Hey Tommy, in this thread (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18486) we've been discussing the TPMS system and how to disable it. Many people have aftermarket wheels and/or winter tires, and it would be nice to not have to put up with the flashing idiot light and beep.

My theory is that there is a TPMS receiver module somewhere in the car, and unplugging it might cause the ECU to stop monitoring and reporting on this function. There must be some way to disable it, as Canadian cars don't have this system or the flashing light/beep.

Can you check into this, and see if Mazda techline (or someone) can tell you how to disable it completely? This is also worthwhile knowing for Mazdaspeed part customers, as I don't think all the MS wheels are TPMS compatible.

Many thanks...

Bump?

I'd love to know how to disable the TPMS as well. I have 19" wheels that I'm ready to install, but I'm waiting a bit to see if the system can be disabled. If it can't, I may consider buying new sensors (assuming they will fit my new wheels?)

Originally posted by mdw33333
I'd love to know how to disable the TPMS as well. I have 19" wheels that I'm ready to install, but I'm waiting a bit to see if the system can be disabled. If it can't, I may consider buying new sensors (assuming they will fit my new wheels?) Unfortunately, that cannot be assumed. If you didn't buy them with the TPMS in mind, chances are they won't be compatible. :(

Correct information sometime takes time. Even if it's not possible, I want the right answer.

Tommy

Long as you're working on it, I'm happy. Thanks Tommy.

Any luck on this Tommy? Thanks...

No. One of my techs said he would look into it whenever the opportunity presents itself but who knows when that will be. Maybe one of you guys want to play around with your car for a while...?

I have access to wiring diagrams...

I'd be willing to look into this Tommy, and have a little already. From what I can tell from the wiring diagram I've seen, it looks like the TPMS control unit is burried all the way under the center of the dash, like behind the stereo. If I'm right, how would you suggest I get to it? I'm loathe to take the whole dash apart...

Already tried it.
Unpluging the TPMS module has the same effect as pulling the room fuse - the light goes on and it beeps like you have a low-pressure situation.
That is the case with most of the safety items on the RX-8 - if you remove power from them, they go into the failure mode.

The problem is that it resides on the CAN buss and the PCM polls it from time to time.
If it isn't there, the PCM throws the related system code and sets up the instruments cluster light and beeper.

Ok, good to know Jeff. So what would you suggest? How do you think the Canadian cars, which don't have the TPMS, prevent the warning light and beeper?

I don't know.
Deleteing the reference in the PCM ROM would probably be a good start.
Anyone know how to do that?:(

Originally posted by Omicron
I'd be willing to look into this Tommy, and have a little already. From what I can tell from the wiring diagram I've seen, it looks like the TPMS control unit is burried all the way under the center of the dash, like behind the stereo. If I'm right, how would you suggest I get to it? I'm loathe to take the whole dash apart...


I've sent you a PM referencing your email.

I saw where it is too and it looks like a real pain to get to. We just got shop manuals in...I'll try to take some time to look into it this weekend and to ask my guys at work about it.

The few I have in the service dept that try to work with me on "things" are kind of skiddish about what cars they fool with. Like...a customers car is a nono. Dealing with the sales manager is another thing - taking a car off the lot to "play with" gets a weird look..

We just hired a new general manager - we'll see how he plays out in the next week or so...

Originally posted by Maniac
Already tried it.
Unpluging the TPMS module has the same effect as pulling the room fuse - the light goes on and it beeps like you have a low-pressure situation.
That is the case with most of the safety items on the RX-8 - if you remove power from them, they go into the failure mode.

The problem is that it resides on the CAN buss and the PCM polls it from time to time.
If it isn't there, the PCM throws the related system code and sets up the instruments cluster light and beeper.

That's what my guys have found. They were hoping that unplugging the control unit would not cause a "failure" situation, but all the while expecting it. My main guy was going to kind of ease a Mazda USA tech guy into a conversation about it first chance he got but how do you rush something like that? He was skiddish about the thought for fear of backlash when he really needed a favor. After talking to him, Mazda guys get off the books on a regular basis with at least, some of the techs...Just what I've heard.

