How to shut the trac control and/or ABS off on 4th Gen model 2004?!

[BiBo]

I have been owning my 2004 - 4th gen - V6 since 5 month now and the traction control & ABS is driving me crazy while offroading in sand dunes? the only solution is engaging 4wd with central diff locked which is very annoying adding the fuel consumption is kinda affected as well.

i have tried to pull off the ABS fuse which did okay for just 2 mins, later the buzzer went ON (none stop) followed by no brakes at all so i had to put it back on.

i was wondering if i could install the "trac off" button for later 2006 models or FJ cruiser one?! would it work? i don't want to cut off the wires and ruin the circuit, so if there is any peaceful neat solutions, please help me up with!!!!

 

[BiBo]

i have also found this modification posted by Kliv but i think there must be a better one, any ideas!!

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/perfo...8882-new-fine-grained-vsc-off-mod-v6-1gr.html

 

[zonianbrat]

i have also found this modification posted by Kliv but i think there must be a better one, any ideas!!

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/perfo...8882-new-fine-grained-vsc-off-mod-v6-1gr.html

I'm interested too. This VSC crap has got to go.

 

[rebelbowtie]

This topic comes up every day and there was a thread I just posted in this morning that is probably still on the 4th gen sub forum front page. There are several solutions for this ranging from simply unplugging a sensor to tapping and slashing wires and installing switches.

 

[Synister]

You are worried about fuel consumption while driving in the sand dunes? Lock the center diff, thats the type of surface it should be locked on anyways, turning off ABS and Trac is not going to do anything for you in deep sand except allow you to get stuck. Also, no, just adding the switch wont do anything for you, there are a couple physical mods you have to do. The one posted above is the best, you can also go in and splice a ground wire to ABS connector on the brake booster. Again, these wont help you in the dunes, lock your diff.

 

[rebelbowtie]

This screenshot is pretty nuts

 

[BiBo]

Thanks rebelbowtie, i have read this post yesterday, i wounder what exactly disables , is it only VSC/Trac or does it disable ABS as well.

if it does really disables all of them, does the buzzer goes ON or not?! because i have tried removing the ABS fuse and the Buzzer went ON non-stop!!

Synister, i have always used to engage 4wd & lock the diff but i am not satisified with that specially that in dune dashing ABS is a disaster due to the lack to traction by nature. By experience ABS stopping distance is almost double the distance with NO-ABS.

On a side note, i have been racing in "Rally of the Pharaons" -third toughest Rally in the world after "Dakar" & "Africa Race" for couple of years & i know what i am doing.

 

[BiBo]

i have also advised by my friends to just unplug the rear wheel ABS wiring & it should disables all the system (VSC/TRAC/ABS) as it send mutli-functional signals to the OBD, did anybody try that?!

 

[mrpanic7]

You are worried about fuel consumption while driving in the sand dunes? Lock the center diff, thats the type of surface it should be locked on anyways, turning off ABS and Trac is not going to do anything for you in deep sand except allow you to get stuck. Also, no, just adding the switch wont do anything for you, there are a couple physical mods you have to do. The one posted above is the best, you can also go in and splice a ground wire to ABS connector on the brake booster. Again, these wont help you in the dunes, lock your diff.

Agree 100%

 

[sonerick]

i have also advised by my friends to just unplug the rear wheel ABS wiring & it should disables all the system (VSC/TRAC/ABS) as it send mutli-functional signals to the OBD, did anybody try that?!

You can unplug the ABS/speed sensor for any one of the wheels and it will disable VSC/TRAC/ABS. You will not get a buzzer, just annoying dash lights. Easiest ones to reach are for the front wheels in the engine bay. There is a connector above each wheel well. Unplug and enjoy!

 

[BiBo]

You can unplug the ABS/speed sensor for any one of the wheels and it will disable VSC/TRAC/ABS. You will not get a buzzer, just annoying dash lights. Easiest ones to reach are for the front wheels in the engine bay. There is a connector above each wheel well. Unplug and enjoy!

Could take a pic for its location and send it...I just wana be sure am disconnecting the right one ..... what about the one one brake master cylinder, any idea about it?!

