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Unhooking Steering Wheel Position Sensor?

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Old Oct 8, 2019 | 02:18 PM
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Default Unhooking Steering Wheel Position Sensor?

My new 05 C6 just went nuts after I went WOT earlier during a slow turn - a 55mph limited speed error shot on the screen and right front tire flat - however, I stayed at 70mph for several miles after this so it wasn't limiting my speed? Once stopped I went through settings and my rear tire pressure both read 0, right front 0, so assume almost all my TPMS are bad - not sure why it was only concerned about front and not rears...

After reading articles it sounds like I may just unhook the "Steering Wheel Position Sensor" which should turn off active handling so I can avoid being thrown into some 55mph limp mode in the future; would like opinions on running the car on the street like this, does anyone else do this with their street car? Thanks.

.

Last edited by lstoys; Oct 8, 2019 at 02:35 PM.
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Old Oct 8, 2019 | 03:38 PM
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Can you turn off handling with the traction control button or are you in an error state now?
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Old Oct 8, 2019 | 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by sonnysucks
Can you turn off handling with the traction control button or are you in an error state now?
Well, after parking and restarting the engine I could swear the 55mph error went away and it was just the TPMS icon warning - but I just moved the car into the garage and the 55mph error is still there.

Haven't messed with traction control at all, still learning this car. Main concern is that active handling doesn't get confused and cause an accident or limit my top speed to 55mph.

.

Last edited by lstoys; Oct 8, 2019 at 07:05 PM.
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Old Oct 8, 2019 | 07:11 PM
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Just read another thread that said you can go over 55 mph in a straight line - its when you turn the wheel that it will apply brakes for this error - that may be why I was able to do 70 mph as it was a fairly straight road, its either that OR the 55 graphic is just a warning not to drive over 55 with a flat front tire that it thinks I have, not sure.

All I can think now is to unplug battery to reset everything and likely unplug steering wheel sensor too as even though I have not felt it my car appears to be stuck in this error mode?!

Update: just ran scanner for computer codes and none came up, computer is clear.

.

Last edited by lstoys; Oct 8, 2019 at 07:41 PM.
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Old Oct 8, 2019 | 09:14 PM
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If your tire sensors are reading zero, you can't clear the 55 mph limit. You need to try to reset the sensors to clear the zero pressure. Most times when a sensor fails it shows xx, which doesn't give you the 55MPH limit, only the tire ICON. If the sensors will not reset, then you may need new sensors, or if you have generic sensors on your car, they can lose the signal to the receiver. Many have had those issues, and changed them out for OEM, and no other issues.
Do you know if your battery is getting weak? A weak battery on the C6 will give all kinds of electrical alarms.
I wouldn't be unplugging the SWPS. That could incur some other unknown issues that you may not like.

Keep us posted
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Old Oct 8, 2019 | 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by 4SUMERZ
If your tire sensors are reading zero, you can't clear the 55 mph limit. You need to try to reset the sensors to clear the zero pressure. Most times when a sensor fails it shows xx, which doesn't give you the 55MPH limit, only the tire ICON. If the sensors will not reset, then you may need new sensors, or if you have generic sensors on your car, they can lose the signal to the receiver. Many have had those issues, and changed them out for OEM, and no other issues.
Do you know if your battery is getting weak? A weak battery on the C6 will give all kinds of electrical alarms.
I wouldn't be unplugging the SWPS. That could incur some other unknown issues that you may not like.

Keep us posted
Thanks, that really helps to understand this system better. So, that means its almost like the three of the sensors are working but sending a reading of zero psi?! My battery is new from what I can tell, its not dated but looks brand new, voltage on dash is good. Not sure about TPMS history or if they are generics as I just bought the car, but I drove it about 5 hours already without it having these issues - though I believe it always had some minor service tire or tpms note come up on screen on startup before.

More recently I removed the onstar system fully - box and all, so I should mention that, but I'm not convinced its the issue as I drove the car a full hour after removal and there were no errors or issues like that, only a light buzz out of my bose speaker in accessory mode or pre-startup which may or may not be related, I went this route but soldered wires rather than paperclip: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...al-method.html

This whole front flat tire reduced speed to 55 error thing started by throttling wide open out of a corner and I assume traction or active handling kicked in to prevent a little drift, it seems like once maybe these things kicked in they must have checked the tire signals and then went nuts for some reason.

