citroen traction control / esp

Hello,

I have a 54 plate Citroen C3, 1.4L 16v HDi engine, which has traction control. As I understand it, this was not fitted as standard but was included as part of an optional "safety pack" which included side airbags and traction control/esp.

Are esp and traction control the same thing or is there a difference?

The traction control light (orange triangle with skidding car inside) is on permanently. There is a button on the dashboard to switch off the traction control (in the snow presumably?) and when pressed this causes the light to stay on as a reminder but no, I have not accidentally knocked this.

Is there anything I can do before taking it to a garage and spending money? I know abs has been discussed on this group and people are advised to clean the abs sensors. Does traction control use the same sensor or something different? Are there sensors on the wheels I should check or clean?

TIA

Reply to
Fred
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Fred gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

No.

Simple old-fashioned traction control "watches for" the driven wheels increasing speed more rapidly than the non-driven wheels - wheelspin - and will cut the power to reduce it.

ESP is much more complex, and "watches for" much more complex inputs that indicate a lateral loss of grip in a bend, and can cut the power or operate individual brakes to get the car under control.

Very probably the same sensors, yes. Is the ABS light also on? Does the ABS actually work? (Get up to about 30-40mph on a CLEAR ROAD, and absolutely plant the brake pedal. No subtlety. TRY to lock the wheels. If they lock, then ABS is south, too, and it's probably a sensor issue. If they don't lock, and the pedal "kicks back", then the ABS is fine.)

Either way, you really are best by getting the fault codes read as a start.

Not really.

Reply to
Adrian

It happens that Fred formulated :

I think the way they work is that...

They use the input from the ABS wheel sensors to decide if a wheel is slipping and apply the brake to the slipping wheel, slowing it down to the speed of the none slipping wheel. So if the ABS is working correctly, the fault must be some unique part to the traction control at fault.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

No, the ABS light is not on (except for the quick check when you start the car, so we know the bulb is not blown). Sorry, I should have said this is my first post.

I think so; I haven't had occasion to find out recently but I will do your test on an open road and let you know.

I had the codes read but it didn't find anything (other than a glow plug code which was fixed by replacing the plugs).

Reply to
Fred

Is this a dealer job or can I take it to my local independent garage?

TIA

Reply to
Fred

Didn't buy it second hand did you?

Has it ever worked?

It wasn't uncommon for a dodgy person to cross wire the ABS warning light to something else (heater plug lamp for instance) to make it look as though the ABS is working properly although I suspect this probably isn't the case here.

Could it be as simple as the traction control switch on the dashboard gone faulty?

Don't forget the simple things, you can get too immersed in the technical details and then have to kick yourself hard later when you find it was the nut behind the steering wheel.

Great fun and I have scared the life out of a couple of 'mechanics' demonstrating this technique, just be sure you have plenty of space all around the car, sides as well.

Reply to
Clint Sharp

ESP takes into account a lot more things than traction control - find out which one you have! Traction control is fairly simple, as described by Adrian.

ESP uses steering angle sensors, a yaw sensor, a lateral g sensor, and sometimes roll and acceleration sensors. Any one of these playing up will cause the system to throw a fault. By combining the data from all these sensors, ESP knows when you have going around a bend, and can detect and remedy both under and oversteer by braking individual wheels.

Reply to
Doki

Thanks for educating me about the differences: I always thought they were two names for the same thing. Now I know better! The button on the dash says ESP, so I have ESP not traction control.

Reply to
Fred

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