Cheap TPMS Light How-To/DIY

If you are an '07 Tacoma owner, and have switched your stock wheels for a new set and you find that little orange dummy light annoying, this write up is for you.

I searched long and hard for a thread that would tell me how to disable the TPMS light, but the consensus is that the ground-out method won't work on '07s. And to be honest, I wasn't too crazy about cutting wires anyway. (Here's the thread in case you'd like to try.)

I read that someone (could never find out who) just simply stuck the old sensors into a hand truck/wheel barrow wheel and stuck it in with the spare...but no write up.

So here it is!

Please note: This is simply what I did, and have found to work. I take no responsibility for any malfunctions and/or damages to your person or vehicle.

The wheel and tire I bought from Wal-Mart for $40 and is 15" in overall diameter. There are less expensive, smaller tires out there, but you run the risk of not being able to feed the spare-hanger through the center.



First, deflate the tire completely and break the bead on one side of the wheel.

The space was kind of tight, so I stuck the nipple end in first:



Then, slip one side of the sensor down into the inside of the tire (The other side would not slide in easily, and I feared too much force would damage the sensor):



I found that the next steps were easier with the wheel standing. Everything should look like the picture below at this point:



Now take a large flat-head screwdriver and pull downward on it, so you can give yourself a bit more room to finish sliding the sensor in:



Use your thumb to slide in the other side of the sensor:



Repeat 3 additional times until all of your sensors are inside the hand truck/wheel barrow tire, then inflate to the specifications on the sidewall of your specific tire. Mine happened to be 60psi, but I only put in about 45psi.

This is how the tire set in with my spare:



Finally, raise your spare back to the underside of the bed making sure it is snug enough to avoid any annoying noises and possible damage to your truck. You should now be able to turn on your truck, and there should be no illuminated dummy light.



I hope this helps you guys who couldn't get the ground-out wire fix to work.

 

nice diy. i wonder if you can put the sensors inside the spare instead.

 

Yeah, that's why I decided against putting them in the spare.

 

When you reset the TPMS it considers the pressure reading the sensors are transmitting at that time as correct. Couldn't you just put them in a bag and reset the system or would that be too easy.... Then they could be stowed anywhere in the truck.

 

I considered those options too. On the way back from the tire shop (old wheels with TPMS sensors still attached were in the bed), I hit the reset button, and nothing happened. I think they have to sense a certain amount of pressure in order to work correctly. I have no other knowledge than that.

 

A long time ago I was taught to always try the simplest solution first. It doesn't work every time but has saved me a lot of money and frustration over the years. We need someone to try it and report back what happened.

I think you have to be have the engine off to reset the sensors.
Now I want to know. I might have to let the air out of my spare and see if I can get the system to accept it.

 

Exactly. But if I take the spare down and reset the system will it accept 0lbs of pressure as acceptable. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

So take out all sensors (to sense 0 psi) and deflate spare (to sense 0 psi as well) then hit the reset button? Hmmm...interesting...that would definitely answer the question as to whether or not the sensors are programmed to sense a certain psi.

 

That is my question. I'm not sure what the computer looks for. Does it look for a specific psi (i.e. 25 psi regardless of situation), or does it look for a specific psi minus whatever is in the tires when the reset button is pushed. I may be thinking of this in the wrong way though.

 

What the guys on the Corvette Forum WERE doing is epoxying the sensors to their rims and to ensure they'd stay in place they'd place a band around the rim and the sensor. Although it worked for some there were quite a few members that were having problems balancing their tires.

Someone on CF tried these and they thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] IFORGED TPS adapter

I placed a call to them a few minutes ago but their obviously closed. I'll call them again first thing in the morning to see if their adapter will work with our trucks.

Im a little confused about reprograming the sensors, I know on my Corvette I have to run a large magnet over the valve stem to reprogram but that sensor tells me how much air pressure is in each individual tire, to my understanding the sensor on the Tacoma's only comes on when a tire is low, correct?

Thanks






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My understanding is that the sensors send a pressure reading to the truck. That is why according to the book when you rotate the tires and correct the front and rear pressures you are supposed to reset the TPMS system so that the truck knows how much pressure to look for from the different tires.