 

[sonerick]

I'm at work and it's 10*F outside. Pictures are not going to happen, sorry lol. Maybe someone in a warmer climate can help you out with that.

Best I can offer is locate the speed sensor on the spindle/hub of one of your front wheels and trace the wire up the steering knuckle and into the engine bay to the connector. There is only one wire per wheel, so it's pretty easy to identify.

Not sure about the brake master cylinder connector, I haven't played around with that at all.

 

[progress4m]

Here is the link to VSC mod I have done on my truck, it was done around 3 years ago; works great and was free (not parts needed as I already had a switch).
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/perfo...rs-more/41357-vsc-off-atrac-mod-complete.html

 

[luvmyt4r]

i have also found this modification posted by Kliv but i think there must be a better one, any ideas!!

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/perfo...8882-new-fine-grained-vsc-off-mod-v6-1gr.html

I have one of these also. It workis great. It helped me get out of a sticky situation a couple of times when I was wheeling in AZ this winter. He was great to work with and very timely as you can be from Russia. Haha. I would recommend this.

 

[corrado]

You are worried about fuel consumption while driving in the sand dunes? Lock the center diff, thats the type of surface it should be locked on anyways, turning off ABS and Trac is not going to do anything for you in deep sand except allow you to get stuck. Also, no, just adding the switch wont do anything for you, there are a couple physical mods you have to do. The one posted above is the best, you can also go in and splice a ground wire to ABS connector on the brake booster. Again, these wont help you in the dunes, lock your diff.

i disagree. when you lock the center diff, you disable what i believe to be the best part of our trucks: the Torsen center differential. by leaving it open, but disabling all the electronic intervention, you are able to actually utilize the torque sensing ability of the C-diff which sends power to the wheels with resistance (traction), and reduces power to the wheels that are spinning. this gives a similar result to what TRAC/ATRAC does, but does it without applying any brakes, or slowing you down. this is FAR superior to an ancient 50/50 locked 4x4 in high speed/low traction driving, which is why virtually every single 4wd/awd rally car uses a system similar to this. it's also a better use of power to send torque to the wheels what have traction rather then just 25% to every corner regardless if it's gripping or slipping.

the whole reason why i bought my 4runner is because i was blown away with my audi's awd system (also Torsen) and wanted similar driving characteristics, but with the increased ground clearance and suspension component strength of a truck. unfortunately, all the electronic intervention totally changes (ruins imo) that driving dynamic. locking the center diff is NOT the same, but is necessary to get the truck unstuck.

 

[Synister]

i disagree. when you lock the center diff, you disable what i believe to be the best part of our trucks: the Torsen center differential. by leaving it open, but disabling all the electronic intervention, you are able to actually utilize the torque sensing ability of the C-diff which sends power to the wheels with resistance (traction), and reduces power to the wheels that are spinning. this gives a similar result to what TRAC/ATRAC does, but does it without applying any brakes, or slowing you down. this is FAR superior to an ancient 50/50 locked 4x4 in high speed/low traction driving, which is why virtually every single 4wd/awd rally car uses a system similar to this. it's also a better use of power to send torque to the wheels what have traction rather then just 25% to every corner regardless if it's gripping or slipping.

I agree, the Torsen is probably one of the best features about this truck. I disagree with you fundamentally, however. Your understanding of the torsen is generally correct but with one very key flaw that you mention several times yourself; a Torsen REQUIRES some kind of resistance (i.e. TORque SENsing) in order to work correctly, this is why it is so great in road cars (Audi) and even offroad on generally grippy surfaces.

Asphalt is almost (for the sake of argument) uniformly grippy so it stands to reason that on at least one corner, some tire has substantially more grip than the other. The Torsen "senses" this and routes power towards this resistance, rather than away, as in an open diff. If asphalt is uniformly grippy, a sand dune is as close as you can get to uniformly UN-grippy. When a slight resistance is felt at any corner and the torsen attempts to route torque that direction, the wheel with "grip" just digs itself in. In a deep-sand situation, the torsen behaves just like an open diff, not because it is bad, but because the necessary torque to make it work just isn't there. In these cases, and there are only a handful of traction surfaces that can defeat an un-locked torsen, the 50/50 lockup is better because now instead of 3 open diffs, you only have 2. This is why our truck is configured like it is, electronic nannies (that simulate traction) and all.

