Service Traction System

[bezerk19]

Okay i need your help!!! This has been driving me insane, i've had the service traction system come on for awhile now and i've checked all the speed sensors and i've had about 1100 ohms in each one (front and rear) along with some current running through them when i have the key turned on to accessory. I have also added more Dot 3 Brake fluid and also replaced the brake fluid level sensor and i still have the problem!

What i've also noticed is the "Service traction System" light only comes on when i release the brake pedal. So for example when I start the car and hold down the brake pedal there is no ABS light(service traction system) on, but as soon as i release the brake pedal the light comes on and never goes off until i turn off the car.

Can anyone help? Any suggestions? Don't know what else i can try!

My impala is a 2005 3.8L V6

[2005chevimpala]

Originally Posted by bezerk19

Okay i need your help!!! This has been driving me insane, i've had the service traction system come on for awhile now and i've checked all the speed sensors and i've had about 1100 ohms in each one (front and rear) along with some current running through them when i have the key turned on to accessory. I have also added more Dot 3 Brake fluid and also replaced the brake fluid level sensor and i still have the problem!

What i've also noticed is the "Service traction System" light only comes on when i release the brake pedal. So for example when I start the car and hold down the brake pedal there is no ABS light(service traction system) on, but as soon as i release the brake pedal the light comes on and never goes off until i turn off the car.

Can anyone help? Any suggestions? Don't know what else i can try!

My impala is a 2005 3.8L V6

,what we do with that in our impalas is unhook the antilock brake wiring harness just below where you put your brake fluid in,just push in on the little clips and slide it to the right, unplug the harness altogether,then unhook your neg battery terminal to reset the code,then you get the light gone and way better braking without anti lock and less worry about wheel sensors going and lighting up your dash all the time

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by 2005chevimpala

,what we do with that in our impalas is unhook the antilock brake wiring harness just below where you put your brake fluid in,just push in on the little clips and slide it to the right, unplug the harness altogether,then unhook your neg battery terminal to reset the code,then you get the light gone and way better braking without anti lock and less worry about wheel sensors going and lighting up your dash all the time

Thanks i might have to give that a try since i can't figure this out. I have another question perhaps you might know the answer to:

When i had my rear wheels on jack stands i noticed that on the rear passenger tire i was able to rotate the tire clockwise and counter clockwise, the rear driver side tire was only able to rotate clockwise (as if you were mimicking the car going reverse-->clockwise). I wonder why i was able to go clockwise (reverse) and counter clockwise (forward) on the rear passenger and not rear driver. I'm assuming there is something wrong with the rear passenger wheel, at first i thought it was the caliper, but using a c-clamp to push it in then pressing the brakes would release it (pop out). Could it possibly be the hub bearing that is defective and allowing the wheel to turn both ways or is it a disc brake issue (should i replace the rear brakes or try a new hub bearing)?

Thanks,
BeZeRK

[2005chevimpala]

Originally Posted by bezerk19

Thanks i might have to give that a try since i can't figure this out. I have another question perhaps you might know the answer to:

When i had my rear wheels on jack stands i noticed that on the rear passenger tire i was able to rotate the tire clockwise and counter clockwise, the rear driver side tire was only able to rotate clockwise (as if you were mimicking the car going reverse-->clockwise). I wonder why i was able to go clockwise (reverse) and counter clockwise (forward) on the rear passenger and not rear driver. I'm assuming there is something wrong with the rear passenger wheel, at first i thought it was the caliper, but using a c-clamp to push it in then pressing the brakes would release it (pop out). Could it possibly be the hub bearing that is defective and allowing the wheel to turn both ways or is it a disc brake issue (should i replace the rear brakes or try a new hub bearing)?I'm not sure what to tell you there,if that was the case that you can't turn your tire then when she is on the ground your car probaly would'nt move as it seems to me like your brake is stuck on or your brake shoes inside the rear rotor are stuck on like the hand brake is on

Thanks,
BeZeRK

not sure

[HeMi101]

Originally Posted by bezerk19

Thanks i might have to give that a try since i can't figure this out. I have another question perhaps you might know the answer to:

When i had my rear wheels on jack stands i noticed that on the rear passenger tire i was able to rotate the tire clockwise and counter clockwise, the rear driver side tire was only able to rotate clockwise (as if you were mimicking the car going reverse-->clockwise). I wonder why i was able to go clockwise (reverse) and counter clockwise (forward) on the rear passenger and not rear driver. I'm assuming there is something wrong with the rear passenger wheel, at first i thought it was the caliper, but using a c-clamp to push it in then pressing the brakes would release it (pop out). Could it possibly be the hub bearing that is defective and allowing the wheel to turn both ways or is it a disc brake issue (should i replace the rear brakes or try a new hub bearing)?

Thanks,
BeZeRK

With the parking brake off, both rear wheels should spin in both directions. The bearings in that hub might be shot.

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by HeMi101

With the parking brake off, both rear wheels should spin in both directions. The bearings in that hub might be shot.

