How Does ETS Work?

[rees_A]

Can someone please explain to me how ETS is supposed to work..On my car, C36 AMG, I pull away, the wheels spin and the ETS light in the centre of my speedo flashes...Is ETS supposed to stop all wheelspin or make it more controlled. I'm guessing/hoping more controlled or mine isn't working as it should.

Alan

 

[Brian WH]

Can someone please explain to me how ETS is supposed to work..On my car, C36 AMG, I pull away, the wheels spin and the ETS light in the centre of my speedo flashes...Is ETS supposed to stop all wheelspin or make it more controlled. I'm guessing/hoping more controlled or mine isn't working as it should.

Alan

Doesn't stop it just reacts to it, applies brake on wheel spinning and transfers power to other drive wheel - All instantaneously.

 

[Shude]

Doesn't stop it just reacts to it, applies brake on wheel spinning and transfers power to other drive wheel - All instantaneously.

If only! It brakes a spinning wheel and backs off the engine. Only a mechanical LSD would be able to push the power elsewhere.

 

[Chris C36]

The ETS on my C36 sounds about as effective as yours Rees_A, the warning traingle lights up on the dash when the wheels start to spin but it makes absolutely no difference to the amount of wheel spin or does it slow the engine. I have always wondered whether it is faulty on mine as well, guess it is just a pretty useless system!

 

[LazyBob]

On a W140 it appears to put the rear brakes on momentarily, allowing a tiny chirp from the tyres, and if you continue to apply the same amount of power it slowly reduces the engine revs.

On a 1 in 5 one lane track with three inches of snow and conti's with about 3mm - not a good idea - the forward momentum took me 300yds up the hill, getting slower and slower and slower until it stopped, getting it down was more fun as I couldn't turn it round. 300yds switching between D and N; Neutral to let the mass of the car pull it backwards down the hill and Drive to slow it's backward descent with the ASR off. Not a lot of fun at the time but I escaped without ditching it.

I wonder what 4wd S class are like? The best 4wd I ever had was a Mitsu Evo VI which would spin all four wheels in the wet in third gear and still stay in a straight line. Proper Diffs and electronic wizardry. Stopping in snow was another matter altogether though.

 

[rees_A]

I agree with Chris the ETS doesn't 'seem' to be of much use..I guess the only way of knowing wuold be to drive a car with ETS/without and see if there is a difference. I guess the cars are quite powerful so without ETS you may find it wheelspins more...I think I may just be clutching at straws though....lol...
Chris, do you have any other quirks with your car? I have a clunk from the rear of my car when I put it in reverse too quickly, it also does it when backing off at ful revs. I've also not managed to get the car to change gear under foot to the floor accepeeration. Last Time I tried, it got to just over 6,000 rpm and I backed off....

Alan

 

[Shude]

If you want to turn traction control off completely, just unplug the brake switch. Same car, no ABS/BAS/ASR/ESP/cruise.

 

[Chris C36]

Rees, not had any clonking from mine in reverse or backing off so far as I am aware, sounds like you could have a worn prop shaft rubber or something maybe diff mounts? In respect of the full throttle gear chaging mine is fine, will change under any throttle gets to about 6500rpm before it changes undere full throttle though.. not that I make a habit of that! Mine is the 4 speed box so this may be different with a 5 speed?

 

[Tan]

If you want to turn traction control off completely, just unplug the brake switch. Same car, no ABS/BAS/ASR/ESP/cruise.

If you had an accident and this was discovered could this leave you uninsured or at least have issues getting the insurance company to pay out??

 

[Shude]

If you had an accident and this was discovered could this leave you uninsured or at least have issues getting the insurance company to pay out??

How many cars come with traction control or other driver aids these days, and how many have a button on the dash to disable it? How many people turn the traction control off while driving? The button is there on the dashboard to be used, surely the insurance company knows this and know that it might be pressed. If you make a claim on your insurance do they ever ask if the driver aids were turned on or off?

If I drive my car into a tree on purpose will the insurance company pay out? Doesn't fully comprehensive insurance cover me for damage that I cause to my own property?

I'd not recommend unplugging any safety devices normally, but for the purposes of dynamometer testing or off-road comparisons of safety features then I think it's fine. Bear in mind that some models don't come with those safety features at all or they may have been an option.

When the brake switch or a wheel sensor fails does your insurance become invalid? Of course not.

 

[Tan]

However, it has been known for insurance companies to not pay out if the tyres are even a fraction below the limit, even in cases where this may have been caused during the accident.

I also remember a celebrity having troubles after crashing his car as he admitted that he had turned off the traction control.

Admittedly if your traction control didn't work or failed or was switched off the insurance company would not know. However, if it were physically unplugged I feel that this would be a very different issue as the car was designed to be used with these aids, surely this is negligence?

Anyway these are just my views, each to their own at the end of the day!

 

[rees_A]

Chris, so when you floor your car it changes gear at 6500...That must be where I'm going worng, once I get to 6000, I back off because I think the revs are too high. Does anyone know when the limiter is supposed to kick in?

Alan

 

[Mambo]

Admittedly if your traction control didn't work or failed or was switched off the insurance company would not know.QUOTE]

I think they might be able to find out, I seem to remember getting a print out of "error" codes once from my car to diagnose an alarm problem and one of the sections had details of when the ESP was turned off; I may be wrong though.....

 

[GordonTarling]

Ignoring the traction control issues for a moment - if you unplug that switch and it disables the ABS, then you are making the car unroadworthy and could be prosecuted for it. If a car has ABS fitted as standard, then it is treated as an integral part of the braking system.

 

[Shude]

Ignoring the traction control issues for a moment - if you unplug that switch and it disables the ABS, then you are making the car unroadworthy and could be prosecuted for it. If a car has ABS fitted as standard, then it is treated as an integral part of the braking system.

The method I described would knock out BAS/ABS/ASR/ESP and cruise control. It might even disable the brake lights, I need to check this.

There might be a fuse for ASR/ESP in which case it can be turned off quite easily I suppose...