Last edited by lstoys; Oct 8, 2019 at 11:46 PM.
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Old Oct 9, 2019 | 11:55 AM
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I just unhooked the battery for a minute and unplugged steering wheel sensor, it seems to have reset things - temporarily at least. Now upon startup I just get the "Service Active Handling" message and thats it - other than the traction control icon/light in the speedo area is also lit up - hitting the traction control button on console by shifter does nothing, guess that means its off? Its odd because people who had unhooked the steering wheel sensor said traction control still worked for them.

The tire pressures on the dash still read the same:
Front Driver: 30psi
Front Passenger: 0psi
Rear Driver: 0psi
Rear Passenger: 0psi

I wanted to drive it and go WOT again to see if it sets off the flat tire and 55mph limit errors, but its raining pretty hard so gonna wait.

Was honestly thinking about buying four all new TPMS sensors until I read the service active handling lawsuit thread Sticky in this section! Now I'm really on the fence, maybe I should just leave the Steering Wheel Position Sensor Unhooked! Would really be great to hear from anyone driving like this as to your experience.
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Old Oct 9, 2019 | 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted by lstoys
I just unhooked the battery for a minute and unplugged steering wheel sensor, it seems to have reset things - temporarily at least. Now upon startup I just get the "Service Active Handling" message and thats it - other than the traction control icon/light in the speedo area is also lit up - hitting the traction control button on console by shifter does nothing, guess that means its off? Its odd because people who had unhooked the steering wheel sensor said traction control still worked for them.

The tire pressures on the dash still read the same:
Front Driver: 30psi
Front Passenger: 0psi
Rear Driver: 0psi
Rear Passenger: 0psi

I wanted to drive it and go WOT again to see if it sets off the flat tire and 55mph limit errors, but its raining pretty hard so gonna wait.

Was honestly thinking about buying four all new TPMS sensors until I read the service active handling lawsuit thread Sticky in this section! Now I'm really on the fence, maybe I should just leave the Steering Wheel Position Sensor Unhooked! Would really be great to hear from anyone driving like this as to your experience.
If you have a telescoping sterring wheel, Is it a possbility that you have a fretted wire on the SWP sensor. There was a TSB for for the 2005 and 2006 Corvettes.
I have attached the TSB PDF of the TSB with pics.

Maybe that is your issue. The other thing that happens occasionally is that a passenger will push hard on the floorboardm, and dislodge the large Blue Connector on the Fuse box under the passenger footwell. This brings up all sorts of alarms out of nowhere. It may not hurt to check this out as well.

Good luck
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File Type: pdf
TSB 06-Active Handling.pdf (718.0 KB, 399 views)
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Old Oct 9, 2019 | 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by 4SUMERZ
If you have a telescoping sterring wheel, Is it a possbility that you have a fretted wire on the SWP sensor. There was a TSB for for the 2005 and 2006 Corvettes.
I have attached the TSB PDF of the TSB with pics.

Maybe that is your issue. The other thing that happens occasionally is that a passenger will push hard on the floorboardm, and dislodge the large Blue Connector on the Fuse box under the passenger footwell. This brings up all sorts of alarms out of nowhere. It may not hurt to check this out as well.

Good luck
Thanks for that service bulletin, I will definitely tape up the harness if I decide to use it again. I think with mine the service system light is only on because I unhooked the steering wheel sensor.
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Old Oct 9, 2019 | 02:11 PM
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I just took the car for a drive in the rain, starting it up the only warning I get is that service active handling and I also notice the TCS warning light in the speedo area is on - so it appears that unplugging the steering sensor also disabled my traction control?! I really don't care for either system, a mechanical limited slip is all the traction control I want/need, so I am perfectly happy with this arrangement.

Driving in the rain I tried a bunch of ways to break the tires loose and have a much better feel for the car and its limitations now. Feels perfectly safe without these systems to me personally.
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