TyrePal Solar head unit. A cautionary tale.

[BobtheBass]

Im not sure if I'm the only one who didnt know this but apparently your'e not supposed to leave the solar TyrePal display unit sat on your dash for long periods of time in the sunshine. I left mine in its usual position above the radio over the winter (in Gloucestershire, not somewhere hot!) and the sun has cooked the little solar panel on top. I have had to order a new one today at a cost of £55 so I will make sure that every time the van isn't in use I will put the display somewhere cool and out of the sun. If you cook yours the same as mine and hear a very loud rapid clicking sound in the cab its not a geiger counter its your display unit telling you its knackered!

 

[funflair]

So a solar panel you can't leave in the sun, brill.

Good warning though, thankfully I have the powered one.

Martin

 

[PeteH]

Mine has sat in the front window of the `van since purchase in 2018. Seems OK? But it faces west and the garage doors?. So maybe it does not get sufficient to disable, just enough to keep going.?

 

[Lenny HB]

I have the opposite problem sometimes get a flat battery as the front blind comes down in front of where mine is mounted.

 

[Wh05apk]

Mine is inside the blinds when not being used so that helps it.

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[Ridgeway]

I have the opposite problem sometimes get a flat battery as the front blind comes down in front of where mine is mounted.

same here, mines in storage inside and has the blinds closed, still it usually wakes up after a short while.

good to know about the melting solar panel though, thanks for the tip on that.

 

[dunnah01]

You can get the cheapo Chinese one for £20 which doesn't seem to suffer from too much sun..

 

[Wombles]

BobtheBass thank you for that info. - have always left ours in full sun & no problems. Good to hear that TyrePal got back to you but surprised that the replacement isn't much lower cost as feedback on their after sales service on here has previously been excellent.

 

[BobtheBass]

BobtheBass thank you for that info. - have always left ours in full sun & no problems. Good to hear that TyrePal got back to you but surprised that the replacement isn't much lower cost as feedback on their after sales service on here has previously been excellent.

To be fair I had to ask if they sold the display unit on it's own as they first suggested I buy a full kit at £105. They checked their records and told me mine was nearly 2 years old so out of warranty.

 

[Wombles]

To be fair I had to ask if they sold the display unit on it's own as they first suggested I buy a full kit at £105. They checked their records and told me mine was nearly 2 years old so out of warranty.

Did you mention Fun as we have a 20% discount code https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...-code-for-funsters.194219/page-4#post-3746528 ? Maybe it wasn't a staff member who doesn't normally reply to Customer Services enquiries as you shouldn't have had to ask for that option as they would normally work to find the best solution.

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[bigwood]

Not a head unit problem but something I was made aware of by another motorhome owner.
The valves on his tyres are standard length and he has full wheel trims fitted. The Tyrepal sensors were difficult to fit due to the length of the valve stems and the wheel trims wouldn’t fit over the sensors.

 

[Lenny HB]

To be fair I had to ask if they sold the display unit on it's own as they first suggested I buy a full kit at £105. They checked their records and told me mine was nearly 2 years old so out of warranty.

I thought under EU consumer law all goods have a 2 year warranty.

 

[mikebeaches]

Interesting, and sorry to hear about the OP's problem, but grateful he's shared it.

We have the previous generation Tyrepal - now about 8 years old (transferred from previous van). It has to be plugged into the 12-volt system periodically to charge the internal battery. But still works well. I've replaced the batteries in the wheel sender units once, and I think they're about ready to be done again.

But the system hasn't missed a beat and has provided great service. Slightly smug now that I didn't upgrade to the newer system...

 

[Lenny HB]

But still works well. I've replaced the batteries in the wheel sender units once, and I think they're about ready to be done again.

I have the solar I find the batteries only last 1-1½years.

 

[Belledog]

How do people set theirs. I.e above and below. It keeps beeping at me on a journey.