I agree that these electronic nannies can be bothersome in slick, icy or muddy situations where wheel spin is necessary and wont dig you in (unlike sand). I think Toyota ultimately realized this as well which is why they gave owners on 07+ T4R's the ability to turn all these gizmo's off. I have run deep sand with all the electronics off in 4HI unlocked and it was a constant momentum battle, every tire seemed to alternate from digging itself in to just plowing as the torsen kept rerouting torque. With the center diff locked, things were a lot more sorted out and each wheel pretty much had the same lack of traction so no one tire every really spun. It is for this rather long explanation, and the fact that its all really just theory and conjecture, that Toyota most likely added the multi-terrain select feature to the new Trail Editions and Land Cruiser's. You look out the window and spin the dial to a terrain setting like what you see and let the truck figure it out. How well this appeals to Torsen / 4WD nerds like us lot remains to be seen. Cheers!

 

[cmpettem]

Hey I have the same problem with the lights and buzzer going off...only problem is I didn't do anything to set it off. It seems like everytime the temperature dips below freezing it sets off these sensors and the super annoying buzzer that burns your ears. imgur: the simple image sharer
I initially thought it may be water in the brake line but I just flushed my brake fluid and it still comes on when its cold. I live in Canada and its always effing cold so I would love to solve this. Would it possibly be a sensor loose or something?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[corrado]

I agree, the Torsen is probably one of the best features about this truck. I disagree with you fundamentally, however. Your understanding of the torsen is generally correct but with one very key flaw that you mention several times yourself; a Torsen REQUIRES some kind of resistance (i.e. TORque SENsing) in order to work correctly, this is why it is so great in road cars (Audi) and even offroad on generally grippy surfaces.

Asphalt is almost (for the sake of argument) uniformly grippy so it stands to reason that on at least one corner, some tire has substantially more grip than the other. The Torsen "senses" this and routes power towards this resistance, rather than away, as in an open diff. If asphalt is uniformly grippy, a sand dune is as close as you can get to uniformly UN-grippy. When a slight resistance is felt at any corner and the torsen attempts to route torque that direction, the wheel with "grip" just digs itself in. In a deep-sand situation, the torsen behaves just like an open diff, not because it is bad, but because the necessary torque to make it work just isn't there. In these cases, and there are only a handful of traction surfaces that can defeat an un-locked torsen, the 50/50 lockup is better because now instead of 3 open diffs, you only have 2. This is why our truck is configured like it is, electronic nannies (that simulate traction) and all.

I agree that these electronic nannies can be bothersome in slick, icy or muddy situations where wheel spin is necessary and wont dig you in (unlike sand). I think Toyota ultimately realized this as well which is why they gave owners on 07+ T4R's the ability to turn all these gizmo's off. I have run deep sand with all the electronics off in 4HI unlocked and it was a constant momentum battle, every tire seemed to alternate from digging itself in to just plowing as the torsen kept rerouting torque. With the center diff locked, things were a lot more sorted out and each wheel pretty much had the same lack of traction so no one tire every really spun. It is for this rather long explanation, and the fact that its all really just theory and conjecture, that Toyota most likely added the multi-terrain select feature to the new Trail Editions and Land Cruiser's. You look out the window and spin the dial to a terrain setting like what you see and let the truck figure it out. How well this appeals to Torsen / 4WD nerds like us lot remains to be seen. Cheers!

