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Traction Control Button?

52K views 37 replies 29 participants last post by  bartonmd 
#1 ·
I have a question reguarding the traction control button located above the rear wiper control, mine isn't working! or is it ?!? it doesn't light up, or seem to do anything.
what I do know is this...when I try to do a burnout or "twist the tires" the engine shuts down, I'm thinking that the previous owner might have had a different stereo system, and it was unplugged when the put the stock unit in..guess I'll have to tear it apart and see whats behind the panel..any ideas before I pull it all apart ?
 
#6 ·
I beg to differ... my 06 LS is a 4X2 and the traction control button is on the shifter.... although I wish it was above the wiper control, I really hate that lame "Trailblazer" picture there.... I gotta do sumpin' bout that...:undecided
 
#8 ·
I have an 02 envoy, not 4-wheel. And I have the Tractiion control button. Right where the 4-wheel button should be. Mine does the shut-down thing, but when I push the button, to turn it off it will spin the tires. Not for sure if a light lights up, I will check tommorrow though.
 
#20 ·
Traction Control is only available on 2WD trucks, no 4WD truck gets or ever got it. The SS is the exception here as it has TC on AWD models as well.

I dont know much about how it works except that is reduced throttle to try and regain traction for the rear wheels.
All the SS models have a TC button that's on the gear shift lever. It controls the Traction Control as well as Stabilitrak.
 
#14 · (Edited)
The button on the shifter applies to 06"-and up TB's , however as Eric stated, this is not traction control. The button controls the new Stabili-Trac feature on these trucks and it is designed to prevent the "loss of control." It moniters the speed, yaw, and angle of the vehicle and interprets the direction it thinks the driver is trying to go(by direction of the wheels), then reduces engine power and/or applies the ABS braking to any of the 4 wheels to correct the drivers course of travel. Its primary goal is to prevent rollovers common to SUVs. This feature does prevent wheel spin and if you disable this feature you will still not be able to "LIGHT EM' UP", as even with the system off it will prevent "excessive wheel spin" to prevent damage to the transfer case. Although the system may save lives, IMO, I find it intrusive and a real joy-kill.
Larry
 
#16 ·
The button on the shifter applies to 06"-and up TB's , however as Eric stated, this is not traction control. The button controls the new Stabili-Trac feature on these trucks and it is designed to prevent the "loss of control." It moniters the speed, yaw, and angle of the vehicle and interprets the direction it thinks the driver is trying to go(by direction of the wheels), then reduces engine power and/or applies the ABS braking to any of the 4 wheels to correct the drivers course of travel. Its primary goal is to prevent rollovers common to SUVs. This feature does prevent wheel spin and if you disable this feature you will still not be able to "LIGHT EM' UP", as even with the system off it will prevent "excessive wheel spin" to prevent damage to the transfer case. Although the system may save lives, IMO, I find it intrusive and a real joy-kill.
Larry
Larry
Page 4-12 in the manual shows that the button on my shifter controls both the Stabili-trac AND Traction Control, At least on my TB.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Actually gentlemen,
If you read that part of your owners manual through, although It does mention a traction control defeat, it is not work like true traction control does. The feature works in conjunction with the stability control.
The point of this thread was helping SharkVette to defeat traction control to do Burn-Outs which I do not have an answer for, however, since there is some confusion here, I will try to obfuscate what I was saying in my earlier post.
If you defeat your "traction control" by depressing the button once, and try to bask in a white cloud of smoked rubber, the brake-traction controller will activate and put an end to your fun. All the traction control defeat does(at least on 06'-up 4X4 models), is disable the engine speed management system so it doesn't cut engine power. This allows the drive wheels to "spin more freely." Basically it allows for a TB stuck in ice ruts or sand to spin its wheels enough to gain traction by rocking the vehicle, or while being pulled.

Hold button for 10 seconds and all is good...
According to the manual, holding the button for more than 5 seconds will defeat StabiliTrak and the engine management "traction control", However the manual states that the brake-traction controller will still be active and quote: "You may still hear system noises as a result of the brake-traction control coming on. If the controller detects excessive wheel spin in this mode the StabiliTrak indicator will blink and the STABILITRACK ACTIVE message may be displayed to warn the driver that damage may occur to the transfer case."

This type of system applies to the models with StabiliTrak (06'-up). I don't know how the earlier models with traction control work. My 06' 4X4 has 900 miles on it and I have not had the urge to test this out yet, but if anyone here with a new TB "lights em' up on a regular" chime in and mention 2 wheel or 4X4 and if you did any mods to achieve this. There is probably a work around if you really wanted to burn up your tires. In the power train control module (PCM) maybe?? Sounds like the transfer case is a weak link though.
Can any of the tuners add their take or enlighten us with any further info?

StabiliTrak link http://www.chevrolet.com/safety/before/stabilitrak/
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the replies, I'm going to pull the dash apart and check the plug to the t/c button, my LTZ is 2wd and I think the comment about the transmission brake is a possibility, although, when I do attempt a burn-out, the engine shuts downs, almost like a speed limiter does.
with 270 something horsepower, twisting the tires should be rather easy to do.
 