It's hard to get info without a willing guinea pig car to study for a couple of weeks (or so)

Originally posted by Maniac
Already tried it.
Unpluging the TPMS module has the same effect as pulling the room fuse - the light goes on and it beeps like you have a low-pressure situation.
That is the case with most of the safety items on the RX-8 - if you remove power from them, they go into the failure mode.

The problem is that it resides on the CAN buss and the PCM polls it from time to time.
If it isn't there, the PCM throws the related system code and sets up the instruments cluster light and beeper. Hmmm. Been thinking about this a fair bit.

So, if the receiver module must be plugged in or the system alarms, then that tells me that it must send an "All is well" signal to the PCM. Most likely when a problem is detected with one of the sensors, it sends a secondary "All is NOT well" signal to the PCM too, or possibly it STOPS sending an all is well signal to the PCM. So, it sounds like I need to determine what voltage is flowing on the wiring with no TPMS faults, then again with a TPMS fault deliberately induced. The delta will be what needs to be dealt with to disable the system. With any luck, one of the wires coming out of the TPMS receiver will be "dead" until the system detects a fault, and when it does, voltage then flows to the PCM indicating a fault - then we could just cut or switch this wire to disable the system.

Alternatively, I understand from one of Canzoomer's posts a while back that there are mini-TPMS receivers in the wheel wells, all of which talk to the main control unit behind the dash. This makes sense, as the TMPS sensors in the wheels themselves must be pretty low power, and transmit via RF to a receiver which must be in close proximity. This being the case, if I knew where exactly the wheel well receivers were, I may be able to figure out how to spoof them into thinking the TPMS transmitter in the wheels are functioning "ok" even if they're not there. It's also possible just unplugging these wheel well receivers will do the trick.

I suspect Mazda's solution to not having TPMS is a fairly simple one, something like a plug with just a jumper or two that replaces the main TPMS control module. Or, as you say, they may just delete the reference in the PCM ROM. Alternatively, this plug may be at each wheel well's receiver, but this isn't as likely as Mazda would not want to include the TPMS modules at all in non-equipped cars to reduce production costs.

So Tommy, can you tell me where these wheel well receivers are located? I'd prefer to start there, rather than disassembling my dash to get at the main control module. ;) Another idea I have is if you know someone at a Canadian Mazda dealership, they may well know exactly where the system is disabled. If they don't know, they could even pose the question to Mazda's tech line that they've got a US spec car that's relocated to Canada, and the owner wants the system disabled. Since this is not against the law in Canada, Mazda may tell them how to do it.

There are no wheel well receivers. All TPMS electronics are in the TPMS module.
The signal sent to the PCM isn't voltage, its logic levels so you can't just plug it.
The TPMS receives the OBD-II vehicle speed info on the CAN buss and then looks for sensor info. If any of the sensors don't report (which happens if they are missing or below pressure), the TPMS sends a code down the very same set of CAN buss wires upon which it receives the OBD-II speed info.

Ah, ok. :(

Maybe investigating in buying a single TPMS sender unit and figuring out how to make it send the same signal when it's not even in the wheel is a start?

Sounds like a lot of trouble for the effort..

Then again, I vaguely remember that the Canadian model RX-8 doens't have a TPMS.. Perhaps a full power cycle (diconcect battery) on the ECU with the TPMS reciever disconnected will re-initialize it's sequence and not poll the TPMS reciever if it doesn't think it's there? or maybe just going without it for a while so the ECU re-learns?

Worth trying..

OverLOAD

Originally posted by OverLOAD
Maybe investigating in buying a single TPMS sender unit and figuring out how to make it send the same signal when it's not even in the wheel is a start?

Sounds like a lot of trouble for the effort..

Then again, I vaguely remember that the Canadian model RX-8 doens't have a TPMS.. Perhaps a full power cycle (diconcect battery) on the ECU with the TPMS reciever disconnected will re-initialize it's sequence and not poll the TPMS reciever if it doesn't think it's there? or maybe just going without it for a while so the ECU re-learns?

Worth trying..

OverLOAD Yeah, I've thought about both ideas. If I could find the frequency(s) the TPMS broadcasts on, I could probably spoof the signal. But I'd need a frequency scanner for that, which is something I don't have access to right now.

