Tpms Assistance Please! Rf Not "right"

herkdriver007 · February 1, 2010

Okay, so I finally pulled the trigger on some 285/65R18 BFG ATs. Installed and everything was fine (at 40PSI). Drove from one town to another and 20 mins after leaving, the "SERVICE TPMS" message appeared on the DIC, with flashing tire warning light. OK...so I check and the right front sensor is reading "--" on the pressure. I think maybe the tire shop didnt re-learn the system so I dont panic, just pull over and verifiy the pressure manually. Its fine.

So, i drive on...the light goes out and now reading a pressure of 39psi (close enough to what i checked)...another half hour later the "SERVICE TPMS" comes on....a few miles later, goes back out...

I stop in and have the sensors checked and Discount Tire did their TPMS reset with the tool....air down to 36psi, no problems.

Well, driving again the light would come on, this time at a much less frequent interval and would not stay on long.

Temp outside was ranging from 30-40F, truck is a 2007 Silverado LTZ, OEM 18s, 40K miles.

Thanks for any inputs fellas...

Jubei69 · February 1, 2010

Okay, so I finally pulled the trigger on some 285/65R18 BFG ATs. Installed and everything was fine (at 40PSI). Drove from one town to another and 20 mins after leaving, the "SERVICE TPMS" message appeared on the DIC, with flashing tire warning light. OK...so I check and the right front sensor is reading "--" on the pressure. I think maybe the tire shop didnt re-learn the system so I dont panic, just pull over and verifiy the pressure manually. Its fine.

So, i drive on...the light goes out and now reading a pressure of 39psi (close enough to what i checked)...another half hour later the "SERVICE TPMS" comes on....a few miles later, goes back out...

I stop in and have the sensors checked and Discount Tire did their TPMS reset with the tool....air down to 36psi, no problems.

Well, driving again the light would come on, this time at a much less frequent interval and would not stay on long.

Temp outside was ranging from 30-40F, truck is a 2007 Silverado LTZ, OEM 18s, 40K miles.

Thanks for any inputs fellas...

you have to recalibrate and have the tpms system relearn, when you rotate tires, get new ones, etc... there is a thread here already that tells you how, it should be in your owners manaul to ...

Stevens03 · February 1, 2010

Yeah, if they were switched... or moved, they need reset. Read your owners manual on how to do it, but it's very simple. You'll be good after that.

thearborbarber · February 1, 2010

Most likely the battery is going out in the sensor since it is working intermittently. They just take a watch sized battery. You need to break the bead on the tire to get at the sensor.

minibike132 · February 1, 2010

Most likely the battery is going out in the sensor since it is working intermittently. They just take a watch sized battery. You need to break the bead on the tire to get at the sensor.

What he said. A relearn isn't going to fix the fact that the system sees a sensor for awhile then looses it. For some reason the system is not seeing that sensor intermittantly and the most common reason would be a dying sensor.

Jubei69 · February 1, 2010

I would do both, First I would do the tpms relearn in the truck; then go and drive and see if the readings go back to normal. If the readings go back to normal, you are good, if they don't go back to normal after the relearn, go back to the tire shop and have them get to the tpms sensor for you, most likely they will want to sell you a whole new unit... but see if they will just switch out the battery, make sure to have the right replacement battery with you. After you have replaced the battery and the tire is back on, do the tpms relearn in your truck...

thearborbarber · February 1, 2010

The relearn procedure only associates the four sensors with the tpms system and there location on the vehicle. Obviously the four sensors were already associated with the TPMS to begin with and a second time when the shop did the relearn procedure. Even if the sensor is in a different position on the vehicle it will still transmit a psi reading it will just be under the wrong wheel designation on the DIC because no new sensors have been introduced to the system.

herkdriver007 · February 1, 2010

^^^ Kinda what I was thinking... It does work intermittently...so I was assuming its a bad sensor/weak battery. BUT, since it does work on occasion that leads me to think its really the sensor, and not a weak battery.

I was there with the tech during the procedure, and afterwards everything worked okay...so I dont think the re-learn procedure applies in this case.

Since my truck is out of warranty, I'd like to NOT head to the dealer...but if that is the case to troubleshoot further than so be it.

Any other opinions??

Thanks guys!!

thearborbarber · February 1, 2010

^^^ Kinda what I was thinking... It does work intermittently...so I was assuming its a bad sensor/weak battery. BUT, since it does work on occasion that leads me to think its really the sensor, and not a weak battery.

I was there with the tech during the procedure, and afterwards everything worked okay...so I dont think the re-learn procedure applies in this case.

Since my truck is out of warranty, I'd like to NOT head to the dealer...but if that is the case to troubleshoot further than so be it.

Any other opinions??

Thanks guys!!

GM has been using this style sensor since 2005. Who knows how long it's been on since it was made. Like I said all they are powered with is a watch battery. Try a new battery first. If that fails a second sensor is only about $60 from GMpartsdirect.com. Who is a sponsor of the site. This is not a jab at gmpartsdirect (because the ones I got were special ordered so it's not like they were sitting on their shelf) but the 4 I got for them for my winter tires had a born on date of 2008 and this was 4 months ago. Plus being winter time is hard on batteries and slows the chemical reaction down that generates the electrical current.

brims · February 1, 2010

^^^ Kinda what I was thinking... It does work intermittently...so I was assuming its a bad sensor/weak battery. BUT, since it does work on occasion that leads me to think its really the sensor, and not a weak battery.

I was there with the tech during the procedure, and afterwards everything worked okay...so I dont think the re-learn procedure applies in this case.

Since my truck is out of warranty, I'd like to NOT head to the dealer...but if that is the case to troubleshoot further than so be it.

Any other opinions??

Thanks guys!!

GM has been using this style sensor since 2005. Who knows how long it's been on since it was made. Like I said all they are powered with is a watch battery. Try a new battery first. If that fails a second sensor is only about $60 from GMpartsdirect.com. Who is a sponsor of the site. This is not a jab at gmpartsdirect (because the ones I got were special ordered so it's not like they were sitting on their shelf) but the 4 I got for them for my winter tires had a born on date of 2008 and this was 4 months ago. Plus being winter time is hard on batteries and slows the chemical reaction down that generates the electrical current.

From everything I've seen these units are sealed, you would need to break open the case in order to change the battery.