I heard good things about the TIPS tool, what do you guys think?*
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Where is a good place to buy them from?

 

I wouldnt buy one unless I planned on using it more than a few times.

Amazon.com has it for $286...Not sure if thats a good price?

 

I'm getting new TPS installed and will be switching wheels/tires for drag event every once in a while hence the need for the tool.

 

There are past posts about this. I don't mean to hijack your thread but I have the ATEQ VT10 relearn tool that is compatable with all sensors including Europe & Asia. It's only $110 from Tire Rack. There is also a VT15.

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...toring+Systems

Another forum member made a canister out of PVC tubing with a bicycle tire valve stem in the end. The idea is to store the TPMS in the pressurized canister and keep it in the car. You can switch tires all you want and the vehicle computer is still getting the correct signal.

 

Thats a good price for the ATEQ. How do you like it so far?

Did you mean that if you change your wheels and put back OEM wheels you dont need to relearn the sensors? So the reset tool is only used once when you replace sensors?

 

Nope, you need to use a TPMS tool every time you swap - the TPMS computer in the car can only hold 4 tire pressure sensor ID#'s in its memory.

Every time you put different sensors on the car you'll need to program those 4 sensors into the TPMS computer with a TPMS tool.


The TIPS tool is a great tool, but you can get a low-end tool that will trigger the C6 sensors for $62.33 (edited: it looks like its now up to $68.57) from the manufacturer. The link below wasn't working for a while, but I just checked and see that it's active again. Note that it says "call to order", so you have to go to their main page to get a phone # to call them to order i (edited: it looks like you can just order it online now and dont need to call them)t:

https://gmspecialservicetools.spx.co...s.aspx?id=5677

If you want to support a Forum vendor, Katech has the same tool available for $100.





Here's a link to their site:

http://store.katechengines.com/katec...tool-p263.aspx

You can see that it doesn't have a screen. It will reprogram your sensors, but won't do much in the way of diagnostics.

The TIPS tool and the low-end ATEQ tools also do not have a screen, but the TIPS will do some diagnostic checks for you be beeping and blinking some lights.

I use the OTC 3833, which is a high-end tool that a tire shop might use, and it looks identical to the one used in GM dealerships although they have a different software.

CLICK PICTURE BELOW TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE TOOL IN USE:




You can see in the picture that it has a screen that displays a bunch of info about the sensor - an important item being that dark triangle in the upper left corner. That triangle indicates that the sensor transmitted with a strong signal strength indicating the internal battery in the sensor is strong.

If that triangle is only 1/2 or so filled in, the sensor's battery is getting weak.

You can also see the sensor's unique ID#, the pressure in the tire (0.0 psi in the picture because the one in the picture is not in a tire), and 315 mHz is the frequency the sensor transmitted on (sensors for a C6 built for overseas delivery uses a different sensor that transmits on 433 mHz).

Also, some other vehicles use sensors that require a sort of Morse code transmission from the tool in order to trigger the sensor to get it to send out its data to the TPMS computer in the car (our C6 just requires a simple continuous wave).

The OTC 3833 can trigger almost all sensors that require a TPMS tool, and it's upgradeable when new sensors come out - but the software to upgrade it costs about $165.

These high-end OTC 3833 tools usually sell for $500 and up, depending on accessories.

I have one available for $250 shipped if you're interested in a more expensive but much more capable tool.


Bob

 

They are a great tool and chances are it will work on more than just your vette.

Get one..its a great investment and it appears that the above post has you covered for $250.

 

Below is a video of a TIPS tool being used to program the sensors on my C6:




I just did a quick search on eBay and saw several available: one was a "buy it now" for $125; one was up for bid; and one was a KTI tool for about $165 - same tool, just red in color.

Those tools typically do not come with a PIM (Programming Interface Module), but you don't really need the PIM unless you're using it a tire shop and need to upgrade the tool every year to work with new sensors on all the new vehicles that come out that may use new sensors that require special codes to trigger them.

Bob

 

I have the cheapo one gmspecialservice tools, works great for me.

 

Bob, as sual thanks for the informative post, you are a great help
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Any idea if this unit beeps or blinks like the TIPS tool? Is the Katech unit Bob posted the same one but rebadged?

 

tips tool here.never fail me yet.invest in one comes in handy.

 

^^ mind telling me where you got it from?

 

I dunno!?!?

I've never used one of those inexpensive tools, but I don't think it beeps or flashes any lights - i.e., there's not much you can do in the way of diagnostics except to try and program a sensor to see if it works or not. You'll know if it works if you get a honk of the car's horn when try to program a sensor.

Here's the one available directly from the manufacturer, SPX:




And here's the one from Katech:




There don't appear to be any lights that will tell you if the tire pressure sensor is transmitting a signal.


Here I'm using a Bartec (or same tool sold by Schrader) tool and an ATEQ VT50 with a screen to do some diagnostics on a sensor. When the tool triggers the sensor, the sensor transmits its data as if to send it to the TPMS computer in the car in order to program the sensor's ID# into the TPMS computer. These tools (like the TIPS and the OTC 3833) have a radio receiver in them that will intercept the transmission from the tire pressure sensor and the tool will beep and blink lights or display info on the screen to tell you the sensor is good:




So....the cheapo tools will work great if all you need to do is reprogram sensors when you swap to your track wheels/tires that have different sensors in them, or back to your street tires.

