routine.  Took it in and they could see in the logs that it had failed intermittently and so replaced it.  Cost me $50.  I have the extended warranty.  No hassle from the dealer or Indian in getting it replaced.  Would not have a bike without tire pressure sensors.  Saved me several times with issues with punctures.  You can check your pressures pre-ride all day long but it won't help you if you get a puncture bad enough to leak it down during a ride.  For those of you that poo poo sensors, do you check your tires every day before riding?  I hope  you do.
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Offline maxtog

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #37 on: September 03, 2019, 05:07:36 PM »
Cost me $50.  I have the extended warranty.

Why would it cost you anything, if it was covered under warranty?
Shoodaben (was Guhl) Mountain Runner ECU flash, Canyon Cages front/rear, Helibars risers, Phil's wedges, Grip Puppies, Sargent World seat-low & heated & pod, Muzzy lowering links, Soupy's stand, Nautilus air horn, Admore lightbar, Ronnie's highway pegs, front running lights, all LED, helmet locks, RAM Xgrip, Sena SMH10, Throttle Tamer, MRA X-Creen, BearingUp Shifter, PR4-GT, Scorpion EXO-T1200,etc

Offline Freddy

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #38 on: September 03, 2019, 05:19:59 PM »
Extended warranty come with a $50 fee for every claim in some policies.
The best substitute for brains is .............what?

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: TPS "----", not battery
« Reply #39 on: September 04, 2019, 04:36:41 AM »
Correctomundo.
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