So, I'm looking for the simple solution, based on the fact that the Canadian cars don't have TPMS. I think it's apt to be something simple, and most likely is that the PCM is missing that part of it's programming. But your suggestion of a "master reset" with none of the four TPMS senders present is something certainly worth trying. I'll give it a shot sometime down the road.

In the mean time, I've lost most motivation to do this, as I've pretty much decided to just keep the stock 18" wheels and TPMS sensor, and just put good Ultra High Performance all season tires on them. But I'm still interested in figuring this out, for academic interest if nothing else.

I've been looking into the cheaters method, where the sensors from the wheels are all put into a small box and presurized. Then put the box someplace out of the way and forget about it :D

I just need to actually pull the sensors out of the wheels now.

[i]
Then again, I vaguely remember that the Canadian model RX-8 doens't have a TPMS.. Perhaps a full power cycle (diconcect battery) on the ECU with the TPMS reciever disconnected will re-initialize it's sequence and not poll the TPMS reciever if it doesn't think it's there? or maybe just going without it for a while so the ECU re-learns?

Worth trying..

OverLOAD [/B]

This is what my tech was thinking when we were discussing it. Our illustrious general manager didn't think it was a good idea - pulling a perfectly good car off the back 40 to test a theory that, if proven, could sell who-knows-how-many sets of brand spankin' new Mazdaspeed wheels at $500 a pop. :o

<yawn>

Anyway, at least we're not tearing your car apart that's in for service....

No really, we're not. :D

Tommy
-wants to sell more wheels!!

Originally posted by Genom
I've been looking into the cheaters method, where the sensors from the wheels are all put into a small box and presurized. Then put the box someplace out of the way and forget about it :D

I just need to actually pull the sensors out of the wheels now.

One minor problem - the sensors, actually transmitters, are battery powered, right? On others, like Audi's TPMS, the battery for the transmitter shuts down when the wheel is not turning, via some sort of inertial sensor. This is to save battery life, so that the transmitter batteries can last several years. If the transmitters are stuck in a box stationary, the inertial sensors will never turn them on, and you'd still get a TPMS error just like driving on wheels with no transmitters.

I'm not certain that this does apply to the Mazda TPMS, but chances are good that it does...

Regards,
Gordon

True, but it's pretty trivial to wire up a voltage feed to them and bypass the inertial switch ( I hope) :D

I know that the manual says that it's shuts off the TPMS's when not driving, but I definately have gotten my TPMS low pressure alarm to go off without moving the RX-8, when I start it up in a cold morning, so I'm not 100% sure that they actually turn completely off.

Still, to bypass them, at the reciever would be the difficult part, since it's almost definately talking on the CAN bus.. or it could be wired directly into the ECU with a dedicated sender unit, but until we see the relevant pages on the workshop manual, I wouldn't even be able to tell for sure.

There could even be a switch or some jumpers in the TPMS reciever box that lets you 'turn it off' in effect, and still be able to go back to the TPMS wheels relatively easily..

OverLOAD

First up, I don't recommend disabling TPMS, in fact I think it is a federal requirement when you don't have a spare tire.

Disclaimer aside, the TPMS module is on the CAN, and recognized by the PCM. All functions of the TPMS system however are completely independent of the PCM. Which suggests to me you may just be able to remove the module and install a resistor in the harness to fool the PCM into thinking the module is still there. The trick is fooling the PCM into thinking it is receiving a 'response' from the module when it pings it in the network test. There may already be a resistor in there on non-TPMS vehicles, you would have to look at a vehicle/wiring diagram to confirm this.

If that doesn't work you would probably have to reprogram the PCM with non-TPMS data, but that means going to your dealer and asking lots of awkward questions...If you want to try, go ahead.

Just my ideas...

Originally posted by Mr M
First up, I don't recommend disabling TPMS, in fact I think it is a federal requirement when you don't have a spare tire.

Disclaimer aside, the TPMS module is on the CAN, and recognized by the PCM. All functions of the TPMS system however are completely independent of the PCM. Which suggests to me you may just be able to remove the module and install a resistor in the harness to fool the PCM into thinking the module is still there. The trick is fooling the PCM into thinking it is receiving a 'response' from the module when it pings it in the network test. There may already be a resistor in there on non-TPMS vehicles, you would have to look at a vehicle/wiring diagram to confirm this.

