Traction Control Pain

G

Gherkin

Member
Afternoon folks! Hoping someone might be able to help or make some suggestions as to what my issue might be. I had my phoenix yellow e86 si coupe in to get new brake lines all round for the MOT and shortly after I started getting the traction control light flashing, causing kangarooing. At first this only happened once in a while but got worse. Local mechanic said there was rust on the sensors and tried to clean them to solve but to no avail. It then went back in and had the drive shafts replaced last week however, much to my dismay, this has still not solved the problem.

I have read some other threads on TC issues but not identical to my own. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
To try to track stuff down I’d start by looking at live data while driving on each sensor to see which looks out of line

Remember that the DTC unit pulls info from a number of sources not just the ABS sensors

Is your tracking ok? As steering angle plays a part

Does it manifest the issue in certain conditions? Like accelerating off a roundabout or turning right?
 
Oddly it seems to be predominantly in 3rd or 4th gear that the TC cuts in and more from lower revs than from when the acceleration is peaking at higher revs. In first and second there doesn't seem to be such an issue. Steering angle being off straight seems to increase the frequency of it cutting in. Im going to look at a wheel alignment this week as that was another one of the items on my list to check.
 
Sounds daft but have they put the wheels back on the right ends? If it’s a staggered set up you could have some odd issues with a narrow tyre on the rear.
 
enuff_zed said:
Sounds daft but have they put the wheels back on the right ends? If it’s a staggered set up you could have some odd issues with a narrow tyre on the rear.
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Yeah the real wheels are a fair bit wider than the front to the point where it would be pretty obvious if that was the case. I did check for certainty and all good on that front.

I had the car out this afternoon after posting this and the problem had completely disappeared, no traction control issues at all. Was hopeful it had resolved itself but then later on took it out again to get a few things and it was worse than ever, TC kicking in in all gears from low revs, pretty much preventing me from accelerating.

Driving me nuts as I am going to sell the car and has already cost me more than a few quid to not fix
 
That sounds like a connection issue of some sort

I had the same on an e46 that fixed itself when I replaced both rear ABS sensors with decent branded ones

Obviously I’m not telling you to spend more money on the car, just what remedied my similar previous issues
 
Surely it’s something to do with the work the garage did for the MOT. Did some ham fisted mechanic break a wire or disconnect something and not replace it.
 
MikeyH said:
Surely it’s something to do with the work the garage did for the MOT. Did some ham fisted mechanic break a wire or disconnect something and not replace it.
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Very possibly. The challenge there is that the garage closed down for good about 3/4 weeks afterwards.
 
bigwinn said:
That sounds like a connection issue of some sort

I had the same on an e46 that fixed itself when I replaced both rear ABS sensors with decent branded ones

Obviously I’m not telling you to spend more money on the car, just what remedied my similar previous issues
Click to expand...
Yes I suppose that would make some sense if it was connection related.
 
Your problem sounds exactly the same I had with an E90. Initial symptoms, were caused by the reluctor rings being rusted. Air gapping the abs sensors made the car driveable, switching off traction control also helped. I just put a 2mm plastic sleeve under the abs sensor mounting point to create the air gap. Got the reluctor rings replaced and all ok. Decided to change the abs sensors as originals had rubbed badly on the reluctor ring. Bought after market abs sensors......loads of dash lights. Put old ones back on and all fine. Odd thing during the whole issue....no codes thrown. So back to your case, axle changed so reluctor rings are new. If you have no codes try air gapping the abs sensors and see what happens. A no cost test, but could still be the abs sensors if they have been badly rubbed on the reluctor rings. My E85 had the same symptoms recently, but threw a code for an abs sensor. Replaced with a bosch one and all fine. Good luck!
 
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