Questions and Answers
Dodge Traction Control
Q. Hello Vincent, I currently own a 1999 Dodge Intrepid ES 3.2 liter V-6 engine with 48,000 miles. I noticed that I can't "Peel Out" with traction control off or on in the car at all but it has power in the higher run around 40+ speeds. Now the engine is 225 horsepower 225 torque and won't spin 'em.
Now I have test drove three other cars with same engine, year and comparable milage, and they spin 'em fine. Now its not that all I want to do is spin my tires, its disappointing that a car with 225 hp and torque can't light 'em up. I have had fuel injection cleaned, throttle body cleaned, transmission and differential serviced and a new K&N air filter and no improvement. I'm running out of ideas. PLEASE HELP ME!
A. The main purpose of traction control is to reduce wheel slip and maintain traction at the driven wheels when road surfaces are wet or snow covered. The traction control system reduces wheel slip by braking the wheel that is losing traction. The system is designed to operate at speeds below 56 km/h (35 mph).
The control module monitors wheel speed. If during acceleration the module detects front (drive) wheel slip and the brakes are not applied, the control module will enter traction control mode. Traction control works in the following order when drive wheel slip is detected.
- Close the (normally open) isolation valves.
- Start pump/motor and supply volume/pressure to front hydraulic circuits (pump runs continuously during traction control).
- Open and close build and decay valves to maintain minimum wheel slip and maximum traction.
The cycling of the build and decay valves works similar to Antilock Brake System (ABS) except that they work to control wheel spin by applying brakes. ABS function is to control wheel skid by releasing brakes.
Two pressure relief valves allow pressure/volume to return to the reservoir when not consumed by the build/decay cycles. These are required because the pump supplies more volume than the system requires.
If at any time the brakes are applied during a traction control cycle, the brake switch will trigger the control module to switch off the traction control.
The traction control system will be enabled at each ignition cycle. It may be turned off by depressing the traction control switch. The traction control system warning lamp will illuminate "TRAC OFF" immediately upon depressing the traction control switch button. A different lamp will display "TRAC ON" during a traction control cycle. If the controller calculates that the brake temperatures are too high, the traction control system will become inoperative until the temperature calculation falls below a certain temperature. When in this thermal protection mode, the traction control "TRAC OFF" lamp will illuminate; however, a fault will not be registered.
Now the problem is quite likely in the Controller Anti-lock Brake (CAB). Since Traction Control is the reverse of ABS, the same controller does both. Since you are still in warranty, I would let the dealer check the system and see what is going on.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA