[Z06] weird problem with TPMS, very weird
08-27-2016, 10:43 AM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
weird problem with TPMS, very weird
looks like one of my TMPS battery is dying
so as of lately i get random messages, sometimes i get "front right tire pressure high 50psi" which is still no problem and can be driven at any speed and then other times get another message randomly "front right tire pressure LOW/FLAT reduce speed to 55 mph" and here is the weird part i am still able to drive at any speed, got it up to 90mph ( in mexico off coarse)
so as of lately i get random messages, sometimes i get "front right tire pressure high 50psi" which is still no problem and can be driven at any speed and then other times get another message randomly "front right tire pressure LOW/FLAT reduce speed to 55 mph" and here is the weird part i am still able to drive at any speed, got it up to 90mph ( in mexico off coarse)
08-27-2016, 10:57 PM
#2
Melting Slicks
looks like one of my TMPS battery is dying
so as of lately i get random messages, sometimes i get "front right tire pressure high 50psi" which is still no problem and can be driven at any speed and then other times get another message randomly "front right tire pressure LOW/FLAT reduce speed to 55 mph" and here is the weird part i am still able to drive at any speed, got it up to 90mph ( in mexico off coarse)
so as of lately i get random messages, sometimes i get "front right tire pressure high 50psi" which is still no problem and can be driven at any speed and then other times get another message randomly "front right tire pressure LOW/FLAT reduce speed to 55 mph" and here is the weird part i am still able to drive at any speed, got it up to 90mph ( in mexico off coarse)
08-29-2016, 02:45 PM
#3
Le Mans Master
It is just a warning message that you should reduce your speed to 55 as that is the max speed recommended for driving a runflat tire with no air pressure, it doesn't physically prevent the car from going faster than 55 mph. Same thing happened to me recently and since my car is 10 years old decided to replace all 4 sensors.
Clif
08-29-2016, 08:30 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
The following users liked this post:
MUKAK (09-04-2016)
08-29-2016, 09:07 PM
#6
Why didn't the DIC say "Right front tire pressure monitor battery is low." so that it could be replaced before getting too low to operate correctly and in doing so prevent a false errors? That is weird. The things that make you go hummmm.
08-30-2016, 11:21 AM
#8
Melting Slicks
I'm no expert on the subject, but my guess is that the remote receiver either recognizes a signal or it doesn't and it can't determine whether or not the battery is low. Same as with your FOB, there is no warning about a low battery. Since the car's battery is hardwired, you have a voltage reading, but even then that isn't totally reliable as far a knowing if you have a weak battery.
08-30-2016, 11:22 AM
#9
Melting Slicks
08-30-2016, 12:04 PM
#10
Safety Car
08-30-2016, 01:46 PM
#11
I'm no expert on the subject, but my guess is that the remote receiver either recognizes a signal or it doesn't and it can't determine whether or not the battery is low. Same as with your FOB, there is no warning about a low battery. Since the car's battery is hardwired, you have a voltage reading, but even then that isn't totally reliable as far a knowing if you have a weak battery.
08-30-2016, 05:42 PM
#12
Melting Slicks
Sorry, not always easy to tell. I think what the OP thought was weird is the part about the DIC saying max speed of 55 yet he was able to go faster than 55. Evidently he thought it should have prevented him from going faster.
08-30-2016, 05:49 PM
#13
Race Director
Thread Starter
also from what i hear if TPMS sensors go bad it messes with active handling, but in my case i was still able to juggle and select any mode i like to ( competitive mode in my case )
08-30-2016, 06:50 PM
#14
Le Mans Master
I learned a hard lesson about how the C6 TPMS system works a few weeks ago -
I swapped out the street wheels (with programmed TPMS's) for a set of track wheels (also with TPMS sensors, but not yet programmed) in preparation for a track day at BMP.
