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Need a BCM expert for my 2006 Sierra SLE about adding TPMS


rkawal

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I have a really tough problem that I think is going to take a master at body control module logic to figure this one out.  It’s not a serious problem but one, as an engineer, I don’t want to give up on.  I’ve been pursuing a solution for the last three years, off and on.

I’m 73 years old, and I currently have seven vehicles, all GM.   Every car I’ve ever owned has been a GM vehicle.  My current vehicles range from a 1985 Chevy Silverado K30 to a C6 Corvette Z06 to a 2018 Chevy Volt.  But the vehicles I’m trying to figure out are my 2006 GMC Sierra 2500 HD regular cab SLE and my 2005 GMC Yukon Denali. 

My 2005 Yukon Denali has TPMS (RPO UJ6) built in, and the steering wheel controls allow the DIC on the IPC to show individual tire pressures.  I want that feature on my Sierra SLE that does not have UJ6.  Being a GMT 800 series vehicle I should be able to add it.  I have both GM Service Manuals for each vehicle and both Service Manual describe TPMS, so it was obviously an option on some Sierra pickups.

On the Sierra, I installed tire pressure sensors, and I replaced my PDM with one that included TPM, like the Yukons, etc.  With my Tech 2, I went into Chassis and enabled TPMS and set each tire pressure to my desired pressure.  Individual tire pressures are shown on the Tech 2 as expected.  Also, on the IPC the Low Tire Pressure light works normally if it senses a low tire pressure.  All is well to that point.  TPMS works fine in both vehicles.

But the Denali steering wheel controls allow me to press the Odometer button to cycle through the various functions like odometer, trip, timer, hours, etc. – INCLUDING Tires Pressures.  I can then press the reset button (lower right) and cycle through each tire pressure, with the pressures showing on the DIC.  On the Sierra, pressing the same buttons, the Tire Pressure function is omitted.

Upon studying the Service Manuals, in both the Body Control Module and the IPC schematics shows a dotted box named “Logic” as part of the IPC, implying that the logic is in the IPC.  But swapping the IPC between vehicles results in the same omission of Tire Pressures in the Sierra.  The Sierra IPC shows Tire Pressures in the Yukon, but the Yukon IPC will not show Tire Pressures in the Sierra.  So the logic must be elsewhere.

When connecting the Tech 2 to the Sierra and uploading information to SPS for the TIS2000 programming, I get a programming option limited to only the PCM/VCM.  When doing the same for the Yukon Denali, I get programing options for almost every module in the vehicle.  It seems that the BCM for the Sierra might be a “base” model (since it’s only a regular cab SLE) while the BCM in the Yukon seems to have many more features that are programmable.  A new BCM for the Sierra is listed as GM p.n. 19369689 while the BCM for the Yukon is p.n. 19369690.

I’m GUESSING that the LOGIC shown in the Service Manuals for the IPC is actually in the BCM.  If this is true, then could I use the Yukon BCM in my Sierra and obtain my objective?  When looking up the GM part numbers, the 19369690 BCM says it is compatible with most every GMT800 vehicle, including Sierras and even Escalades.  Is there someone in GM that could confirm that the logic for TPMS is left out of the steering wheel control function for the DIC in the SLE Sierra?  Would installing the “uplevel” BCM be my solution?

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The BCM (as in, the physical box) is used by a bunch of different vehicles, the computer programming that gets loaded into it, is customized for the specific vehicle it's installed in (this may also code for the specific options that the vehicle comes with).

 

I know the truck needs specific programming for the steering wheel controls to function (just adding the buttons and wiring harness doesn't do the job), so it doesn't surprise me if your truck, that came with TPMS, doesn't fully support it.

 

I would expect, if you swap the Yukon BCM into your Sierra, that it will only partially function correctly, in that the BCM expects to be in a Yukon, and control/manage a Yukon with a specific set of options, which are likely not exactly the same as the options that the Sierra has.

 

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Yeah, I would imagine you would need J-box programming. J2534 to be specific. Here's a good article on this subject: https://gearsmagazine.com/magazine/j2534-programming-what-you-need-to-do-it-yourself/

 

One of the many things I hate about modern automobiles. Everything costs the consumers, AND the technicians repairing them untold thousands of dollars. The J-box is over a grand. Then you'll need a laptop, and if that wasn't enough, then you have to pay GM for the privilege of access to said programs for your vehicle. What a racket the 21st Century is ... ?

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