Traction Conrol light On

[izzyinstl]

the orange light for traction control is on telling that it is off. wont change by pushing on/off button. what causes this and how do I fix?
thanks

[Aurora22]

I have an Aurora as well...I also had that problem...I had to get my bearing assembly for my wheel replaced...it has sensors on it, and if it's messed up, it has to be replaced

Brian

[izzyinstl]

Oh no how much did that cost and did it ride better? I have alot of vibration in my front whenn travelling at 60 to 70 but i thought that was a normal problem with these cars ..btw mine is a 96

[jjdewd]

A bad wheel sensor does not neccessarily mean a bad wheel bearing. Just that you can't replace the sensor without replacing the whole wheel bearing assbly. About $110 a piece ( its usually the front)
My trac. control and abs lights are on constantly but I haven't replaced the bearings yet cuz my car rides nicely. Waiting til spring!
My high speed vibration was an out of balance tire. A balance took care of that.
I would say bearings would hum when they are starting to go ....this can be long after the sensors.
Have your tires balanced 1st before you start replacing stuff. that might help your vib. at high speed.

[zimaad]

A piece of black electrical tape often cures this problem

[jjdewd]

if you can find a broken wire

[dmorlow]

There is no way to tell what is wrong by just seeing that the "traction off" light is on. It could be anything... a bad sensor, a bad switch or the pressure regulator valve. I think there is even other stuff. Mine it ended up being the pressure regulator valve. Cost me $500 to fix it. Best thing to do is hook up a diagnostic tool and read the troubleshooting codes stored in the car. Most likely the problem is stored in the car somewhere. (By the way, for me to get those codes just to know it was the pressure regulator valve, that cost me $500 also for the tool. So all said and done, it cost me about $1100 or more to fix my traction control.)

[dsatt12]

Unless the ABS light is coming on as well it doesn't really hurt anything. I even got confirmation from the dealership on that one. I've put 75,000 miles on my 95 and it's never worked. They think mine is the wheel speed sensors, but the codes are a bit indeterminate. I haven't gotten stuck with my Aurora here in the frozen wastes of Iowa yet. I borrow a 4WD Explorer to slog my way to work after they quit running the plows last night and end up in the ditch- go figure.

[dmorlow]

Actually if I had to do it again, before wasting another $1100, I would have just pulled out the strip that has all of the lights in it (as well as the traction off light) and just pull the light bulb. The system has been working for over a year now and I haven't ran into any situation yet that it was necessary. There are times that I hit ice in the winter that the traction active light comes on but, so far, it hasn't been any situation that i coudn't have gotten out of without the system. It hasn't helped yet other than just alerting me that the traction isn't that great and reminding me to take it easy.
But who knows, maybe next week something terrible will happen and the traction control will save my life.
But my point is now that it would have saved me a lot of time, money and hassle just to pull the dash and remove the light bulb. That part of the dash pulls out and there are no screws holding it in. It removes easy. Just be a little cautious. I did have to remove that piece once for another reason and when removing it, be careful not to pull it out any farther than absolutely necessary. And be extremely careful when removing the wire harness connector from the lights. The plastic piece that houses all of the LEDs breaks off from the dash really easy. I had to re-glue all of mine back in. So for that part, you have been forewarned.

[gates455cutlass]

I have had three aurora's and can tell you, 99.9% of the time it is a short in the wheel bearing sensor. As has been posted, you have to replace the hub bearing if it is untraceable...usually you can find it easily. But beware, I replaced both in one of my cars and two weeks after the warranty expired (1 year), it got zapped too. Bearings were fine and you can drive the car just fine if you want to ignore the light. It is an easy garage fix for yourself if you want to do it...cheaper than the $600 the shop usually requires. Hubs usually sell for about $125.

[dmorlow]

really you just need to hook up the scantool. when i did it on my dad's car, the scantool actually told me exactly what wheel it was where the short was. (If a sensor is the problem at all.) It will take the guessing out of it all by just having it properly diagnosed.

[RobertHammen]

Regarding the poster with a vibration between 60 and 70 mph, you need to have your tires balanced using a Hunter GSP9700 machine.

The roadforce balance applies a counterforce to the tire (i.e. the force of the pavement/ground), and helps determine the "low" and "high" points of the tire and rim. The tires are then dismounted and the low and high points matched correctly. This reduces the amount of vibration, to which the G-body (Aurora, Riviera, Seville, Park Avenue) are susceptible to, with their 25Hz body structure. I've had this done a couple of times on my '98 (once after I got new tires and the replacements weren't RFB'd, and again after a leaky valve stem was repaired - without my permission (car was in for the $1800 rear crankshaft oil seals repair - charged me $20 - and then the replacement leaked) - by my Olds dealer (got it waived :-).

There's a shop locator at:

http://www.gsp9700.com

Hope this helps,

--Robert

[mcnu]

i had the car on the scope, 97, and it said open speed sensor, driver rear. had it replaced, and the traction and abs is still on. any ideas on what to do next?? the hub was brand new, and i thought the lights would go off and the traction would work, but it didnt, need help. thanks.

[dmorlow]

Well, have the car scanned again. Erase any codes in memory and see if they come back. If it does, then fix what ever comes back again. The light is on for a reason and the scantool will tell you.

[97aurora1]

The previous owner of my car mentioned the traction control light came on and he had to replace the wheel speed sensor. A week after one was replaced the light came back on and another had to be replaced. Two weeks after that guess what.....you guessed it, the light came back on and yet another had to be replaced. I think he said he paid around $500 to have each of them fixed. I then bought the car (two years ago) and no further problems. By my count there is still one left but it hasn't gone yet. Sounds like a very costly fix if you don't do it yourself.