One point that has not been mentioned. Although the low battery warning is annoying, it is also false.
I have an 08 that I bought new in October 2007. My original batteries worked for 4 and a half years AFTER I got my first low battery warning. A true low battery warning should mean that battery failure is imminent not four years away!
One point that has not been mentioned. Although the low battery warning is annoying, it is also false. I have an 08 that I bought new in October 2007. My original batteries worked for 4 and a half years AFTER I got my first low battery warning. A true low battery warning should mean that battery failure is imminent not four years away! So one option is just to live with it, which I did until tutorials for replacing batteries were published. Once you get adept at the message reset technique you can clear your display easily even with heavy gloves on.
I have replaced one set of batteries so far. Now one of the replacements is giving the low battery signal full time. I will replace it during my next tire change.
Your technical info on the Lithium battery is also incorrect. It is not the temperature of the tire that effects the battery but the electrical load that dissipates the pacification layer which is what causes the apparent low voltage. Although the ambient temperature does affect the speed at which the pacification layer dissipates.
UPDATE!!
Thanks guys! So, dealer in T-town called and since the failure of the sensor occurred 3 weeks before warranty ended, they are going to replace the front tire sensor.
I checked, and I have the old sensors. So, should I replace it with the new part that cannot have the batteries changed, or just deal and find a buddy here in the spring that will help me remove the tires and send the sensors off to Fred?
I am leaning on having them replace the sensor as the new ones are SUPPOSE to last 5+ years and are made by the company that makes the GM 10+ year sensors.
However, wanting $250 to mount an Angel GT on the front is practically rape.
They need to charge me JUST for the tire and not for the removal and balancing as it is warranty work.
If they won't relent on that tire price, I will just have them replace the sensor and put my old tire on and go somewhere else when I need a tire in about 500-1000 miles.
Regardless of exactly HOW the temperature affects the voltage, it does affect the voltage, which is what I said and it does explain why the sensor can apparently work fine in warm temps and not in cold temps.
Lithium batteries are almost impossible to know their life or capacity based on voltage because they hold their voltage very steady and drop so quickly (in contract to, for example, lead acid or alkaline, both of which have a very predictable curve). So the only way to know life to estimate it, based on an actual log of watt-hours used vs. full-charged capacity.... and that is complicated (especially since with rechargeables, the total capacity goes down with each discharge, and such calculations are what is done on laptops and phones and such). It is more complicated than can be reasonably accomplished in something like a TPMS. Thus, they have only a tiny, tiny fraction of a volt to indicate if they might be nearing the end of life, and that fraction is far less than the temperature variant... at least right when they start to show signs of failure.
Now, could they have moved the warning just a little bit more down the voltage range to extend the non-annoying service life of the sensor batteries? Probably... but it would also give less warning time. I can't say they could do a better job because not only I am not an electronics engineer, but I don't know their exact goals or what tolerances they have to deal with in the system.
The result CAN be annoying, no doubt.
I am leaning on having them replace the sensor as the new ones are SUPPOSE to last 5+ years and are made by the company that makes the GM 10+ year sensors. However, wanting $250 to mount an Angel GT on the front is practically rape. They need to charge me JUST for the tire and not for the removal and balancing as it is warranty work. If they won't relent on that tire price, I will just have them replace the sensor and put my old tire on and go somewhere else when I need a tire in about 500-1000 miles.
Billy
By the way, just want to mention that we really should not be soldering to batteries; instead, buy the tabbed versions and solder to the tabs. The nylon seals inside the battery will not take the heat of even low temperature soldering, not to mention the risk of getting lithium hot.
Lithium batteries have a bad habit of exploding when really hot (Hey, I know some people like that, too!)
... Cycle Gear an hour away, has that tire on sale for $144 and $25 mounting. ...
I spoke to the parts manager... said they do free mounting and balancing... so the price of $250 for an Angel GT 120/70/17 was the tire price with free mounting.. so the Kawasaki required service of removing the tire for the sensor would have no effect on the price of the tire. It's $250 for the tire. They refuse to mount a tire you don't buy from them. The dealer 40 min away said $139 for the same tire and $50 to mount, I think. Cycle Gear an hour away, has that tire on sale for $144 and $25 mounting. Robbery by the local dealership on that tire. No way I will buy any tires from them.
Get the new tire put on first.