When i first got my 02 VDP i had the acs/trac not available light on in the dash. I had the bushings, new ball joint, and the sensors cleaned and it went right away. This was about 5k miles ago.

Today I took a turn way too fast to test out my new tires grip and i did hit a small bump..nothing big..and immediately i had a acs light come on in the dash and it was like the accelerator wouldnt work. As soon as I got through the turn the light went off and accelerator went back to normal. I drove another 3 miles and turned the car off to go to the post office.

Upon exiting the post office I restarted the car and had the acs/trac not available lights on and braking sucked. Drove to my next stop and after restarting the car again I only had the abs light on. I drove home and halfway there the abs light went off and all is back to normal.

Any ideas on what happened or if I have a problem creeping up? thanks

 

We had some ABS modules show intermittent shorting in the XK8 forums, could need it rebuilt. A couple guys did some DIY soldering and fixed their own also.

 

interesting points..i was thinking rebulding the module is a possibility, but for now I will see if it happens again and go from there.

and why is there a trac off button? anyone use it? whats the point?

 

trac control is really only good on ice & snow, I hate trying to spin the tires a bit just to have the DSC turn on and bog me down...doh!

 

well living in the desert i doubt ill ever need it lol..its just a pain i have to manually turn it off everytime i start the car...oh well

 

Does traction control actually work on ice & snow? Although we bought ours in January, we had no snow this year. I'm a bit leery about how much traction control is going to help fix the 290HP RWD problem. My current plan is to make sure the Jag is parked in the garage if there's even a chance of snow, but it would be nice to know it could handle an inch or two if I were to get caught at work...

 

I've grown to like it. It keeps me from getting into trouble when I am not paying enough attention. Recently, I was going to light up the tires around a corner, (on my way to replace them), and when I did, the Trac Control kicked in. It frustrated me, but forced me to take a look around better, at which time I noticed the Police Officer on the opposite corner. I'm sure I was still going much to fast, but without the smoke and noise, I was ignored.

And, as far as how it works in the snow? Awesome! I took a drive over the Sierra's last week, and ran into about 4 inches of snow on the ground. Here in California, that means chains! Not wanting to spend the $94 for chains because I don't carry them and didn't buy them down the hill, and not wanting chains on my car, I fibbed when asked if I had all wheel drive at the check point. He looked inside, at which point I pointed to the Trac Off button, and he let me proceed.

I messed around a bit, just to give myself a little peace of mind, and to my surprise, the car did incredibly well. I've got brand new Goodyear GT's on it, but any time I started to get a little loose, or sideways, (on purpose), the Trac Control kept me going straight and even. The moment I took it off, it was like Ice Skating using a Snow Board. Nearly zero control, due to the wide tires. I've drivin in the snow my whole life, so I'm VERY comfortable being sideways, but it was nice seeing the system work as well as it did.

 

im from upstate NY which means tons of snow in the past so I know just how well traction control works on unsalted, snow covered roads..now in the desert the only storm I ever get is maybe a dust storm

 

How in heck did a Nyer end up in Arizona?? I thought all Nyers went to Florida?...and all Minnasotans went to Arizona.

 

It works great in the snow-During Britains "Big Freeze" this year I drove my XJ all over, and it woked great. I felt quite smug crusing through the snow covered streets and lanes in the big cat. Why Smug? Because at the time the streets had been turned into a BMW, Mercedes and Lexus Grave Yard. Even saw a couple of X5s and M classes abandoned.

 

Well when i say NY i mean upstate ny in the east bumble****...just wanted a change and decided to head west to avoid snow..ended up in 120 degree summers lol..minus all the immigration problems illegals cause its awesome...the new law should definitely help!

 

You can guess all day about ABS modules and other faults but you won't know anything until the modules are scanned for DTCs. There are some common probs with the ABS (module solder joints, front wheel speed link harnesses etc.) but why guess when the modules probably will tell you why they are flagging faults????

bob gauff

 

thanks motorcarman i did not know you can scan the modules. I take it you have to have a dealer scan those codes correct?

there is a ebay seller with great feedback that repairs your abs module for 50-150 bucks and they pay shipping both ways..i was thinking of going that route, but it is probably smarter to get it scanned for codes first.

 

All the eBay repair guy does is open the case and re-solder the two large lugs that drive the ABS pump (they are a common failure point)... if this is not your issue, it's of no help. There's a DIY primer on the process, somewhere here in the forum.