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drove my 02 in rush hour snow today...very hilly roads and traffic stopped in all directions. At one point I was on a hill stopped. When I went to accelerate from a stop, the traction light flickered on the dash and the car would not accelerate...it felt as if only one cylinder of the eight was firing... the bird would not fly...when I turned off the traction control the bird would accelerate albeit slipping and fishtailing up the hill (which I expected)...when I engaged the traction control again and tried to accelerate, the engine decelerated again. I turned off the control and nursed the bird home until the weather broke...Anyone have any idea what the bird was up to?...I would appreciate any ideas...Needless to say I was VERY disappointed in my Birds maiden flight in the snow.
Were the wheels spinning to the point the rev limit kicked in ?? Trac light will go on when the wheels spin.What happened when you hit dry or flat road did it still not drive correct ??
Ed...that explains it I think...Not being a mechanic (last time I did mechanic STUFF was 1965 when I would put in points, plugs, condensor, and brake pads on my '52- 2 door Dodge Coronet!) , I wasn't sure what was going on...to answer your question, YES...the wheels did spin and then the engine began to decelerate and would not accelerate after that... until I disengaged the traction control...I am relieved to know that this is what is suppose to happen. I imagine this is a safety mechanism so dodo heads like myself won't rev the engine and spin the wheels to the point of damaging the transmission or worse!...I in fact did have to replace the trans on a 2000 grand marquis a few years ago shortly after a snow storm...thanks for the education...Bill
Bill-- the traction control did exactly what it was supposed to--when it senses rear wheel spin, engine power is dialed back to help you regain control--Snow driving is one of the reasons the cancel switch is installed-- to allow you dig out of snow, the other is if you want to drive aggressively and toss the rear around a bit
hope this helps
Harry
Harry...it is quite reassuring to hear it from an engineer...I feel much more at ease now...THANKS, Bill...P.S......without going into an MIT dissertation (if you care to ) can you or someone explain to me if this is the same thing as a positive traction rear ( Posi-Traction ) ?
If I'm correct Trac Control gives traction to the wheel with the least spin.Posi would lock the rear with a set of clutches or plates to lock both wheels.If you could do a burnout you may find one black strip with Trac.With Posi you would find the start of one strip and than two strips.I think I'm correct on this
Early Traction Control
Powerful rear-drive cars from the sixties often had a primitive form of traction control called alimited slip rear differential. Sometimes referred to asPositraction, a limited-slip rear axle will mechanically transfer power to the rear wheel with the most traction, helping to reduce, but not eliminate wheel spin. While limited-slip rear axles are still in use in many front- and rear-drive vehicles today, the device can't completely eliminate wheel slip. Hence, a more sophisticated system was needed. Electronic Traction Control
Enter electronic traction control. In modern vehicles, traction-control systems utilize the same wheel-speed sensors employed by the antilock braking system. These sensors measure differences in rotational speed to determine if the wheels that are receiving power have lost traction. When the traction-control system determines that one wheel is spinning more quickly than the others, it automatically "pumps" the brake to that wheel to reduce its speed and lessen wheel slip. In most cases, individual wheel braking is enough to control wheel slip. However, some traction-control systems also reduce engine power to the slipping wheels. On a few of these vehicles, drivers may sense pulsations of the gas pedal when the system is reducing engine power much like a brake pedal pulsates when the antilock braking system is working.
Ed and John...I sort of get what you guys are saying...the car did exactly what the electronic traction control system was programed to do....slipping up a hill tells the system to decelerate the engine and/or apply the anti lock braking system to the wheel that is spinning inorder for it to regain some traction....hence the dialed down revs in tne engine and the snails pace of the car going up the slippery snowy hill....turning off the system allows the engine to rev up and disengages the antilock system allowing the spinning wheel to keep accelerating/spinning and "dig out" of the snow...I also get the posi traction concept of "patching out" and seeing two tire marks instead of one in the posi traction system ...thanks guys ....much appreciated....Bill
John...I lived in Cleveland Heights from 1976 to 1980....Cold as a "witches xxx"....I got plenty of experience in snow driving....the interesting thing was that even though we got three to four feet of snow at one time...the roads were passable and could be traveled...I think only one time the airport closed because of the weather and rarely were the public schools shut down...I went to podiatry school on Carnegie Ave. and worked part time at R B and C Hospital....Dennis Kosinich was mayor at the time...I think he was about twelve years old at the time ( or he looked 12 ) ! ....anyway, my wife and two kids enjoyed our time there...
William, I've got two Blizzack snow/ice tires mounted on T-Bird rims for sale.
They sure would make it easier for you on those hills. Just thought I'd throw this in. There's not too many of us that drive our Birds in the snow. I traded my '03 a couple of months ago and no longer need the Blizzacks (they won't fit my Porsche). If you're interested, let me know. Scott meade.scott@epa.gov
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drove my 02 in rush hour snow today...very hilly roads and traffic stopped in all directions. At one point I was on a hill stopped. When I went to accelerate from a stop, the traction light flickered on the dash and the car would not accelerate...it felt as if only one cylinder of the eight was firing... the bird would not fly...when I turned off the traction control the bird would accelerate albeit slipping and fishtailing up the hill (which I expected)...when I engaged the traction control again and tried to accelerate, the engine decelerated again. I turned off the control and nursed the bird home until the weather broke...Anyone have any idea what the bird was up to?...I would appreciate any ideas...Needless to say I was VERY disappointed in my Birds maiden flight in the snow. 
Harry...it is quite reassuring to hear it from an engineer...I feel much more at ease now
...THANKS, Bill...P.S......without going into an MIT dissertation (if you care to ) can you or someone explain to me if this is the same thing as a positive traction rear ( Posi-Traction ) ?
John...I lived in Cleveland Heights from 1976 to 1980....Cold as a "witches xxx"....I got plenty of experience in snow driving....the interesting thing was that even though we got three to four feet of snow at one time...the roads were passable and could be traveled...I think only one time the airport closed because of the weather and rarely were the public schools shut down...I went to podiatry school on Carnegie Ave. and worked part time at R B and C Hospital....Dennis Kosinich was mayor at the time...I think he was about twelve years old at the time ( or he looked 12 ) ! ....anyway, my wife and two kids enjoyed our time there...
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