Alloy wheel/ tyre monitor question

[engagegear]

Decided to have my wheels refurbished , tyres removed and wheels powder coated , it's booked in for later in the week, is there anything tricky I need to tell the wheel place regarding the valves ?, do they have sensors in the valve or are the just normal set up ?, don't want to open a expensive can of worms !

[CraigV12V]

I am doing same for my 4.3's wheels before selling her so would be interested in answer. We have a powder coating company in Birmingham doing each wheel for £20 or £30 if they remove and remount tyres. Sounds almost too good to be true. I have emailed them and asked the very same question about valves.

[3200gt]

When I had new rears on my DB9 the only thing to watch out for was that they take the tyres off the back/inside of the rim. The pressure monitor is mounted on the end of the valve and can be easyily knocked and broken.

[Neil1300R]

3200gt said:

When I had new rears on my DB9 the only thing to watch out for was that they take the tyres off the back/inside of the rim. The pressure monitor is mounted on the end of the valve and can be easyily knocked and broken.

^ This!
You have to carefully remove the tyre, so it doesn't damage the sensor inside the wheel. They are over £100 each - so you really don't want to damage them.
Had my wheels refurbished last week. Place I took them to knew all about the sensors, and didn't damage them. The guy made the point it easy to break them by letting the tyre fall onto the valve as they go round the rim, taking the tyre off.

[BamfordMike]

This is a problem often encountered when refurbishing or upgrading wheels and the Tyre Pressure Monitor Sensor (TPMS) is disturbed.

Here are a couple of pics of the TPMS in the wheel rim.






The most common reason for low pressure warning light illuminated on the dashboard in error is due to the battery in each sensor running low. The battery is fit for service for around 5 years, false illumination of light occurs when battery signal is weak and a pressure signal from sensor to brain box (situated in the rear of the car) is not received. Another common problem is that after many years of being installed, when removed the sensor fails and when refitted will not transmit a signal.

This means that when the time to refurb a wheel is due, say typically when the car is 5 years old, both the above problems can occur.

This is annoying because to rectify the problem the wheel / tyre has to come off and after replacement with new sensor re balancing and refitting has to take place for a second time. The problem is that to replace the sensors to overcome both these issues before they occur costs £110 per sensor, excluding fitting price and cost to program each sensor to the 'brain' with the correct diagnostic equipment.

If the refurb is to a relatively new wheel due to light damage then removal and refitting of existing sensor is normally OK. If the refurb is to a wheel over 5 years old, and the sensor is the original, the wise choice would be to renew the sensor to avoid the potential issues that reuse might cause.

[Neil1300R]

[quote=BamfordMike If the refurb is to a wheel over 5 years old, and the sensor is the original, the wise choice would be to renew the sensor to avoid the potential issues that reuse might cause.
[/quote]
bks!!! Wish I knew that last week
Off for a sulk now

[peterr96]

Neil1300R said:

bks!!! Wish I knew that last week
Off for a sulk now

Wish I knew that last year!
Also sulking

[Lunablack]

If my sensors fail, I'll be chucking them and using a tyre pressure gauge, like I have on every other car I've ever owned

[DAMIT]

Lunablack said:

If my sensors fail, I'll be chucking them and using a tyre pressure gauge, like I have on every other car I've ever owned

Whats the betting that you can't get rid of the dash warnings!!

[Lunablack]

DAMIT said:

Whats the betting that you can't get rid of the dash warnings!!

No bulb = no warning

But in saying that, I suspect that with the correct OBD2 scanner, the system can be disabled

[engagegear]

Had my wheels done new valves fitted and tyres replaced and balanced , took the advice from the faq's and ordered 4 green alligator valves from the BMW part number listed . I can only speak for my car but these valves were the wrong size . Which was a ball ache as I now have to remove the lot and start again. They leak at the valve and are loose in the wheel . The overall depth of the green valve is too small, it needed to be black alligator valve for my 07 v8 which is longer . Just bought I'd put this up so someone else may be able to avoid this costly time consuming mistake .

[CarbonV12V]

I have fitted one of these to my track car.

http://tyresure.com/buy_online.htm

http://www.tyresensors.com/product/110/Replacement...

The sensors are only £31 each so the AM sticker better be gold plated!

Edited by CarbonV12V on Tuesday 17th April 22:46

[Lunablack]

I wouldn't pay BMW or AM prices

I bought my valves from here for less than £20 for all 4.... They fitted perfectly and I haven't lost a single PSI..

The only thing I regret is that they even do them in Black if I'd known I'd have ordered those instead...

The part Number is 43LMS11,3. Made by Alligator

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Metallventil-titangrau-4-St...

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&...

Edited by Lunablack on Tuesday 17th April 23:04

[CraigV12V]

Got call from wheel refurb guy; cannot get valves off wheels

Tried mole grips - no cigar.

So thanks to PH I have sourced 4 new valves, will grind old ones off and in due course fit new.

I'll up date when finished.