TPMS Help please
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
From: AL
TPMS Help please
Hey guys my right front tps went out a month or so ago so I installed a new one during programing the left front sensor would not program so I took my magnet and stuck it on the back wheel (making the computer think it was the front wheel) a second later a honk so I know the control unit is good because it programed all the wheels exept the sensor in the left front.The sensor in question was working fine no signs of going out but no matter what I do it won't program. Do I need another 100 doller sensor or is there a fix.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I'd say you need a bigger magnet (unlikely as it programmed on the other wheel) or a new sensor. Are you sure it was the correct part #? Did you get a sensor for the wrong year C5? (although $100 sounds like a 99 sensor).
Racer
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 261
Likes: 3
From: Elizabethtown Kentucky
If it's a 1997-2000, it should take a 315Mhz sensor. I bought four new ones from tirerack and installed them on my last tire replacement two weeks ago. They were $64.00 plus shipping each. Programmed just fine and I shouldn't have to worry about them. The orginial ones on my 98 were still working, but thought why mess with them later.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
From: AL
I ordered it from Gene at gm parts house his 97-00 are only $100 but the new sensor programmed fine one of the old ones didn't and it worked great before but why would the one wheel need a bigger magnet than the others?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I've heard of 97-99 owners who fitted 00 sensors and then wondered why they wouldn't program (they work on different frequencies)
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: San Diego CA
It's possible that it's just dumb luck and your old sensor battery bit the dust right around the time that you changed out the new one on the other tire. The new sensors from tire rack seem to be the way to go. I just purchased 4 new ones after getting new rims, and they work great on my 2000 TPMS system.
Keep in mind that the battery life time was only setup for 10 years from the factory, so you're on borrowed time with all your old sensors. I would suggest biting the bullet and getting all the old ones replaced.
Keep in mind that the battery life time was only setup for 10 years from the factory, so you're on borrowed time with all your old sensors. I would suggest biting the bullet and getting all the old ones replaced.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,979
Likes: 31
From: Wichita KS
All sensors are the same for 97-00. The Gen II sensors are 01-04.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 88
Likes: 3
From: Bakersfield CA
You can rebuild the sensors yourself, it is not that hard to do. It takes me about an hour to 4 of them once they are out of the wheel. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...batteries.html
Last edited by C5at57; Mar 22, 2011 at 06:17 PM.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 347
Likes: 1
From: Martinez GA
why not replace the battery in them yourself? if you are dismounting to put in a new sensor just remove old one and replace battery for a fraction of the cost? just did that on my front pass side......then dang-it if the front drivers side developed a slow leak like a week later....since they dismounted it to fix the leak i went ahead and replaced the battery in that one myself also....just to be safe. pretty straight forward video on youtube on how to.
good luck
good luck
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Racer
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 261
Likes: 3
From: Elizabethtown Kentucky
I thought about the going the route of replacing batteries on my old sensors when I changed to C6 Z06 OEM wheels and tires on my 98 vert a couple of weeks ago, but I just bought 4 new ones from tirerack and installed them when I changed. It saved me the expense of breaking down the other rims and removing those sensors, rebuilding them and making sure they worked okay. Tirerack charged $64.00 plus shipping for each. They are half that price on 01-04's. Theirs programmed with no problems. FYI, 315Mhz is the frequency on gen I sensors.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,353
Likes: 24,781
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Try this trick that I learned from another forum member - place the magnet right over the sensor location in the barrel of the wheel, not the on the front lip of the wheel when you do the programming sequence. I had a hard time getting mine to sync until I placed the magnet in the new location - worked like a charm.
Can't hurt to try this.
Can't hurt to try this.