I was out driving around yesterday in my 1998 Vert, M6, 100% stock, when the 'Service Engine Soon' message popped up. This has happened somewhat frequently in hot weather, this is the first I've seen in cold weather. I pulled the codes, this is what came up:

28 TCS C1281 H
A0 LDCM B2282 H, B2284 H, U 1064 H
A1 RDCM B2283 H, B2285 H, U1064 H
B0 RFA U 1096 H, U 1064 H

The TCS C1281 H is apparently the steering wheel position sensor. From what I've read, it seems that it is common for this to throw intermittent errors. Should I worry about this?

The A0, A1, B0 codes may be related to my replacing the batteries in both key fobs. I had some trouble getting them trained to the car. I did both, and both seemed to work. The next day, only 1 worked.

Retrained the one that didn't work, which fixed it. Then the other, previously working one didn't. I think I knew which was which anyway.

Retrained both again, finally I think both worked. I'm wondering if my original procedure was flawed:

With key 1 in the ignition, train #2.
Shut off car, remove #1 from ignition and replace with #2
Train #1.

The last time I trained them, I trained both without shutting down and swapping keys. Is this the correct way to do it?

In any case, I didn't see any codes that indicated there was any need to 'Service Engine Soon'.

 

You must train both fobs at the same time (training session) or they will not both work.

 

I'm pretty sure that is all the codes. There were several modules that displayed 'no codes'.

After reading up on the C1281 code, apparently it can cause a 'service vehicle soon' message. I didn't know there was both 'engine' and 'vehicle'. I may have just assumed it was engine.

I've also read the C1281 can cause warning lights on the dash. In my case there weren't any.

I don't have a multimeter, I suppose I should get one. It has spent the last several months on a battery charger because I was out of town and couldn't drive it. Not sure how old the battery is.

 

The the 'service vehicle soon' message appeared again. I checked for codes before shutting the car off, it showed a current c1281 code - it had both a C and H suffix. It happened when I was almost home and messed up a shift. I was trying to make a left turn, rolling along trying to time the turn with the oncoming traffic so I could go from 2nd instead of stopping and starting from first.

Had to stop, I think I didn't quite have the gear all the way in 1st so car didn't go. Tried going to first again, got some grinding (thought I had the clutch in all the way). Clutch in, made sure it was all the way again, moved the stick back and forth between neutral and 1st once, this time car went smoothly. Sometime during this is when the svs message appeared.

I think my original post was incorrect, I saw SVS, not SES. The gauges showed 14.1 volts, and I had been driving around for an hour, so I don't think it is a battery issue. There were no other codes, the previous a0, a1, and b0 codes still were just history codes, no C suffix.

Does it make sense that my messing up a shift would cause a c1281? I'm wondering if there could be a bad connection somewhere.

The car sees to behave normally after the code s thrown. Is there any reason I shouldn't ignore it? According to my dad, the original owner, it has done this for years.

 

I looked around the base of the steering column, didn't see anything that looked out of place. There is a cover around the sensor, so there are no exposed wires.

I cleared all the codes, so it will be interesting to see if the a and b codes happen again. One winter dad stored the the car without a battery tender and let it run down. It's possible that is the source of the a0, a1, and b0 codes. I know the codes should clear out eventually, but dad hardly drove it. They may be left over from then. If they come back, I will know there is an issue.

 

If the battery is at or above 12.5V, check the following thread:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ndow-inop.html

I had something similar happen to me recently. First, I checked the battery voltage and even though it was at ~12.5V, I replaced it with an Optima Yellow-Top (at no small expense, mind you) and the problem came back a week later.

Then, I checked the door wiring and found bare wires on both doors. They looked just like the pics on the above thread. I taped the wires and the problem has not reapppeared.

A poor ground in the door connectors can cause lots of DIC errors, can cause the gauges to either stop working, or go crazy, can cause the HVAC to stop working and can cause the door controls to stop working, etc.

Here's the errors I pulled:

10-PCM P1626H
28-TCS U1301H
40-BCM B0502H C, B0507H C, B2482H C, U1255H, U1096H, U1016H
58-SDM U1301H
60-IPC U1255H, U1016H, U1064H, U1040H, U1176H, Y1056H, U1088H
80-RADIO U1064H, 1016H, 1096H
99-HVAC U1064H, U1160H, U1255H
A1-RDCM B2265H, B1255H, U1064H
A6-SCM U1300H, U1255H

 

I checked with my dad, the battery is 2.5 years old, so it should be good. I didn't pull the battery out to check for leaks, because I didn't want to reset everything again and wasn't sure if it would cause problems with security systems, for example the steering column lock.

I checked with a flashlight and didn't see any evidence of leaks. Dad said it has never had a battery leak in the past.

He said the service vehicle soon message has been going on since it was new, and had been to the dealer many times under warranty, never fixed. He finally gave up and just ignored it.

Interesting about the door connector causing problems. I've never experienced any problems with the doors or gauges not working, I just saw the old history codes. If it does happen, I'll have to remember to check those connectors.