TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR INDICATOR
DESCRIPTION
A Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM) indicator is standard equipment on all instrument clusters. However, on vehicles not equipped with the TPM system, this indicator is electronically disabled. This indicator is located within the odometer Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) unit.
The TPM indicator consists of a stencil-like cutout of an icon that represents a cross-section of a tire with a centered exclamation point in the VFD unit. The odometer VFD unit is soldered onto the instrument cluster electronic circuit board, and is visible through a window with a smoked clear lens located on the lower edge of the tachometer gauge dial face of the cluster overlay. The dark lens over the VFD prevents it from being clearly visible when it is not illuminated. The indicator appears in an amber color when it is illuminated. When the TPM indicator is illuminated, all of the odometer VFD information is illuminated at full brightness and cannot be dimmed until the TPM indicator is extinguished.
The TPM indicator is serviced as a unit with the odometer VFD unit in the instrument cluster.
OPERATION
The Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM) indicator gives an indication to the vehicle operator of the status of the TPM system. The TPM indicator is controlled by the instrument cluster circuit board based upon cluster programming and electronic messages received by the cluster from the Sentry Key REmote Entry Module (SKREEM) (also known as the Wireless Control Module/WCM) over the Controller Area Network (CAN) data bus.
The TPM indicator is completely controlled by the instrument cluster logic circuit, and that logic will only allow this indicator to operate when the instrument cluster receives a battery current input on the fused ignition switch output (run-start) circuit. Therefore, the indicator will always be OFF when the ignition switch is in any position except ON or START. The indicator only illuminates when it is energized by the instrument cluster logic circuit. The instrument cluster will turn ON the TPM indicator for the following reasons:
- Bulb Test - Each time the ignition switch is turned to the ON position, the SKREEM sends an electronic TPM indicator lamp-ON message to the cluster to illuminate the TPM indicator for about three seconds as a bulb test.
- TPM Indicator Lamp-On Message - Each time the cluster receives an electronic TPM indicator lamp-ON message from the SKREEM, the indicator will be illuminated. The indicator can be flashed ON and OFF, or illuminated solid, as dictated by the SKREEM message. The indicator remains illuminated until the cluster receives a lamp-OFF message from the SKREEM, or until the ignition switch is turned to the OFF position, whichever occurs first.
- Communication Error - If the cluster receives no TPM lamp-ON or lamp-OFF messages from the SKREEM for six consecutive seconds, the TPM indicator is illuminated by the instrument cluster. The indicator remains controlled and illuminated by the cluster until a valid lamp-ON or lamp-OFF message is received from the SKREEM.
- Actuator Test - Each time the cluster is put through the actuator test, the TPM indicator will be turned ON, then OFF again during the odometer VFD portion of the test in order to confirm the functionality of the VFD and the cluster control circuitry.
The SKREEM performs a self-test each time the ignition switch is turned to the ON position to decide whether the TPM system is in good operating condition and whether the tire inflation pressures are too high or too low. The SKREEM then sends the proper lamp-ON or lamp-OFF message to the ElectroMechanical Instrument Cluster (EMIC). If the instrument cluster turns ON the TPM indicator after the bulb test, it indicates that the inflation pressure of a tire is too low or that a malfunction has occurred and the TPM system is ineffective.
For proper diagnosis of the TPM system, the SKREEM, the EMIC, the CAN data bus or the electronic communication related to TPM indicator operation a diagnostic scan tool is required. Refer to the appropriate diagnostic information.