Traction Control question

3143 Views 23 Replies 11 Participants Last post by leftlanetruckin, May 2, 2010

bmwmotogreg

Discussion Starter · Apr 27, 2010

I was in some real slippery mud today. At one point, the the traction control light was on and I think the wheels were slipping. There was also a clacking sound... was that the normal sound for the traction control activating? What causes the light? As soon as I was free, it stopped coming on.... I am pretty sure that I have been in enough sand and mud before to have the wheels slip but I do not remember the light coming on or the clacking sound.. Thanks guys!

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

TheoR

· #2 · Apr 27, 2010

Could it be the sound of ABS kicking in?

kmagnuss

· #3 · Apr 27, 2010

Not sure about the light, but the clacking/ratcheting (abs kicking on sound) is perfectly normal. Just hammer through it.

zem

· #4 · Apr 27, 2010

Just don't stick around in the mud with traction control on for too long as traction control will overheat - (I think you get a warning and it cuts out....help me out on this one guys?)

kmagnuss

· #5 · Apr 27, 2010

That's all we have down here in FL...mud and sand. That's why I don't wheel anymore...I hate it.

bmwmotogreg lives down here also.

PaulP38A

· #6 · Apr 28, 2010

ABS/TC light, sounds and message display warning is normal in the slippery stuff... it is just letting you know that the computers are doing their job... keep going... the Rangie will work its way through. I love this car.

Cheers, Paul

zem

· #7 · Apr 28, 2010

Paul, do you recall if there is a warning if TC is over heating? I vaguely remember reading it in the manual and thankfully I have never been that stuck

bmwmotogreg

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 29, 2010

Ya, it was wet grass. When I say wet, I mean several inches of water w/ soft sand underneath and the truck was sinking.... had to keep moving. But I did realize that I was in regular drive, had forgotten to shift to D2 which is the gear I am usually in when in the soft stuff. Do you guys drop to D1 or D2 when in mud and water or do you drop to the low side of the column? (It is wet in Florida and we have not even gotten to the rainy season... the fear is that there is going to be a LOT of water in Florida this year...)

kmagnuss

· #9 · Apr 29, 2010

I hope not...I cancelled my flood policy. 8~

bmwmotogreg

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 29, 2010

kmagnuss, I am in the stormwater bussiness and it seems quite likely that we (in Florida) are in for a wet summer based on a number of factors.... I have spent the last couple weeks looking at subdivisions that have flooded and we are not to the rainy season yet :shock:

PaulP38A

· #11 · Apr 29, 2010

zem said:
Paul, do you recall if there is a warning if TC is over heating? I vaguely remember reading it in the manual and thankfully I have never been that stuck

I think you get a warning in the message centre if it gets too hot. Not sure though as I've never had it.
cheers, Paul.

kmagnuss

· #12 · Apr 29, 2010

knock on wood, the worst flood we ever had where I am was 30+ years ago and I still had another 10 feet to go before it would have gotten to my house. And that was only because they forgot to open the flood gates in the local drainage canals. D'oh.

It would take back to back to back hurricanes dumping a few feet of water each... or one helluva storm surge. It would have to come inland over 20 miles and be 20+ feet. I think we'd have a little more to worry about than our house at that point. Hell...if the house got wrecked I'd pack up whatever I had that was still dry and move back to MI. The bank can keep it.

Super_Monster

· #13 · Apr 29, 2010

PaulP38A said:
zem said:

Paul, do you recall if there is a warning if TC is over heating? I vaguely remember reading it in the manual and thankfully I have never been that stuck

Click to expand...

I think you get a warning in the message centre if it gets too hot. Not sure though as I've never had it.
cheers, Paul.

TRACTION OVERHEAT message will be displayed...been there, done that!

paul.adshead

· #14 · Apr 29, 2010

A few days ago, over here in the south of NZ, they had over 500mm (20") of rain in a 24 hour period!!! :shock:

bmwmotogreg

Discussion Starter · #15 · Apr 29, 2010

Super_Monster said:
PaulP38A said:

zem said:

Paul, do you recall if there is a warning if TC is over heating? I vaguely remember reading it in the manual and thankfully I have never been that stuck

Click to expand...

I think you get a warning in the message centre if it gets too hot. Not sure though as I've never had it.
cheers, Paul.

Click to expand...

TRACTION OVERHEAT message will be displayed...been there, done that!

I do not recall any message in the display about "traction overheat" but I do know the t/c light was blinking..... will have to pay attention if I am in that situation again.

What gear do you guys drop it into when you are in thick sand/mud?

Chris X

· #16 · Apr 29, 2010

I don't do much sand, but when the mud gets sticky I'll go for D2 mostly. I avoid Low unless it is a slow climb/descent or rock garden type situation. I like a litte more wheelspin in the mud to help self clean the tread, so higher gears are needed.

Of course I try to avoid mud altogether. To run mud bogs all the time you need to prepare differently, a little here and there ok, but I hate the stuff mostly.

Escape

· #17 · Apr 29, 2010

Not sure abut the Rangie, but on other LRs, if the tC light is blinking, it is operating normally. If it stays lit, there's either a problem (usually the ABS light will be on as well if that's the case) or it's overheated. Had it happen to me with the Defender once, after a long muddy stretch and some winching, I simply couldn't make it up a slippery but not too steep hill. Noticed the light on constantly, shut the truck off, went for a walk, came back and drove up without too much problems. 8-|=

As for gear, I prefer to use the low gears more, in low4 (or low5 on a manual), the Range still makes good speed if necessary, but you have much less risk of overheating the torqueconverter or burning the clutch when driving of in deep mud or soft sand.
And as I prefer a manual for offroading, one added advantage using low on an auto is the manual function which lets the driver chose the gear.

Super_Monster

· #18 · Apr 30, 2010

when it comes to what gear to use, i suggest any gear that works :lol:

i was in Low Range with three of the four wheels turning. i tried every gear i had in Low...still nothing got me out. i was stuck in sand/water for almost 2 hours. the wheels were cover about 80% up. first one Ford and one GMC (at the same time) tried to get me out...no luck. finally i called a tow truck. hooked up the tow truck winch...tow truck was starting to be pulled backwards :crybaby2:

my friends ended up in the tow truck with his foot on the brake and my other friend with me with his foot on the gas. the tow truck driver was controlling the winch and i was in the Rover. that worked :dance:

anyway, i did a lot of spining while in the water...i am sure this was the cause of the TRACTION OVERHEAT message. as soon as the message appeared, i stopped and the message went away.

the only damage i did was knock the ABS wheel sensors loose which caused me ABS problems over 30kph. pushed the sensors back in, problem gone :clap:

the next day i noticed that my wheels looked like they were sandblasted 8-0=

the clacking sound (ABS sound) is normal when the traction is engaged.

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zem

· #19 · May 2, 2010

Super_Monster, do you have photos to share of the bog? Sounds like a nasty situation you got into.

Super_Monster

· #20 · May 2, 2010

zem said:
Super_Monster, do you have photos to share of the bog? Sounds like a nasty situation you got into.

i'm still not 100% sure how to post photos directly to this forum. here is a link where you can find a photo http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae28 ... rstuck.jpg

its a bad photo but i think you will get the point!

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