Steelmate TP-90 Review July 2016 OVERVIEW I needed a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) to monitor the tires on my LeesureLite trailer. I have an existing TPMS system on it however the monitoring device fits on a keychain and is difficult to read. I already use an external TPMS system on my Honda GL1800-2015 which interfaces directly with my external GPS. The external GPS does have the option of adding two more sensors however a set of sensors is about 140$! The Steelmate TP-90 system was only $71 after rebate! Please note to use this or any external TPMS system you must have metal valve stems or bad things will happen! I had the valve stems on the trailer tires replaced with steel stems from kurveygirl.com.

UNBOXING www.gl1800-farkles.com The box arrived well packaged and securely taped. The kit contains: 2 TPMS sensors 1 powered gauge Instructions and a bag of extras

Extras www.gl1800-farkles.com TPMS sensor dis-assembly tool Valve Stem Nut Wrench Spare valve stem nut Spare locking washer for TPMS 2 valve stem boots 2 valve stem nuts Keep the spare parts with you when you travel!

INITIAL INSTALLATION I decided to test out the system before investing the time to completely install the readout onto my GL1800. I always keep a charged Odyssey PC680 battery in the shop to test out farkles so I put it up on my test bench and hooked up the display to it. When you install the display ensure you connect it to a source of switched 12 volts like the accessory terminal on your fuse block. The display booted right up and displayed alternate blinking red bars which indicates an uninitialized display (sensors have not been connected). Next I installed the rubber dust boot over each of my trailer tires and screwed on the tensioning nut and screwed it to the bottom of the valve stem. Next I followed the directions in the manual to initialized the sensors to the display. Basically press a few buttons choose front or back and SLOWLY screw in the TPMS sensor onto the valve stem. You will hear a small amount of air escaping when you screw the sensor on. (NOTE This is unusual to me as I have several other TPMS systems and you will only hear air escaping when you UNSCREW the sensor)

Once the sensor is recognized by the display you will hear a beep and the display will show the tire pressure. Now would be a good time to tighten the tensioning nut up to the TPMS sensor to insure a secure fit. Once this has been accomplished move the rubber dust boot up and cover the bottom of the TPMS sensor. (WARNING this took forever as the boot is snug and it is difficult to get the lip to go completely around the bottom of the TPMS sensor) On the display press the arrow to go to the other sensor and repeat the above steps. Once this has been done hold the set button for 3 seconds and the display should change and show tire pressure and a green led bar. It should switch ever 2-3 seconds and show the other tire pressure. SETTING UP THE UNITS OF MEASUREMENT The display unit came set up in the metric system. Follow the instructions to set the units used to your countries preferences. You have the ability to set the pressure unit, temperature unit, the low pressure alarm, the high temperature warning, and the low voltage alarm. No surprises however the low pressure alarm has a range of 28 to 60 PSI only.

PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED Unfortunately there were a number of problems that had to be overcome with the shipped unit. Batteries installed in TPMS sensor The batteries are shipped live in the TPMS sensors. This is a very bad package design by the manufacturer and led to my next problem I suspect. Intermittent TPMS readings I next had an intermittent problem with the R sensor where it could be set up and paired with the display however after a certain period of time the display would loose the connection to the sensor and the display would read 0 PSI. I initially thought perhaps I had a bad sensor and got somewhat peeved. Then I hit upon replacing the batteries in both units. So a quit trip to a mega mart got me a pair of 1632 button cells and I was ready to change the batteries. Loose battery clips To disassemble the TPMS sensors please do the following Remove the locking washer from the TPMS Place the TPMS sensor into the provided holder

Next place the other half of the dis-assembly tool onto the TPMS sensor and unscrew it. When you separate the top and bottom half of the sensor you will see the battery which you push out.

On the sensor that had been giving me trouble the battery literally slid out when I turned the sensor to the side. I noticed that the metal band (with the + stamped on it) did not seem to be making contact with the battery. A little bending with some forceps fixed it. Insert the battery and then re-assemble the TPMS CAREFULLY. It is interesting to note that the other sensor s battery appeared to have a snug fit. SUMMARY There are a number of pros and cons to this TPMS system which are listed below Pros Cons Inexpensive Long range (currently the display is sitting on my workbench 25 away from the trailer and still has connectivity to the sensors. Separate display Loud buzzer to warn you if something is wrong Batteries come installed in the TPMS sensors. Be prepared to install new button cells when you get it Rubber boot dust cover is almost impossible to get on. Display is powered from bike as opposed to internal button cell. All in all I will keep it on the trailer as a test and see how well it works. I will mount the display on the GL1800 with velcro and see how it goes. 3 out of 5 stars Tom