Bob

 

let me get back with you.gotta find/look where I got it from.been awhile.I followed BEZ06 advice and picked this one from the rest.found it but they dont carry it anymore.place called toolsurge.com sorry.had this for over a year now.prolly someone else would carry it.good luck.

 

I don't know where he got it, but about 8 or 10 months ago there was a company selling them for about $80, but AFAIK they sold out their stock.

But try this:

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/otctips003a.html


At $92.87 it's the cheapest TIPS tool I know of out there right now.

EDITED: NEVER MIND - I SEE THAT IT'S OUT OF STOCK!!
Bob

 

I bought the one from Katech, It works great and they shipped quickly.

 

The TPMS system changed dramatically in 2010, I believe. It went from 4 receivers to a central one. In many cars the owner can reset them and in 2 or 3 miles it's reprogrammed. Does anybody know out of curiosity how 2012 cars work?

 

GM did change the TPMS computer in the car (actually a section of the RCDLR module) in 2010, but it was a very minor, simple change.

The only thing that changed in 2010 was to a different TPMS computer in the car that uses a different tire pressure sensor.

If you look on the RPO code list in the glove compartment of your car, you'll see the TPMS computer that's in your car listed there:

• 2005-2009 - "UJ9" (UH3 for cars built for foreign delivery, and that TPMS uses a different sensor that transmits on a foreign approved frequency)
  
  
• 2010 plus - "UJM" (which has been used in several models like the Impala and Malibu for several years prior to being put into the C6).

I don't know why they changed, because one TPMS doesn't do anything different at all from the other one!!

However, the sensors did operate a little differently.

Actually, the sensors that came in the very early 2005 C6 were the same ones used in the '04 Cadillac XLR, and they could be triggered with a magnet during the programming procedure. For all C6's built after about Sept 2004 GM/Chevy discontinued those sensors and the only ones available are the current 2005-2009 sensors - a gray sensor with GM Part# 25758220 (you might be able to make out that # molded into the case of the sensor):




That 2005-2009 sensor above can only be triggered by the 125 kHz transmission from a TPMS tool.

In 2010 they changed to the UJM TPMS computer and that computer only works with a green sensor with GM Part# 15268606 (at least in the beginning!!):




The good thing about the green 15268606 sensor above is that during the programming procedure it could be triggered by a TPMS tool or by changing air pressure in the tire!!

However, in Jan 2011 they changed the sensor again - same TPMS, just started installing a black sensor with GM Part# 20925924:




So....any 2010 C6, and any 2011 built through December 2010 should have the green sensors installed by the factory during build.

Any C6 built from January 2011 on should have the black sensor installed when being built.

They have the same TPMS computer (UJM), either sensor will work, but the only sensor readily available in the GM parts system should be the black one - unless some of the green may still be floating around and available until gone.

The green one could be triggered by changing air pressure in the tire, and when a dealership was programming the green sensors in your C6 (also used in several Chevy models), once your C6 was put into the "learn mode" it would pick up the first sensor signals it received, and if a tech working on another car (Malibu, Impala, etc.) in the shop and adjusted the tire pressure on the other car, the TPMS in your C6 would log the other car's sensor into the C6 TPMS!!

To avoid that happening, in Jan 2011 GM discontinued the green sensor and began using the black sensor. The black sensor can only be triggered to send out its data during the programming procedure by a TPMS tool.

So....that's the only difference between the 2005-2009 and the 2010+. They use different TPMS computers that require different tire pressure sensors. You must use sensors for either the UJ9 or UJM TPMS in your year model - the other part# sensors just won't work because they transmit a different digitized data string that only is recognized by the TPMS computer that is compatible with them.

The 2010+ can use either the black sensors, or the green ones if you can still find any in the GM parts system or get used ones.

Bob

Edited 12/14/2013: Actually, I have discovered that the 2010+ sensors for the UJM TPMS computer do have an additional feature not found in the 2005-2009 sensors.

The 2010+ sensors detect the temperature in the tire. The DIC doesn't display the temp, but if you have a TPMS tool that has a screen that displays the data transmitted by the sensor, then you'll see the temp displayed.

Below is a picture of the info displayed on my OTC 3833 TPMS tool when I did a diagnostic check of a sensor in a GS wheel after it came off the track after about 25 minutes of hard running at Sebring.

After the "Temp", the sensors in a 2005-2009 just have a series of dashes. However, you can see below that the 2010+ sensors show the temp in degrees F.

The temp has increased from ambient to 185 degrees, and that has increased the pressure from about 30 psi cold to the 36 psi displayed:

 

Ordered one almost two weeks ago. It wasn't until I sent a chase up email to find out when I could expect to receiveit did they notify it would ship until 8/12/12 at the earliest

 

i like the TPMS in my honda Ridgeline, I can swap rims, and just drive around for a few miles and it resets itself