I leave at 4:30AM to head for the track, all the while looking at the DIC and seeing the pressures being displayed that I would have expected, thinking (like a dumb-*** would at 4:30AM) "gee, that's cool, I didn't have to do anything..".
Fast-forward to about 30 miles down the freeway (probably 26 to be precise, as IIRC that is the mileage trigger the system is programmed for) I get the "SERVICE TIRE MONITOR SYSTEM", and sure enough, now I see all "XX's" for each tire.
So now I am thinking, "great, I am screwed, when I get to the track AH will shut down the party at 55 MPH".
So now my ignorance is amplified - I hang a u-turn, go all the way back home 30 mins in the wrong direction to pick up my Tech 2 (thinking THAT will be the magic bullet).
I drive the 90 mins to the track, now arriving an hour later than expected (good thing I left early).
I whip out the Tech 2, and the first challenge is with the updated SW version I have; the friggin' TPMS learn function is BURIED in obscure sub-menu's, and I am standing there with the Tech 2 in one hand and a slow-*** cell phone connection in the other, trying to find info to help me navigate. Ultimately I deduce where the function was hiding, utilizing a combination of a hint from older instructions from a C5 post and a determination to go through every friggin' menu option until I figured it out.
So, I find the option, put the car into learn mode and get the obligatory horn chirp to tell me "hey a-hole, I am ready now..".. and.. you guessed it.. "now what??". Nada, that's what, because I didn't have the OTHER tool to force the TPMS sensors to report to the BCM (you can't use a magnet like the older C5 sensors, but at least I knew THAT part already).
To add insult to injury, during this "trying to fix the issue with the Tech 2 dance" a Porsche dude strolls over (hearing the multiple horn chirps) and says "hey, what is that tool you have there? I have a buddy with a Corvette, and whenever I see him at the track with that tool in his hand, he's usually angry and cursing" (but don't worry dear readers, vindication was had - this guy and almost all the other cars that day ate C6 Z tire dust for breakfast AND lunch!
).
To summarize what I learned about the C6 TPMS system -
1. Having a Tech 2 doesn't do anything that your FOB can't do - don't go back for it if you just swapped wheels and didn't re-train the TPMS's, it won't save you from your ignorance of how the system works.
2. I never did program the new TPMS's that day - I drove 4 sessions hitting 130 MPH every lap, with max G's through the corners, and never saw any additional messages on the DIC other than the original one. The party was never interrupted.
3. Even though the TPMS's were NOT programmed, I could see the pressures being reported by the Tech 2 - this combination MAY have been why I didn't get shut down - even though the sensors were not programmed, the BCM was reading good pressures from all four.
4. You don't have to spend $80 dollars on a fancy "TPMS trigger" tool (which has to cost about $8 to build BTW).
5. You don't know that you have a "problem" until you are miles down the road.
Here is the process for those folks that didn't already know.
1. Put the car in "Accessory" mode (not "Run" mode).
2. Hold both lock and un-lock buttons on the FOB at the same time, until you hear the first horn chirp (you are now in TPMS program mode).
3. Go to the front left (driver's side) tire, let out air (most of it) until you hear the horn chirp - congrats, your LF TPMS sensor is now registered.
4. Repeat step 3. in this order - RF - RR - LR (basically you are walking clock-wise around the car).
5. Re-fill all four tires to the proper psi - DONE.
Too bad I didn't take the time to properly research how (and train) the new TPMS before I left the house - shame on me.
Of course switching the street wheels back on the car will require a repeat of the training process.
I swapped out the street wheels (with programmed TPMS's) for a set of track wheels (also with TPMS sensors, but not yet programmed) in preparation for a track day at BMP.
I leave at 4:30AM to head for the track, all the while looking at the DIC and seeing the pressures being displayed that I would have expected, thinking (like a dumb-*** would at 4:30AM) "gee, that's cool, I didn't have to do anything..".