I appreciate the well thought out response. While you are right that the torsen system requires some kind of resistance, i don't believe that a zero resistance condition can exist. power will always go to the wheels with the most traction, even if all 4 are slipping. it will never stop sending power, regardless of how little traction any/all wheels have. In the deep sand situation I'm not sure how a 50/50 split is any better as all wheels will be spinning and thus, digging in just like in your example with the torsen. I think it is incorrect to say the unlocked center diff acts like 3 open diffs instead of 2, however. open diffs send power to the wheel's with less traction, torsen does the opposite and therefore behaves more like a limited slip differential. In which case a 50/50 4x4 split acts like 2 open diffs (since a locked center diff is the same as no center diff) and the torsen acts like 2 open diffs and 1 limited slip diff, which i feel still has its advantages.

we could go back and fourth with theories on the matter, but for me the bottom line is that my little audi kicked this 4runners ass up the deep snowy/icy access roads to the mountains i ski frequently. I was able to keep momentum way easier with throttle moderation. I also think that up the steep hill, when much of the weight is on the back of the car, the audi would be able to send more power to the rear wheels which had better traction. this is evident by the old front wheel drive trick of going up steep and slick hills in reverse, as it puts the weight on the drive wheels. (this totally works too, i did it in my wifes saab to the amazement of all my ski buddies). with all the nannies in the 4runner, i just straight up can't make it up the mountain in bad conditions. with the center diff locked, i have to very carefully creep up to make sure i keep traction. if you throttle too much, and wheels start spinning, they all lose traction together and spin until you slow them down enough for them to re-gain traction all together. it gets compounded by the open diffs front and rear. that is my main complaint and the basis to my theory.

 

[JB.]

it's......a better use of power to send torque to the wheels what have traction rather then just 25% to every corner regardless if it's gripping or slipping.

I absolutely love the Torsen center and tout it often, but locked diffs are often misunderstood. The Torsen does indeed send torque where grip is best but it's ability to do so is limited. A locked diff is virtually unlimited in it's ability to send torque to wherever traction can support it. In terms of pure torque distribution, the Torsen doesn't change the hierarchy of: locked > limited-slip > open, but it does turn it into: locked > Torsen > conventional limited-slip > open.

The Torsen is better at speed because it allows more precise handling while still delivering very good (but not as good) torque distribution.

 

[Synister]

we could go back and fourth with theories on the matter, but for me the bottom line is that my little audi kicked this 4runners ass up the deep snowy/icy access roads to the mountains i ski frequently. I was able to keep momentum way easier with throttle moderation. I also think that up the steep hill, when much of the weight is on the back of the car, the audi would be able to send more power to the rear wheels which had better traction. this is evident by the old front wheel drive trick of going up steep and slick hills in reverse, as it puts the weight on the drive wheels. (this totally works too, i did it in my wifes saab to the amazement of all my ski buddies). with all the nannies in the 4runner, i just straight up can't make it up the mountain in bad conditions. with the center diff locked, i have to very carefully creep up to make sure i keep traction. if you throttle too much, and wheels start spinning, they all lose traction together and spin until you slow them down enough for them to re-gain traction all together. it gets compounded by the open diffs front and rear. that is my main complaint and the basis to my theory.

This is a great discussion. I think you are trying to apply a single driving technique to a myriad of surfaces and that would be a mistake. You are absolutely correct in that the traction systems are hurting you in the snow but try and understand that a wintery mountain road is not even close to being the same traction environment as a sand dune. I've already mentioned that on slick icy roads an unlocked Torsen is that way to go, especially with the traction aides turned off. I have that luxury in my 09 so maybe Ive never been burned enough by unwanted intervention for the system to leave a sour taste in my mouth. If you disabled the traction control in a winter-road condition, the torsen would be in its element and, with equally matched tires, go toe-to-toe with your Audi or Saab or Suby or what have you. My original point though is that just because a torsen is a beast on slick winter roads, it is not so fantastic in deep sand, or at least can be improved. It is a different surface and requires a different driving technique. I would never in my life think to lock up my rear diff on icy roads but in the sand, boo-yah, that baby might see some use. High speed desert driving, Im 4HI unlocked all day. Hit the rocky forest roads and Im locked up in 4LO, ATRAC leading the way. All these surfaces require a different strength of the T4R's amazing drive train. We should be so lucky to have the problem of knowing how and when to employ each option. To me, its a damn good excuse to go out and play with all the modes on various surface to see what works.