If that doesn't work you would probably have to reprogram the PCM with non-TPMS data, but that means going to your dealer and asking lots of awkward questions...If you want to try, go ahead.

Just my ideas...

The CAN bus won't take very well to putting just a resistor in the network. It definately won't communcate any intelligent messages (Supposedly the ECU knows your exact tire pressure from the TPMS module), and will probably prevent any other devices from communcating on the bus (like the ECU itself...)

Perhaps somewhere else inside the TPMS reciever module itself?

OverLOAD

I have access to all the Mazda manuals and wiring diagrams, if one of you folks that knows more about this than me wants to take a look...

There really isn't too much to look at.
You can't "spoof" the CAN buss. Not with a resistor, anyway.

Maniac, thanks, but we need a wiring diagram for a vehicle WITHOUT TPMS. Sometimes you get lucky and you can see the resistor. Sometimes you are not so lucky and have to tear the car apart, measure resistances etc. to find how much it is or where it is. I'm not saying this will work, just that it has for other systems in the past. You will probably have to involve a Mazda dealer though...

OverLOAD, I can understand where you are coming from, but I KNOW that the PCM pings the TPMS even when the module is not installed, and no errors come up. Assuming the harness is the same, the only reasonable conclusion is that there must be a resistor in there somewhere.

And the PCM does not use TPMS data at all. The only reason they are linked is for the speed signal from the ABS to the TPMS module. The PCM wouldn't care less if the TPMS dropped off the end of the earth...(figure of speech).

Happy hunting (for that resistor, if it exists)!!

Originally posted by Maniac
There really isn't too much to look at.
You can't "spoof" the CAN buss. Not with a resistor, anyway.

Nice schematic.. Very simple, Power, CAN bus High, CAN bus Low, and ground.

The lack of that unit could either be a VIN related PCM control, causing it to not trigger the dashboard alert if your vin matches the 'non TPMS' vins, and you really don't want to change the VIN that the PCM/ECU thinks you have.. Or, it could be from a full system reset, or just triggered by the TPMS transmitting its pressure messages.

Until someone pulls the TPMS sender, and lets the ECU sit without power for a while to see if it re-initializes without the TPMS afterwards, it's not worth exploring other avenues, IMHO..

Anyone have any pictures of where the TPMS is acutally located in the car?

Regards,

OverLOAD

Originally posted by Mr M
Maniac, thanks, but we need a wiring diagram for a vehicle WITHOUT TPMS. Sometimes you get lucky and you can see the resistor.


No resistor in non-TPMS cars. The wiring is the same, the module just isn't present.
You are probably thinking of a network terminator. CAN doesn't need them.
To reiterate, a non-TPMS car simply doesn't have the module. The diagram applies to ALL RX-8s.


Originally posted by OverLOAD
Nice schematic.. Very simple, Power, CAN bus High, CAN bus Low, and ground.
...
Until someone pulls the TPMS sender, and lets the ECU sit without power for a while to see if it re-initializes without the TPMS afterwards, it's not worth exploring other avenues, IMHO..


I will attempt that this week.


Originally posted by OverLOAD Anyone have any pictures of where the TPMS is acutally located in the car?
[/B]

Its right under the nav screen area.

SEE PICTURE ATTACHED

Hmmm, so looking at the wiring diagram Jeff posted, notice the TPMS system become functional when the ignition switch is turned on. I wonder what simply unplugging that connection (B/Y connected to pin K) would do? In theory, the TPMS might think the car is not running, and would not enable...

Originally posted by Omicron
Hmmm, so looking at the wiring diagram Jeff posted, notice the TPMS system become functional when the ignition switch is turned on. I wonder what simply unplugging that connection (B/Y connected to pin K) would do? In theory, the TPMS might think the car is not running, and would not enable...

PCM: "Hey TPMS. what's going on over there?"
TMPS:" What do you mean?"
PCM:"Well, we started up and are running and you never turned on! Why?"
TPMS:"Well, I never got an ignition indication, so I'm waiting for the car to start."
PCM:"Uh, OK."