Thanks for the info, i'll give it a try and let you guys know if it was the rear hub bearing.

BeZeRk

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by HeMi101

With the parking brake off, both rear wheels should spin in both directions. The bearings in that hub might be shot.

Okay so i tried the following:

With the parking brake off (released) the rear driver wheel will rotate freely in both directions, the rear passenger will also rotate in both directions but its a bit harder to move.

With the parking brake on (pressed) the rear driver wheel will only rotate clockwise (reverse) but will not rotate counter clockwise (forward), the rear passenger wheel will locks up and is hard to try and rotate in both directions (but you can move it a bit).

Does this seem like a hub bearing problem or is this perhaps an issue with my "parking brake", i recall i replaced the rear brake pads about 5-6 months ago, but did not adjust the parking brake.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
BeZeRK

[HeMi101]

With the parking brake off they should move Fairly freely, just a little bit of resistance. with the parking brake on, you shouldnt be able to move it at all, or REALLY hard to do so.

For your ABS, Your best bet is to at least get your ABS codes scanned. Then decide what you wanna do from there on that aspect.

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by HeMi101

With the parking brake off they should move Fairly freely, just a little bit of resistance. with the parking brake on, you shouldnt be able to move it at all, or REALLY hard to do so.

For your ABS, Your best bet is to at least get your ABS codes scanned. Then decide what you wanna do from there on that aspect.

Okay, i'll have to find a place that can scan my ABS codes as i don't have that gadget.

Thanks again for your help.

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by 2005chevimpala

,what we do with that in our impalas is unhook the antilock brake wiring harness just below where you put your brake fluid in,just push in on the little clips and slide it to the right, unplug the harness altogether,then unhook your neg battery terminal to reset the code,then you get the light gone and way better braking without anti lock and less worry about wheel sensors going and lighting up your dash all the time

i believe what you are referring to is the "Brake Fluid Level Sensor" which is located just underneath the master cylinder (where you fill up the brake fluid) correct? If i'm right i removed this piece and unplugged the wire harness and then disconnected the negative battery terminal, waited a few minutes and then reconnected the negative battery terminal and i still have the lights coming on and again they only come on as soon as i release the brake pedal. I know i can get the ABS light to come on as soon as i start the engine if i disconnect any of the ABS sensors that are located within the hub bearing. [Also note, that i've replaced this sensor with a new one from the dealership]

Which is why i mentioned to Hemi101, i wonder if having some problems with the way the rear tires are acting up will cause the ABS light to turn on.

Also any of you guys know of a place i can take car to get the an ABS code scanner? Autozone only checks the "check engine" light.

Thanks again,
BeZeRk

[HeMi101]

Sorry B, gonna have to suck up to a mechnic buddy if you have one, or bite the bullet and take it to a shop and pay the 70$ they gonna want. OR you could always put elecitrcal tape over the lights.

But there is no way to disable those lights. You'd have to reprogram the PCM and more for that.

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by HeMi101

Sorry B, gonna have to suck up to a mechnic buddy if you have one, or bite the bullet and take it to a shop and pay the 70$ they gonna want. OR you could always put elecitrcal tape over the lights.

But there is no way to disable those lights. You'd have to reprogram the PCM and more for that.

Yeah thanks, i figured that's what i have to do, looks like the ABS Scanner is about $200, so i'll have to take it to my local chevy dealer to give me the bad news. In either case thank you both! I'll make sure i post the problem once its identified.

BeZeRk

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by HeMi101

Sorry B, gonna have to suck up to a mechnic buddy if you have one, or bite the bullet and take it to a shop and pay the 70$ they gonna want. OR you could always put elecitrcal tape over the lights.

But there is no way to disable those lights. You'd have to reprogram the PCM and more for that.

Okay so i finally had a chance to take my car to a Chevy dealer. Turns out i need a new EBCM (electronic brake control module), they also mentioned that perhaps they might have to replace its motor, but they wouldn't know until they replaced the EBCM.

FYI, i'm not doing that anytime soon, they quoted me about $1,287 parts and labor!

The weirdest thing is that once i picked up my car the Service Traction System light went away, i'm not sure if perhaps by having the computer plugged into the vehicle it might have reseted the error codes, who knows! Anyway, so far its running fine (never had a problem with performance just that annoying service traction system light), i'll have to just wait and see how long it will take before it comes back on.

Here is another problem for you guys, i've had this for awhile already. My speedometer needle gets stuck, seems to only happens at night though or when the lights are on (perhaps something is getting hot inside the dash) once its stuck you have no idea how fast you are going. When you turn off the car the needle will just sit there no particular sequence (randomly will get stuck at any particular mph marking).

What i have to do to fix it is turn of the car, turn the key to acc, then turn the key back to "OFF", do this several times until the needle jumps back to zero. Any suggestions??

[bezerk19]

Originally Posted by 2005chevimpala

not sure

fyi, updated my post with notes from the dealership.

[HeMi101]

B, sounds like the stepper motor for the speedometer is going bad. either have to unsolder it, and replace it OR replace the whole cluster.