My First ZOOK!

I fitted mine under the rear seat squab and took the power from the back of the 12v socket. It synced after a 15 minute drive (I ignored the instructions) in low speed stop/start conditions. As long as you start with the dash in amber mode (not red) you should get a result. Once the car enters red mode it seems to involve a lot more messing about. I was told I had wasted my money on this device and should have pulled the plug on the TPMS module ( this I have not tried). The module is behind the dash on the right side near the A pillar if you fancy a go. Chris

Is tpms an mot fail like airbag? As in it should offer a self diagnostic check when starting the vehicle so unplugging the unit means the dashboard light never comes on in the ignition position and the fail is issued?

Apparently TPMS warning light on is a fail but no light is a pass. Some very basic systems (and it's suggested the Jimny has this) just close down the system when you pull the plug. I must stress I have not tried this but if true it sounds a more convenient way of solving orange dashboards. If (and this is one for Martin) all world markets use the same wiring harness and not all markets get TPMS then there could be a way to pull the plug. The real spanner in the works is the BCM which could be different for various markets. Food for thought, Chris.

CC Baxter wrote: I fitted mine under the rear seat squab and took the power from the back of the 12v socket. It synced after a 15 minute drive (I ignored the instructions) in low speed stop/start conditions. As long as you start with the dash in amber mode (not red) you should get a result. Once the car enters red mode it seems to involve a lot more messing about. I was told I had wasted my money on this device and should have pulled the plug on the TPMS module ( this I have not tried). The module is behind the dash on the right side near the A pillar if you fancy a go. Chris

Thanks Chris, very helpful.

What do you mean by red mode? The warning lights are all amber at the moment.

I’ll try again today with some fresh batteries and I’ll position the module by the 12v port. Maybe the module can be moved once synced, but for the purposes of syncing must be above a rear wheel.

CC Baxter wrote: Apparently TPMS warning light on is a fail but no light is a pass. Some very basic systems (and it's suggested the Jimny has this) just close down the system when you pull the plug. I must stress I have not tried this but if true it sounds a more convenient way of solving orange dashboards. If (and this is one for Martin) all world markets use the same wiring harness and not all markets get TPMS then there could be a way to pull the plug. The real spanner in the works is the BCM which could be different for various markets. Food for thought, Chris.

Interesting. The Spare Jimny is equipped with tpms evidently and is not keen on what I consider suitable cross country tyre pressure so if it is as simple as an unplugging then that could be the future. More research I think.

The dash goes amber when you have a low pressure tyre. It then turns red when it detects a fault in the system (that could be missing sensors) but I never got to the bottom of what caused it. Chris

I dropped the tyre pressures by 2psi as a test and then a sharp drop in temperature overnight dropped them enough to activate the TPMS so the system doesn't allow much leeway. As to "pulling the plug" to deactivate the system, couldn't a suitable switch in the system work just as well?

Roger

you mean to top up the tyres and turn the system on for the mot and off for actual work?

A swich does sound better Roger, I would imagine getting to the plug in the first place would be a potch. I intend to investigate this myself but won't get a chance till the new-year now. If you have the opportunity to fiddle with it keep us posted. Chris

On a personal basis a TPMS system has benefits that outweigh any thoughts of "it's just another bloody system to nag at us". Yes the system on Vivs Audi did it's job and we dealt with it but that's another story.
I can understand that, under certain circumstances for work or recreation the ability to circumvent the TPMS would be useful and if a switch can be spliced into a wiring loom to switch it off, then go ahead.
On Tonka I have switched off the lane discipline system and I am trying to discipline myself to switch off the close proximity sensor because it resets each time you restart the motor so I am adverse to some of the gimmics that people crave for.

Roger

I'm just wondering if I'm one of the few people that don't find the orange screen too obtrusive?

The other Sunday I went to the Pay & Play quarry, I decided for the first time to air down the tyres to see what difference I found it made. I let them down to 20psi. I was pleasantly surprised to find the TPMS system only gave one 'Bleep'. The screen went orange and intermittently flashed the "LOW PRESSURE" warning.

My conclusion is that when running standard size tyres at the recommended pressure there is no problem, when going off-road for the occasional day I could more than put up with the orange dash.

Beforehand, going off what I'd read I was expecting a continuous alarm similar to the seatbelt warning.

For me personally, if i had two sets of wheels to swap over for summer/winter I'd bite the bullet and get a second set of sensors. But luckily I'm not in that situation, I just had the sensors swapped over to my replacement wheels.

I've just got back from a 4th test run, with the Bypass unit positioned directly above the rear wheel. No luck! Perhaps I've got to be more patient, but the last run was 10 miles (approximately) averaging between 30-50mph. The instructions say that the syncing process should take no more than a few km's.

So far the only variable between me and others who've had success, is the fact that I've bought the battery operated version (2x AA) opposed to the hardwired version.

I'm going to have one last ditched attempt, swapping the two AA batteries inside the unit for some high quality ones to see if that makes a difference.