# Turn Off Traction Control



## thelettuceman (Nov 23, 2010)

This applies to my truck but maybe yours also. I was told by the Ford dealer to turn off traction control while snow plowing. It is okay to drive with traction control on while transporting the plow.

Anybody have thoughts on this?


----------



## Alpha Property (Jul 25, 2008)

tc in some cases not only cuts power but it will also apply ABS braking. So sping the tires pushing into snow banks could be very hard on this system


----------



## linckeil (Sep 18, 2007)

traction control and abs are for people who don't know how to drive, which is great for over 80% of the population.


----------



## grassmanvt (May 27, 2004)

linckeil;1224037 said:


> traction control and abs are for people who don't know how to drive, which is great for over 80% of the population.


I've finally gotten used to abs. I usually have trucks, currently 3/4 and ton trucks, luckily none with t/c. Tried a half ton with it, can't see any benefit at all. Scared the crap out of me when I went to take off and had about 1/4 power with traffic coming. Not a big fan, but not a lot of experience with it. Hopefully it is still not available on the larger pickups, not looking forward to it.


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 8, 2008)

I turn it off everytime I get in the truck. No use as far as Im concerned.


----------



## weekendwrench (Jan 29, 2009)

Raymond S.;1224146 said:


> I turn it off everytime I get in the truck. No use as far as Im concerned.


X2 I hate it. :realmad:


----------



## thelettuceman (Nov 23, 2010)

I am not a big fan of abs brakes myself. Traction control is ok


----------



## ppandr (Dec 16, 2004)

linckeil;1224037 said:


> traction control and abs are for people who don't know how to drive, which is great for over 80% of the population.


Exactly.....my partner has a Chevy 1500 that the ABS is f-ed up on, so I told him to pull the ABS fuse. He has been crying for months cause he is afraid to drive it without abs, the brakes are 100%. He's affraid to put any real weight in it becasue "it won't stop". He ordered a new hub 3 months ago. Funny, I have not had time to fix it for him.....:laughing:


----------



## chevyman51 (Dec 16, 2009)

ppandr;1224298 said:


> Exactly.....my partner has a Chevy 1500 that the ABS is f-ed up on, so I told him to pull the ABS fuse. He has been crying for months cause he is afraid to drive it without abs, the brakes are 100%. He's affraid to put any real weight in it becasue "it won't stop". He ordered a new hub 3 months ago. Funny, I have not had time to fix it for him.....:laughing:


I have not had a fuse in my abs system in 3 years. I was told the wheel speed sensor is what is causing my problem because of the rust but I stop just fine without it so I am not worried.


----------



## Mark Witcher (Feb 21, 2004)

The traction control on most rigs is a design that applies the brakes to the spinning wheel. It is not a good idea to have it on when plowing. It will wear out your brakes in about 10,000 miles. One of my employees has a 2008 Jeep liberty and the rear brakes were worn out in less than 30,000 miles from winter driving. I have a car with it and in the owners manual it tells to turn it off if you get stuck because it wont let the car spin the tires.


----------



## NBI Lawn (Oct 15, 2007)

Raymond S.;1224146 said:


> I turn it off everytime I get in the truck. No use as far as Im concerned.


I crashed my Vette a couple years ago because I forgot to turn the TC off. I burped the throttle which was just enough for the car to do sideways (doesnt take much to put a blown Vette sideways), right as it was coming around it went into limp mode so I couldnt pedal out of it. Ended up going backwards up over a curb at about 40mph it was a little of this :realmad: and even more of this 

I plowed with a 2009 GMC that had TC and it let you know when you forgot to turn off the TC, that and the back up approach beeper thingy. I dont understand how you could even plow with the TC.


----------



## F-250 (Mar 7, 2019)

So, it sounds like most people agree to shut off ABS when plowing? I have a 2016 F-250 with 8 foot Fisher plow. I usually put 400 pounds of sand in the back end of the bed.


----------



## leigh (Jan 2, 2009)

All 8 of the posters from 8 years ago seem to agree .


----------



## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

F-250 said:


> So, it sounds like most people agree to shut off ABS when plowing? I have a 2016 F-250 with 8 foot Fisher plow. I usually put 400 pounds of sand in the back end of the bed.


I keep; ABS on traction control off


----------



## cwren2472 (Aug 15, 2014)

leigh said:


> All 8 of the posters from 8 years ago seem to agree .


But would they still agree today? Perhaps we should message all 8 and find out.


----------



## thelettuceman (Nov 23, 2010)

F-250 said:


> So, it sounds like most people agree to shut off ABS when plowing?


Unless you like paying for brake repairs:laugh:


----------



## leigh (Jan 2, 2009)

cwren2472 said:


> But would they still agree today? Perhaps we should message all 8 and find out.


 Some are no longer with us ,they've broken the shackles of snow removal and moved on with their lives.


----------



## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Didn't go back 8 years and read it, but how do you shut ABS off?


----------



## leigh (Jan 2, 2009)

Mark Oomkes said:


> Didn't go back 8 years and read it, but how do you shut ABS off?


 Somebody mentioned pulling the fuse .


----------



## Masssnowfighter (Sep 22, 2012)

grassmanvt said:


> I've finally gotten used to abs. I usually have trucks, currently 3/4 and ton trucks, luckily none with t/c. Tried a half ton with it, can't see any benefit at all. Scared the crap out of me when I went to take off and had about 1/4 power with traffic coming. Not a big fan, but not a lot of experience with it. Hopefully it is still not available on the larger pickups, not looking forward to it.


Same thing happened to me and almost killed me. Pulling out into traffic with no power because the roads where wet. Such a stupid feature in a vehicle, wish I could permanently disable it. Oh yeah and it was in a Dodge 3500, so it's in all trucks now. And another thing, when the traction control is activated it sounds like the drive train is about to blow apart


----------



## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

leigh said:


> Somebody mentioned pulling the fuse .


Crossed my mind, but ABS and traction control are 2 different things. They're tied together, but 2 different systems.

And everything has become more computerized in the past 8 years or even less that pulling a fuse isn't really an option anymore.

In reality, traction control does not activate the ABS. Traction control does 1 or 2 things. It applies brake pressure to the spinning wheel and can defuel the engine to reduce power. Applying brakes might not be the best thing, but the last thing I want is a computer defueling my engine when I might need the extra power to prevent me from getting stuck.

ABS is activated when one stands on the brakes and keeps them from locking up so one can still steer. Theoretically.


----------



## Mebes (Feb 7, 2004)

Back on my 90s disabling ABS was as simple as pulling the fuse.
Early 00 trucks telemetry and air bags were being lumped into the ABS fused circuit so I found that popping a wire off a wheel sensor to cause a fault in the system was the simplest way to disable it.
2010ish trucks the ABS have actually improved enough that I no longer feel the need to disable it.

Traction and stability control on the other hand are still garbage and in my opinion should automatically turn off when 4WD is engaged.

Engaging ABS on 1 wheel in the front to counteract a skid actually works fairly well in 2 wheel drive, but it is just plain stupid when your front axle is locked in and the ABS applied to one side causes both tires to lock up in a skid.

@F-250 on your Ford you have to press the button twice. First time shuts down traction control, then you press and hold the button again until Advance Trac is disabled.


----------

