So here we were, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for about 20 minutes in 90 degree heat in my '07 Coupe with Z06 wheels and tires.

In one of the many "starting to move again" moments, the DIC throws a message that Tire Pressure was low (and of course the icon on the instrument panel lit up). I checked pressure on the DIC and the right rear was reporting 18 psi. As I continued to roll my way over to the shoulder, the light went out and the rear was back to reporting 33 psi (normal for the conditions). Still, I got out and checked the tire and indeed, it was around 33 psi.

I've never had this happen before and was wondering if it was a matter of the position of the TPMS or what? (I did have new tires put on about a 1,000 miles ago)

 

Yes Ken that happens to me all the time.If the TPMS is stuck in a certain position for a certain length of time it will do that.By the way were you on a hill ????

 

Thanks Gary.

I wouldn't say we were on a hill at the time but it was a slight incline.

Weird though - I've been caught in traffic before and never had that happen. Guess the position was "just right".

Much ado about nothing - thanks

 

Or you have a sensor that is going bad.
Mine has been sending me BS periodically since I bought the car.
The manual tire gauge seems to work perfect
Hey, maybe your TPMS was hacked!!!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...r-thieves.html

 

was gonna post the same thing, you beat me to it

 

Yeah, with the stock market in "snooze mode" today I've got waay too much time on my hands

 

Just to refresh you on how the tire pressure sensors work:

• When the car sits still for more than 15 minutes the sensors go into a sleep mode and only transmit once per hour
  
• When you start driving faster than about 20 mph the sensors wake up and start to transmit once every 60 seconds

When the car is running the TPMS computer in the car (actually a part of the RCDLR module) is expecting to receive a transmission from each sensor every 60 seconds.

If you were stopped or in stop-n-go traffic never going faster than about 20 mph for more than 15 minutes (and you said your case was about 20 minutes) then maybe the sensors went into the sleep mode. The TPMS was expecting to get a signal every 60 seconds, but maybe the sensor was only transmitting every 60 minutes.

So....that's what I suspect happened.

However, when the TPMS doesn't get a signal it usually says "xx psi" for that tire. Why yours said 18 psi, I dunno!?!?

Anyway....if everything is back to normal I don't think you've got anything to worry about.

Bob

 

Funny thread.

Being a BSEE and holding a Bachelors in Computer Science, I don't buy it for one second.

Then again, I've never seen a snipe either!

 

 

Hey, I think I just saw a snipe!!!

Thanks Chris.

Bob

 

Thanks for the details

(your way of saying RTFM? )

 

No, not at all!!!

When I wrote "you", I really meant the plural "y'all"!!

I also was referring to the several terrabytes of info I've written about tire pressure sensors and the TPMS here on the forum.

Actually, there's not a lot of info about sensors and the TPMS in the Owner's Manual. I know my 2006 manual has some info that is not in my 2009 manual. The 2006 manual DOES have the info about the sleep mode, but the 2009 manual does not. The 2006 manual also has a reference to "about 60 minutes" in reference to driving without sensors until you'll get a "Service Tire Monitor" message, but the 2009 manual makes no mention of time.

The whole system is still rather mysterious, and in many cases isn't even very well understood by some Techs in dealerships.

In the spring of 2005 when I got a second set of wheels/tires/sensors for my '05 coupe I ran into problems getting the second set of sensors programmed - even my 2 local Chebie dealers couldn't program them for me. One was going to charge me $10, but was unable to do it - and they had sold a number of C6s. The other said it would cost $49 and I drove away - they had never had a C6 on their lot at that time and I knew they wouldn't be able to do it. I got a TPMS tool and started to learn about the TPMS to take care of my own problem, and to be able to help other forum members with problems.

So....no matter how I come across, I'm always happy to try to help out in the area of tire pressure sensors and the TPMS.

Bob

 

Not a problem. My last post was definitely done tongue-in-cheek although it didn't really come across that way

I DO appreciate the info!