PCM then jumps on the phone and calls CEL

PCM:"Hey, CEL. TPMS just lost his mind. He thinks the car isn't even running and we are already going down the highway at 45 MPH."
CEL:"Well, its not really my job. That is the TPMS indicator's job. What should I do?"
PCM:"Well, he has lost his mind. I don't think he is going to set his own indicator. That is why I called you."
CEL:"I don't have a code for the TPMS. You are just going to have to convince him to set the light on his own. Sorry."

Bring up the bumper music
commercial for beer or tampons goes here...

Originally posted by Maniac
PCM: "Hey TPMS. what's going on over there?"
TMPS:" What do you mean?"
PCM:"Well, we started up and are running and you never turned on! Why?"
TPMS:"Well, I never got an ignition indication, so I'm waiting for the car to start."
PCM:"Uh, OK."

PCM then jumps on the phone and calls CEL

PCM:"Hey, CEL. TPMS just lost his mind. He thinks the car isn't even running and we are already going down the highway at 45 MPH."
CEL:"Well, its not really my job. That is the TPMS indicator's job. What should I do?"
PCM:"Well, he has lost his mind. I don't think he is going to set his own indicator. That is why I called you."
CEL:"I don't have a code for the TPMS. You are just going to have to convince him to set the light on his own. Sorry."

Bring up the bumper music
commercial for beer or tampons goes here...

Just what I needed, a bit of comic relief for my friday.. Perfect!

Seriously, pull ALL the connectors from the TPMS, including the bus lines. Someone with aftermarket wheels, and a never ending TPMS low warning lamp please try it.. The TPMS won't commuinicate then:

PCM: Hello? Hello? Is there a TPMS out there???
TPMS: ZZZzzzzz ZZZzzzzz
PCM: Anyone?
TPMS: ZZZzzzzz
PCM: Aw forget it.. Who needs a TPMS anyway, hey HVAC, what's cookin'?


OverLOAD

Unfortunately, that scenario goes thus:

PCM: "Hey, TPMS!"

silence

PCM: "TMPS? HELLO?"

nothing

PCM: "OH CRAP! Someone kidnapped TPMS! SOUND THE ALARM!!!"

Maybe you guys are getting too deep in the details....

If it just throws a dash LED, why not just "go for the light?"

Pull the gauge cluster, identify the LED, (it's the one that is lit up!)

Snipitty snip, or even 'snip/extend/switch' for an on/off control.
.
.
.
doc

Originally posted by Doctorr
Snipitty snip, or even 'snip/extend/switch' for an on/off control.


If it works like the airbag light on Miatas, then the conversation would be:

PCM: Hey TPMS, how's it going?

TPMS: Not good, I'm not picking up any wheel transmitters. I think I'm going to have to blink the light.

PCM: Cool, talk to you later.

TPMS: Damn, the light isn't working! Crappy Japanese bulbs... time for the audio warning alarm!

(Beep... beep... beep... )

(If you try to disable the airbag warning light on a Miata, the airbag control system recognizes the bulb failure and sounds an audio alarm instead!)

Regards,
Gordon

Originally posted by Doctorr
Maybe you guys are getting too deep in the details....

If it just throws a dash LED, why not just "go for the light?"

Pull the gauge cluster, identify the LED, (it's the one that is lit up!)

Snipitty snip, or even 'snip/extend/switch' for an on/off control.
.
.
.
doc

Don't forget the ever present low pressure warning beeps..

Until someone actually tries it, it's still speculation. Who wants to try it?

OverLOAD

edit: try pulling the whole TPMS reciever/control module!!!

LOL!!! Jeff, and others, that was FUNNY!!! :D Is this "car nerd" humor? :D

Dangit, I keep looking for the SIMPLE solution...

On the Miata, you can pull the airbag computer as well and that stops the beeps and the light.
On the RX-8, pulling the instrument cluster is a big deal because it has a rather "special" relationship with the PCM.
The PCM will get very mad at you. (:

Originally posted by Maniac
... The problem is that it resides on the CAN buss and the PCM polls it from time to time.
If it isn't there, the PCM throws the related system code and sets up the instruments cluster light and beeper.