Fast-forward to about 30 miles down the freeway (probably 26 to be precise, as IIRC that is the mileage trigger the system is programmed for) I get the "SERVICE TIRE MONITOR SYSTEM", and sure enough, now I see all "XX's" for each tire.
So now I am thinking, "great, I am screwed, when I get to the track AH will shut down the party at 55 MPH".
So now my ignorance is amplified - I hang a u-turn, go all the way back home 30 mins in the wrong direction to pick up my Tech 2 (thinking THAT will be the magic bullet).
I drive the 90 mins to the track, now arriving an hour later than expected (good thing I left early).
I whip out the Tech 2, and the first challenge is with the updated SW version I have; the friggin' TPMS learn function is BURIED in obscure sub-menu's, and I am standing there with the Tech 2 in one hand and a slow-*** cell phone connection in the other, trying to find info to help me navigate. Ultimately I deduce where the function was hiding, utilizing a combination of a hint from older instructions from a C5 post and a determination to go through every friggin' menu option until I figured it out.
So, I find the option, put the car into learn mode and get the obligatory horn chirp to tell me "hey a-hole, I am ready now..".. and.. you guessed it.. "now what??". Nada, that's what, because I didn't have the OTHER tool to force the TPMS sensors to report to the BCM (you can't use a magnet like the older C5 sensors, but at least I knew THAT part already).
To add insult to injury, during this "trying to fix the issue with the Tech 2 dance" a Porsche dude strolls over (hearing the multiple horn chirps) and says "hey, what is that tool you have there? I have a buddy with a Corvette, and whenever I see him at the track with that tool in his hand, he's usually angry and cursing" (but don't worry dear readers, vindication was had - this guy and almost all the other cars that day ate C6 Z tire dust for breakfast AND lunch!
).To summarize what I learned about the C6 TPMS system -
1. Having a Tech 2 doesn't do anything that your FOB can't do - don't go back for it if you just swapped wheels and didn't re-train the TPMS's, it won't save you from your ignorance of how the system works.
2. I never did program the new TPMS's that day - I drove 4 sessions hitting 130 MPH every lap, with max G's through the corners, and never saw any additional messages on the DIC other than the original one. The party was never interrupted.
3. Even though the TPMS's were NOT programmed, I could see the pressures being reported by the Tech 2 - this combination MAY have been why I didn't get shut down - even though the sensors were not programmed, the BCM was reading good pressures from all four.
4. You don't have to spend $80 dollars on a fancy "TPMS trigger" tool (which has to cost about $8 to build BTW).
5. You don't know that you have a "problem" until you are miles down the road.
Here is the process for those folks that didn't already know.
1. Put the car in "Accessory" mode (not "Run" mode).
2. Hold both lock and un-lock buttons on the FOB at the same time, until you hear the first horn chirp (you are now in TPMS program mode).
3. Go to the front left (driver's side) tire, let out air (most of it) until you hear the horn chirp - congrats, your LF TPMS sensor is now registered.
4. Repeat step 3. in this order - RF - RR - LR (basically you are walking clock-wise around the car).
5. Re-fill all four tires to the proper psi - DONE.
Too bad I didn't take the time to properly research how (and train) the new TPMS before I left the house - shame on me.
Of course switching the street wheels back on the car will require a repeat of the training process.
Last edited by Dan_the_C5_Man; 08-30-2016 at 09:13 PM.
08-30-2016, 07:48 PM
#15
Le Mans Master
I had my tpms reprogramed after a wheel change and each time the tech went to a wheel he used a rubber mallet and tapped the valve. The tech said it just lets a little air through the ball in the stem which activated the monitor with a reading.
Clif
Clif
09-04-2016, 10:18 AM
#16
Race Director
Thread Starter
09-04-2016, 03:38 PM
#17
I had similar issues with my tpms, and it took me a while to figure out it was my 12v to usb phone charger. When I plugged it in, my car wouldn't recognize my key fob, and my tpms would read all x's....