Turning off or modifying traction control?

[tRidiot]

So I have an issue with my TC ever since my motor swap. I don't recall this ever being a problem with my 5.3L. When I had the 6.0L swapped in, my ECU was reprogrammed by the rebuilder with what I was told was a 6.0L stock Escalade tune.

Since I got it back, if I lose traction for any reason, the engine cuts ALL power for about 4 seconds, then kicks back in. So if I'm turning a corner and going up a slight incline, if there's schmutz in the road (like sand and salt leftover from our recent snow), it may slip a little, next thing I know, I am literally DEAD in the street for 4 seconds.

This is quite a safety issue. For one thing, when I turn onto my street, I am making a right turn out of traffic and turning up a hill. People haul ass on that street (this is the exact spot my son totaled his Escape 7 days ago) and if they see you put on your turn signal and slow down, they don't slow down until the last second, assuming you are going to get out of their way and they can blow by you as soon as you've cleared traffic. The problem is, if my right rear tire slips, all of a sudden, I'm dead in the street and can't continue to clear traffic, and because I'm headed uphill, it kills all momentum, too. I'm gonna get creamed one of these days. This wouldn't be my fault, but I'd still be out of a truck, and I don't want to lose my Tahoe.

Also, when I'm trying to turn and get into traffic somewhere, if my tire slips on some of the grit that accumulates on the side of the road and in corners, etc., then I get stranded with no power trying to get out in front of oncoming traffic for 4 seconds with no power. This will lead to me getting t-b0ned and this WILL be deemed my fault. I don't want to do this, either.

So is this something I can adjust or disable or mitigate somehow permanently?? I can turn it off by pushing my button, and the yellow "TC" light with the line through it comes on the dash, and I don't have this problem - but I have to do it every time I start the truck, which is a PITA, #1, and #2, I forget most of the time until I feel my wheel slip and think, "F***, I'm gonna get hammered."

Like I said this wasn't a problem before the motor swap, or ECU reprogram. I have the Tech 2 scan tool now and I also have HP Tuners MPVI2+, I have hooked up the software, but haven't done anything yet as far as tuning goes.

Can I fix this problem somehow myself with the tools I have? I don't want to make my vehicle unsafe, but truly, the way it is driving now is more unsafe, I think.

 

[MassHoe04]

With all the work up front for the engine swap, maybe something got bumped.

Since traction control relies on information from the ABS wheel sensors... Might want to do a quick check on ABS.

Can you determine if the ABS speed sensors are all functioning correctly and sending signals? Maybe a wire got knocked loose on one of the sensors up front.

Tech 2 can record a snapshot of the ABS signals on a test drive to see if signal drops when your engine loses power.

 

[iamdub]

First would be to see what's being triggered. Maybe you now have excessive wheel spin from the extra power or a sensor or wire got damaged during the swap?

Have you mentioned this to your tuner? Maybe they can compare the original tune to the Escalade tune to see if the Esky tune responds differently to the TC system. Maybe they can put the original tune back in, but just edit the engine parameters to that of the 6.0?

 

[tRidiot]

The tuner is in Maine, I'm not in contact with him anymore. I bought the engine and that was that, as far as he was concerned, he didn't offer me much in the way of support or even condolences when his brand new rear main seal leaked on installation and cost me $500 to have it replaced.

Yes I have a little more power than before, but I'm talking even with a tiny little loss of traction from some sand on the sides of the road after snow has dissipated causes total power loss.

As for the Tech 2, I supposed I can look into it - I don't even know how to use this thing yet, so it's gonna take some time. I was hoping this was something pretty easily sorted if someone else had experienced it.

<edit> If there was a sensor or ABS problem, shouldn't it throw some code? I've got no engine lights or anything. Dunno if that matters.

 

[Scottydoggs]

ive got the same issue with my 05 tahoe. no abs lights, but i got a code that comes back into history right away. as far as i can tell my issue is in the ebcm. i cant hit the tc off button to turn off tc and have no dead pedal issues, but if you push and hold the tc button for 8 seconds to turn off stabilitrak it wont turn off and dic tells me to service the stabilitrak. so get a abs scan done, see what pops up.

ive also heard of tb pig tail wires being bad, or even a bad ground causing the dead pedal.

 

[tRidiot]

What do you mean by "dead pedal"? Oh, dead gas pedal? Like when the power cuts out? Gotcha.

 

[Bill 1960]

If you have HPT I’m pretty sure you have the needed tool. Unfortunately it’s been too many years since I used that tool to give you any specific, meaningful directions. HPT used to have a good forum back when I was into it, so if there’s no expert here available you may find a resource there.

 

[rockola1971]

First thing I would check is the hubs for excessive play. A bad hub bearing (or on its way out) will cause this issue.

 

[Jimmyy]

Just a FYI the Escalade is AWD. I know on my Denali AWD if I get on it in snow the traction control kicks in and it does the same engine bogging down.
Can you turn off traction off at the dash?

 

[tRidiot]

Just a FYI the Escalade is AWD. I know on my Denali AWD if I get on it in snow the traction control kicks in and it does the same engine bogging down.
Can you turn off traction off at the dash?

Yes I can do it at the dash, but have to do it every time I start the vehicle.