TPMS questions, come on in...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 446
Likes: 1
From: Phillipsburg New Jersey
TPMS questions, come on in...
ok i have a few questions reguarding the tpms system on my 99 coupe.
-first off, those of you who "tricked" it by installing the sensors in a pressure tube/chamber.. LOVE that idea. but - in order to wake the sensors dont they need centrifugal force? (IE: wheels/sensors to spin above 10 mph?) if so, how does this work, wouldnt the system think it has 4 dead unresponsive sensors? more information on this would be great...
-second. i have a set of 'questionable' sensors. they came off a set of used wheels, and im unsure of their life. instead of installing them and paying all the money to find out theyre junk, is there any way to test the sensors out of the car without installing them?
-third, for those of you who simply say 'screw tpms' and run with no sensors in their c5's, how often does the system fault message appear? i remember reading some say it only comes on once every 50 or so miles, and one guy even noted that he disconnected the battery and hasnt seen the message since.
id just like to know what it's like to run without the sensors, i will be swapping track wheels often, from winter to summer wheels, etc...i refuse to buy 10 new sensors to appease this system. call me old school, but i take pleasure in checking my tire pressures by hand with no complaints. any experience/ information would be great. -Jeremy
-first off, those of you who "tricked" it by installing the sensors in a pressure tube/chamber.. LOVE that idea. but - in order to wake the sensors dont they need centrifugal force? (IE: wheels/sensors to spin above 10 mph?) if so, how does this work, wouldnt the system think it has 4 dead unresponsive sensors? more information on this would be great...
-second. i have a set of 'questionable' sensors. they came off a set of used wheels, and im unsure of their life. instead of installing them and paying all the money to find out theyre junk, is there any way to test the sensors out of the car without installing them?
-third, for those of you who simply say 'screw tpms' and run with no sensors in their c5's, how often does the system fault message appear? i remember reading some say it only comes on once every 50 or so miles, and one guy even noted that he disconnected the battery and hasnt seen the message since.
id just like to know what it's like to run without the sensors, i will be swapping track wheels often, from winter to summer wheels, etc...i refuse to buy 10 new sensors to appease this system. call me old school, but i take pleasure in checking my tire pressures by hand with no complaints. any experience/ information would be great. -Jeremy
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,979
Likes: 31
From: Wichita KS
ok i have a few questions reguarding the tpms system on my 99 coupe.
-first off, those of you who "tricked" it by installing the sensors in a pressure tube/chamber.. LOVE that idea. but - in order to wake the sensors dont they need centrifugal force? (IE: wheels/sensors to spin above 10 mph?) if so, how does this work, wouldnt the system think it has 4 dead unresponsive sensors? more information on this would be great...
Yes, the sensors need to be spun above 10-15 mph for them to transmit the pressure.
-second. i have a set of 'questionable' sensors. they came off a set of used wheels, and im unsure of their life. instead of installing them and paying all the money to find out theyre junk, is there any way to test the sensors out of the car without installing them?
Yes, you can train the sensors to your car using a strong magnet to see if they are working but this will not tell you if they will transmit the signal when you start to drive. 90% of the time when they train they will work fine. Training takes 2 mins to do. If you want you can send them out for a rebuild so you dont have to buy a new set, Gen I sensors are rated at 7 years but some people have gotten 10 out of them.
-third, for those of you who simply say 'screw tpms' and run with no sensors in their c5's, how often does the system fault message appear? i remember reading some say it only comes on once every 50 or so miles, and one guy even noted that he disconnected the battery and hasnt seen the message since.
The message will come on at start-up and about every 30 mins while driving (at least mine did when one was not working).
-first off, those of you who "tricked" it by installing the sensors in a pressure tube/chamber.. LOVE that idea. but - in order to wake the sensors dont they need centrifugal force? (IE: wheels/sensors to spin above 10 mph?) if so, how does this work, wouldnt the system think it has 4 dead unresponsive sensors? more information on this would be great...
Yes, the sensors need to be spun above 10-15 mph for them to transmit the pressure.
-second. i have a set of 'questionable' sensors. they came off a set of used wheels, and im unsure of their life. instead of installing them and paying all the money to find out theyre junk, is there any way to test the sensors out of the car without installing them?
Yes, you can train the sensors to your car using a strong magnet to see if they are working but this will not tell you if they will transmit the signal when you start to drive. 90% of the time when they train they will work fine. Training takes 2 mins to do. If you want you can send them out for a rebuild so you dont have to buy a new set, Gen I sensors are rated at 7 years but some people have gotten 10 out of them.
-third, for those of you who simply say 'screw tpms' and run with no sensors in their c5's, how often does the system fault message appear? i remember reading some say it only comes on once every 50 or so miles, and one guy even noted that he disconnected the battery and hasnt seen the message since.
The message will come on at start-up and about every 30 mins while driving (at least mine did when one was not working).
Here is the rebuild program if you are interested:
http://shop.jwmotoring.com/product.s...4&productId=39
Last edited by Corvette Don; Mar 1, 2009 at 09:37 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 446
Likes: 1
From: Phillipsburg New Jersey
Don, thanks for the information, but i dont understand how your message came on at startup...
right now my car has 4 working sensors. old, but working. i put on a set of spare rear wheels with no sensors,drove for about 5 miles, and never got a message.. i scrolled through and it displayed front pressures fine, but the rear sensors were simply blank.
i was hoping that if i put 4 new wheels on while all my sensors are all okay, that the display will simply read blank and have no fault messages.
right now my car has 4 working sensors. old, but working. i put on a set of spare rear wheels with no sensors,drove for about 5 miles, and never got a message.. i scrolled through and it displayed front pressures fine, but the rear sensors were simply blank.
i was hoping that if i put 4 new wheels on while all my sensors are all okay, that the display will simply read blank and have no fault messages.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,979
Likes: 31
From: Wichita KS
Don, thanks for the information, but i dont understand how your message came on at startup...
right now my car has 4 working sensors. old, but working. i put on a set of spare rear wheels with no sensors,drove for about 5 miles, and never got a message.. i scrolled through and it displayed front pressures fine, but the rear sensors were simply blank.
i was hoping that if i put 4 new wheels on while all my sensors are all okay, that the display will simply read blank and have no fault messages.
right now my car has 4 working sensors. old, but working. i put on a set of spare rear wheels with no sensors,drove for about 5 miles, and never got a message.. i scrolled through and it displayed front pressures fine, but the rear sensors were simply blank.
i was hoping that if i put 4 new wheels on while all my sensors are all okay, that the display will simply read blank and have no fault messages.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 4
From: North Port Fl
I own a tool that will test the sensors, It will check the battery, check the signal and display the frequency of the signal. This is the tool I have.
http://www.aescosc.com/pdfs/3833%20TIRE%20MONITOR.pdf
You should be able to find a shop that can test them and tell you weather they are alright. It takes a magnet and about a minute to test each sensor.
http://www.aescosc.com/pdfs/3833%20TIRE%20MONITOR.pdf
You should be able to find a shop that can test them and tell you weather they are alright. It takes a magnet and about a minute to test each sensor.