Is that CAN as in Controller Area Network?

If so:

(1) Has anyone hacked into the CAN bus to intercept or spoof messages?

(2) With the right tools, and access to the CAN bus, it may be possible to make the car believe the TPMS were there, and maybe hijack other portions of the car monitoring and control system.

Originally posted by Trx8
Is that CAN as in Controller Area Network?

If so:

(1) Has anyone hacked into the CAN bus to intercept or spoof messages?

(2) With the right tools, and access to the CAN bus, it may be possible to make the car believe the TPMS were there, and maybe hijack other portions of the car monitoring and control system.

A0: Yes.

A1: Yes. That's old news. I picked up a project back in october to make a CAN transciever, (very small form factor) that would hook into the car and be able to query the OBD.

A3: I've still got proto equipment that can talk to the RX-8 hanging around, and once I get done working on the Aux-in module, I'm going to pick this project back up. It's more than capable of spoofing the TPMS module, as well as any of the other CAN modules in the car. In fact, I probably already have messages logged from the TPMS, unfortunately, it's not easy to pick them up over the rest of the TONS of messages being sent out. I suspect that it's in there, just who knows where. I might find it by searching for the tire pressure values, but that might not be the correct one.

Sending the messages out on a periodic bases, once you know what they are, is trivial.

Plus, I'll wait for Maniac to tell us his results from removing the TPMS module completely from the bus, that might make all this spoofing talk completely unnecessary.

Regards,

OverLOAD

Been following this thread for some - and have little to add BUT I'm going up to Canada at the end of March - and my first dealer oil change will be there. Have an appt already - going to be asking about DRLs and now will ask about the TPMS. Will report back after that appt.

John

Originally posted by RX8_GT
Been following this thread for some - and have little to add BUT I'm going up to Canada at the end of March - and my first dealer oil change will be there. Have an appt already - going to be asking about DRLs and now will ask about the TPMS. Will report back after that appt.

John Good luck. Several of us have talked to dealerships about this, and have gotten no where. Hopefully you will! :)

OverLOAD --

Thanks for the info. I found more in the ODBII and CAN related threads. When I have developed with CAN in the past, we picked the codes, and for the RX-8, the codes aren't published -- That is a pretty significant barrier.

I concur its overkill for TPMS, but as you and others have already considered, getting on the network could be very useful. If it happened to also spoof TPMS, so much the better.

I live in Ann Arbor and have EE-lab and software tools, but no CAN tools. A collegue of mine has done several CAN projects, and knows about tools and may have some. But from what I have read, the current problem is codes, not tools.

My knowledge of this stuff is limited, but wouldn't the code numbers suffice?
Every possible diagnostic code is listed in the shop manual.

It depends on whether there are a CAN codes associated with TPMS results, or however that is reported. Do any of the codes specifically mention TPMS, tire pressure, etc?

If so, is there an associated data packet for that code, does it include decode information on the data?

Its possible there are different levels of the codes. For example a low level message reporting raw sensor status (sensor ok, sensor failed, pressure OK/fail, actual pressure, etc). At another level there could be a code that turns the light on or activates the beeper.

Until I read OverLOAD's reply today, I hadn't been thinking about an RX-8 in the CAN context. My questions above are generic, may miss the point, and may be more old news. Likely OverLOAD and the others will have a better sense about the manual, codes, etc.

Sure, I suppose if it came down to it, There'd really only be a few can messages you'd need to know:

1. Start up interrogation sequnce... Question/Reply for ECU/TPMS power up presence test

2. Regular message data type. Is it ECU initiated? Or is it just periodically TX'ed by the TPMS without any provoking on the part of the ECU.

The actual data messge is what you want to know.. Given time, it will all be unraveled.

OverLOAD

ps. I don't think that the service manual has any info about actual CAN messages.. It just references 'WMS' (?? is that right?) for testing..

was wondering if you could fool the sending unit or would you have to fool all four

Take a look at this thread.. This diagrams been shown before, but now that I looked at it again it makes more sense.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=267401#post267401

Basically, pull the room fuse, and the TPMS looses power.. no tpms means no beeps. Long term solution is to either remove the tpms, or dsconnect its power souce.