#25 ·
Thanks for the replies, I'm going to pull the dash apart and check the plug to the t/c button, my LTZ is 2wd and I think the comment about the transmission brake is a possibility, although, when I do attempt a burn-out, the engine shuts downs, almost like a speed limiter does.
with 270 something horsepower, twisting the tires should be rather easy to do.

you dont need to pull the whole dash apart.. just pop the switch out with a flat blade screwdriver.. its just pressure fit in the dash
 
#21 ·
Are all the 02 TBs wired for TC?

My 02 2WD LTZ is all stock, nothing installed, its loaded with all sorts of options but not TC. Where the TC button would be in this truck i just a blank pop out with pretty little mountains and Trailblazer across the bottom of it. The previous owner screwed the cover up mounting something to it. When i popped it off though there was a tiny 7 wire wire harness "held" in the back of it. The blank has a slot for the wires to just chill if you dont have this option. So i looked at a chiltons guide for this option and the wire colors and all. It would appear that by connecting lgt blue and purple/white it would enable the TC....i guess i could just get a switch and try it not sure what the cost.

ANYWAY...my real question is does anyone know if these trucks were wired up with everything BUT the switch. It says it has to have the "electronic brake control"...i thought this was already on it due to the ABS system.

Anyone have this blank/wire connection and put a switch in and get results?

Just wondering. Dont really want to jump it out and end up shorting out something important

Anybody know anything about this?

Thanks
:hail:
 
#22 ·
My 02 2WD LTZ is all stock, nothing installed, its loaded with all sorts of options but not TC. Where the TC button would be in this truck i just a blank pop out with pretty little mountains and Trailblazer across the bottom of it. The previous owner screwed the cover up mounting something to it. When i popped it off though there was a tiny 7 wire wire harness "held" in the back of it. The blank has a slot for the wires to just chill if you dont have this option. So i looked at a chiltons guide for this option and the wire colors and all. It would appear that by connecting lgt blue and purple/white it would enable the TC....i guess i could just get a switch and try it not sure what the cost.

ANYWAY...my real question is does anyone know if these trucks were wired up with everything BUT the switch. It says it has to have the "electronic brake control"...i thought this was already on it due to the ABS system.

Anyone have this blank/wire connection and put a switch in and get results?

Just wondering. Dont really want to jump it out and end up shorting out something important

Anybody know anything about this?

Thanks
:hail:

That hole with the TrailBlazer pop-out on your 2WD is where th 4WD switch goes on my 4wd. I'll bet that wiring harness is for a 4WD switch. And " electronic brake control" refers to the wiring left underneath the steering column for a trailer brake hook-up, I believe.
 
#23 ·
2lucky...spot on man. Good write-up and explanation. If you want to really see how the stability control works, try going into a corner kinda fast. It's a little hairy the first time you do it, especially when the stabili-trac kicks in. Mine, the front end kinda shuddered (the ABS kicking in), power to the engine was reduced (no response from the gas pedal), and no brakes (ABS took over the brakes). I did this in a very controlled area just to see what happens, and it really freaked me out the first time, but let me tell you...it works as advertised. I haven't tried to disable it (using the button), but I might later. Still to new to really risk anything yet!
 
#28 ·
my04 has the dash mounted switch. i thought either the switch was bad, or the bulb burned out, because nothing would light up when i pushed the button. then i tried it one night, and i saw a faint gleam in there, so i thought the bulb popped loose. i popped the switch out, and the bulb was where it was supposed to be. it's just very dim in the daytime.
 
#29 ·
Back in June, I was asked to help judge a burn-out contest for an annual festivity in my town called "Burnin' the Bricks". Its a very casual contest, kind of a "run what you brung" affair. I have kind of outgrown my burnout days (thank God!), but after having watched all kinds of junkers doing burnouts all day, I had the fever. And I had never tried to do one in my TB, so I thought "why not?" since I had a perfectly safe and wet concrete slab to try it on. So, I puilled the TB around, eased up onto the slab, and fired her up. No burnout. So, I rolled back, stood on the brakes, and tried again. Nada. It revved to about 3 grand and would not go beyond that with the brakes applied.I know I don't have Traction Control, but is there some kind of Torgue Management built into my 4wd 2002 TB?
 
#32 ·
i found this same question in another thread. my wheel spinnin days or over too but after reading that post i had to try. i have an 05 tb with the 4.2 and i was able to break em loose by doing a brake stand. i've heard others talking on this site and they say that when you floor it the throttle won't go full open until after 3000 rpm. (this i guess is the "traction control" that comes stock). the only way they said to change this is with an pcm tune that allowed WOT instantly when the pedal was floored. i wish i could remember the threads i saw so you could check em out. sorry.
 
#34 ·
So on my TB with Stabitrack and Trac. Control I push the button on the shifter once to turn off the TT than hold it and the Stabilitrack will turn off???
If so its ficken to snow here Monday and there is a big parking lot with my name on it. :undecided
 
#35 ·
Just took the EXT out and busted some fat donuts. Just pushed and held the TT button in, the TT turned off held it than the ST turned off and donuts away. Nice fun with a vid to come...........Yes we have snow in Oklahoma. lol
 
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