trac off

Please help! Yesterday I had my alternator replaced as well as my battery. Everything was fine till this morning when I stop at a light and the TRAC OFF light came on and will not go off. Plus my transmission does not seem to be shifting as smoothly as yesterday. I noticed this only after the TRAC OFF light came on. Any ideas on where to start? I tried turning the car off to possibly reset the light but not luck. The ETS button next to my hazard lights doesn’t work either which I believe turns it on and off. 1999 Pontiac Grand Am Se. Any helpful advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!!

loose conection to the hazard and ets relay will keep your trac controll off if the button isnt connected right. Also since its possable the hazard lights connection is loose it will affect how your car runs. Other things I noticed that make a grand am (99-up) run rough with hard shifting trouble is gas cap not on right , vacuum hose not connected properly , burnt auto trans fuse , loose mas or throttle body sensor , clogged catylitic converter and disengagement troubles with the park brake which i noticed will not fully disengage but doesnt show the park brake is on light on the dash. Also I suggest if you havent done so to plan out a tranny service since our transmissions on the v6 models dont have a dip stick we have to undo a bolt plug under the tranny to check the level. If you have alot of miles on your grand am I would suggest a transmission service "new filter and fluid" also ask them how worn the tranny looks when they preform this. I was told mine looked ok but they could tell it had the miles on it. Ummmm i hope this helps you out or gives you more ideas. Also i was wondering if you got the recall on those hazard and ets buttons cus last winter or spring they had one issued out and if you missed it you can still get it free of charge just ask your pontiac dealer for the info. They had turn signal problems resulting in simular instrament difficulties you are expiriencing.

Thanks for the info! I went and had the tranny checked out yesterday and they hooked the car up to some monitor and no codes came up. They reset my computer and now it works fine. I do plan on getting my tranny serviced. Would you suggest doing, becasue my car has 120k miles on it? I would like to keep this car in tip top shape as I plan on keeping it for several more years. Again thanks for the info!

hey no problem , it is a good idea to prolong your tranny life with a new filter and fluids and remember any little thing that goes wrong could affect the trannies proper function I noticed these cars are finicky in the computer and will run rough even if the gas cap isnt on 100% it runs like it doesnt know what its doing and goes into a default mode of air/fuel affects fuel economy and other drivability functions. It doesnt even have to thrw a code to make it do this. If you notice any changes in engine behavior its most likely something like that and sometimes needs a reflash to smarten it up like I think you got therefore your troubles are gone. I love my ga too but like i said it was learning process to keep it runnin tip top. After you encounter more little things youll catch on and be able to trouble shoot and fix it yourself.