Regards,

OverLOAD

On a slightly different note, what about pulling the Tire Pressures for data logging. With the right setup, you should then be able to see compare performance at different track days and such, helping you make more informed decisions on tire choice, etc.

With enough information, it should be fairly easy to figure out why that other 8 keeps pulling away lap after lap, when you the dynos all say you've got more power.

Originally posted by kristopher_d
On a slightly different note, what about pulling the Tire Pressures for data logging. With the right setup, you should then be able to see compare performance at different track days and such, helping you make more informed decisions on tire choice, etc.

With enough information, it should be fairly easy to figure out why that other 8 keeps pulling away lap after lap, when you the dynos all say you've got more power.

Very true.. I personally don't want to loose my TPMS, but others here with aftermarket wheels don't want the annoying lamp/beeps because of the missing TPMS wheel modules.

It has its up and down sides.

OverLOAD

Originally posted by OverLOAD
Take a look at this thread.. This diagrams been shown before, but now that I looked at it again it makes more sense.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=267401#post267401

Basically, pull the room fuse, and the TPMS looses power.. no tpms means no beeps. Long term solution is to either remove the tpms, or dsconnect its power souce.

Regards,

OverLOAD I thought Maniac (or someone) a while back was saying that if the TPMS has no power, the ECU would alarm. But if you're correct, what exactly do you mean by "pull the room fuse?"

Originally posted by Omicron
I thought Maniac (or someone) a while back was saying that if the TPMS has no power, the ECU would alarm. But if you're correct, what exactly do you mean by "pull the room fuse?"

Has anyone verified it? My room fuse was blown before, and of couse, I didn't hear any TPMS alarms. Perhaps the ECU only does something with the TPMS messages if it recieves them. If the TPMS doesn't send the 'hey i don't have any wheel sensors txing to me', the PCM doesn't bother with any error lamp..

OverLOAD

so I should see first if the tpms will fit on my aftermarket rims?

My ASA KA3 wheels work fine with Mazda TPMS.

Page 5-27 of the manual says:
... procedure for setting the ID code
... Mazda dealer ... non-genuine wheels ...

I bought the wheels+tires from tirerack and the TPMS were installed by my dealer, but they were somewhat hesitant to put the TPMS in the wheels, and needed to look at the wheels to see if they fit right. They were also very careful not to break the TPMS module inside the tire. It helped that getting the snow tires on the car was a condition of me buying the car.

Sorry if this has been covered, a quick search didn't give me many hits. How would you remove the TPMS sensors from a car's tires? I'm putting 18" stock rx8 wheels on my mazda 6 and have no use for TPMS.

Whew, old thread, but i'd forgotten about it...*wonders if any progress was made

The tpms sensors are built into the valve stem, i think. I imagine replacing them with regular old valve stems, would do the job don't forget to get 'em rebalanced, as the ridiculous number of weights used to counteract the sensors would throw the wheel seriously out of whack without the sensor installed.

Sorry if this has been covered, a quick search didn't give me many hits. How would you remove the TPMS sensors from a car's tires? I'm putting 18" stock rx8 wheels on my mazda 6 and have no use for TPMS.
If you are not swapping tires it will be cheaper to just leave them in till you change tires.

Sorry if this has been covered, a quick search didn't give me many hits. How would you remove the TPMS sensors from a car's tires? I'm putting 18" stock rx8 wheels on my mazda 6 and have no use for TPMS.
This TSB covers removing TPMS.
http://www.finishlineperformance.com/rx8/docs/pdf/02-004-04-1374a.pdf

FYI. I have a set of OEM rims with standard valve stems I use for the track with no problems.

Thanks guys. Must be cool to have such a good website with knowledgable people around to help.

So is there still no good solution to this?

Doesn't look like it and I'm definately interested in figuring this out.

Mee to, I'me getting tired of looking at the light, I awlays keep thinking there is something wrong....

Black electrical tape will take care of the light. Not a very elegant solution, but if it REALLY bothers you, cover it up!

Not what I had in mind for a show car.....

You show your car with the ignition on???