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[Pjstingray]

I run 75 psi front and 80 psi rear - some will say that is too high, but that isn't the question. I did try setting mine at 10 psi over and 5 psi under. The low has never been a problem as they never lose much air. I have increased the high to 15 psi over as mine also keeps beeping. If on a motorway in Spanish heat the tyres will easily increase by 10 psi which is normal. The advantage with the TPMS is that you can see that all tyres are doing roughly the the same thing. Camber and the sun predominantly on one side will show.

 

[stevel2]

We had exactly the same problem in Italy last year. Temperature and pressure on the sunny side went up dramatically on both wheels. Thought it was quite scary to see the temp and pressure change the amount that it did. Ended up increasing the high to 20psi over whilst we were away and then reduced it back when we were back home. I think 5 to 10 psi under is about right.

 

[Wombles]

How do people set theirs. I.e above and below. It keeps beeping at me on a journey.

From TyrePal FAQ https://www.tyrepal.co.uk/faqs/ (it's in the instruction leaflet that comes with the set too) & has worked well for us:
"For general motoring we recommend that you set your levels at 20% above the level recommended by the vehicle manufacturer and 15% below the recommended level. For example, if your vehicle has recommended “normal” tyre pressures of 35psi front and 40psi rear, you would set your front “high pressure” level at 42psi, rear at 48psi, and the front “low pressure” level at 30psi and rear at 34psi.

For temperature setting, we recommend using the factory pre-set of 70C. This is high enough to avoid spurious alerts in normal driving and low enough to give an alert in the event of a tyre overheating.

Track and race users are trying to squeeze optimum performance from the vehicle so tend to set closer tolerances, whereas other users may prefer to avoid nuisance alarms and be content to just have a warning if things are going wrong. "

 

[Bessy765]

I expect that if a van is parked up in full sun for long periods of time the heat generated through the windscreen is pretty intense, when not using ours for a while I put the head unit (solar) on the drivers seat. It gets enough sunlight to stay charged but without cooking it.

 

[mikebeaches]

I have the solar I find the batteries only last 1-1½years.

Suppose to some extent the battery life of the senders depends on how much driving you do.

I know one of my senders has stopped sending a signal and another is slow to start, but I'm confident it's just new batteries required. I had exactly the same when the first set started to expire.

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[PeteH]

My tyres will increase up to 10psi in use. So long as they are consistent across all 4 it should not be an issue.?. Similarly with temperature, You may view a difference, due IMO to Road condition's.

 

[PeteH]

I run 75 psi front and 80 psi rear -

Is that Cold?.

 

[Jaws]

Surely the unit is not fit for purpose if it has a solar panel fitted but cannot be left the sun for extended periods ?
Although I have TyrePals fitted and this is far from the first set I have had, I am FAR from being a fan of the company..
My dealings with them have never been well handled and always left me with the feeling their idea of customer service is limited to 'how much money can we get out of you '

 

[hilldweller]

apparently your'e not supposed to leave the solar TyrePal display unit sat on your dash for long periods of time in the sunshine.

That is unacceptable. I'd demand a refund with threat of county court. Not fit for purpose.

Unless they made it abundantly clear before purchase.

 

[BobtheBass]

This is their actual reply to my query. I don't think I have misinterpreted it? I agree I should probably take the matter further but after my difficult last (and only so far) dealing with the Small Claims Court life's too short to worry!

>
> It sounds as though the solar panel has disintegrated and the monitor is no longer functioning. This has potentially happened if the monitor has been left on the dashboard for a long period of time, whilst your motorhome has been parked up out of season. I see from our records that you purchased nearly two years ago, therefore the warranty has expired.
>
> A new Solar Colour kit is £99.00 including VAT, plus P&P £5.95

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[TizzyOnTour]

Interesting thread. Our solar unit developed a similar fault. I’ve attached a picture to show what I mean. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we contacted TyrePal, who I have to say were beyond reproach in their response. At their request we sent the unit back to them and after examination they agreed to send us a free replacement. The unit was just under 12 months when it first started deteriorating, although just over when we got around to reporting it, but they replaced under warranty without question.
certainly concerning if there is an inherent defect.