citroen traction control / esp
Fred
I have a 54 plate Citroen C3, 1.4L 16v HDi engine, which has traction
control. As I understand it, this was not fitted as standard but was
included as part of an optional "safety pack" which included side
airbags and traction control/esp.
Are esp and traction control the same thing or is there a difference?
The traction control light (orange triangle with skidding car inside)
is on permanently. There is a button on the dashboard to switch off
the traction control (in the snow presumably?) and when pressed this
causes the light to stay on as a reminder but no, I have not
accidentally knocked this.
Is there anything I can do before taking it to a garage and spending
money? I know abs has been discussed on this group and people are
advised to clean the abs sensors. Does traction control use the same
sensor or something different? Are there sensors on the wheels I
should check or clean?
TIA
Adrian
were saying:
> Are esp and traction control the same thing or is there a difference?
No.
Simple old-fashioned traction control "watches for" the driven wheels
increasing speed more rapidly than the non-driven wheels - wheelspin -
and will cut the power to reduce it.
ESP is much more complex, and "watches for" much more complex inputs that
indicate a lateral loss of grip in a bend, and can cut the power or
operate individual brakes to get the car under control.
> Is there anything I can do before taking it to a garage and spending
> money? I know abs has been discussed on this group and people are
> advised to clean the abs sensors. Does traction control use the same
> sensor or something different?
Very probably the same sensors, yes.
Is the ABS light also on?
Does the ABS actually work?
(Get up to about 30-40mph on a CLEAR ROAD, and absolutely plant the brake
pedal. No subtlety. TRY to lock the wheels. If they lock, then ABS is
south, too, and it's probably a sensor issue. If they don't lock, and the
pedal "kicks back", then the ABS is fine.)
Either way, you really are best by getting the fault codes read as a
start.
> Are there sensors on the wheels I should check or clean?
Not really.
Harry Bloomfield
> Is there anything I can do before taking it to a garage and spending
> money? I know abs has been discussed on this group and people are
> advised to clean the abs sensors. Does traction control use the same
> sensor or something different? Are there sensors on the wheels I
> should check or clean?
I think the way they work is that...
They use the input from the ABS wheel sensors to decide if a wheel is
slipping and apply the brake to the slipping wheel, slowing it down to
the speed of the none slipping wheel. So if the ABS is working
correctly, the fault must be some unique part to the traction control
at fault.
--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk
Fred
>Is the ABS light also on?
No, the ABS light is not on (except for the quick check when you start
the car, so we know the bulb is not blown). Sorry, I should have said
this is my first post.
>Does the ABS actually work?
I think so; I haven't had occasion to find out recently but I will do
your test on an open road and let you know.
>Either way, you really are best by getting the fault codes read as a
>start.
I had the codes read but it didn't find anything (other than a glow
plug code which was fixed by replacing the plugs).
Fred
<harry...@NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
> So if the ABS is working
>correctly, the fault must be some unique part to the traction control
>at fault.
Is this a dealer job or can I take it to my local independent garage?
TIA
Doki
ESP takes into account a lot more things than traction control - find out
which one you have! Traction control is fairly simple, as described by
Adrian.
ESP uses steering angle sensors, a yaw sensor, a lateral g sensor, and
sometimes roll and acceleration sensors. Any one of these playing up will
cause the system to throw a fault. By combining the data from all these
sensors, ESP knows when you have going around a bend, and can detect and
remedy both under and oversteer by braking individual wheels.
Fred
>ESP takes into account a lot more things than traction control - find out
>which one you have!
Thanks for educating me about the differences: I always thought they
were two names for the same thing. Now I know better! The button on
the dash says ESP, so I have ESP not traction control.
Clint Sharp
<fr...@no-email.here.invalid> writes
>On 9 Sep 2009 13:52:45 GMT, Adrian <tooma...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Is the ABS light also on?
>
>No, the ABS light is not on (except for the quick check when you start
>the car, so we know the bulb is not blown). Sorry, I should have said
>this is my first post.
Has it ever worked?
It wasn't uncommon for a dodgy person to cross wire the ABS warning
light to something else (heater plug lamp for instance) to make it look
as though the ABS is working properly although I suspect this probably
isn't the case here.
Could it be as simple as the traction control switch on the dashboard
gone faulty?
Don't forget the simple things, you can get too immersed in the
technical details and then have to kick yourself hard later when you
find it was the nut behind the steering wheel.
>>Does the ABS actually work?
>
>I think so; I haven't had occasion to find out recently but I will do
>your test on an open road and let you know.
Great fun and I have scared the life out of a couple of 'mechanics'
demonstrating this technique, just be sure you have plenty of space all
around the car, sides as well.
--
Clint Sharp