hi all, i have a question about the tcs on my 2006 mustang gt, on dry pavement i can spin the rear tires pretty easily from a stop, on wet pavement it get loose on the rear end from a stop also....the tcs light is not illuminated to being off, and there are no warning lights illuminated on the dash...so i assume the tcs is working, but i feel no difference with the tcs on or foo....can someone help me....thanks

 

on my 09 is i left TCS on and tried to launch hard or smoke the tires the TCS would kick in. The light would flash and the engine would bog out a bit. With it off, different story.

I think to answer this is depends on your definition of 'spin' is. A little spin can definately happen with TCS on and working properly. But if you are talking major tire spinning/back end kicking out, etc. I would say that it might not be working.

 

thanks, is there any visual or mechanical checks i can do, on the wet pavement it definatly kicked the rear end out and the gas pedal did not at all try to prevent this

 

Welcome to TMS Giddeeup. Did you buy the car used?

 

On my Boss I can break the back loose in 1st & 2nd with TC on. I have only driven it with TC off at the track so dont know how much different the wheel spin would be with TC off in straight line accel from a stop

 

yes, i did buy it used

 

On my 05 GT, it is very, very obvious when the TC kicks in. I can barely get the car loose without the computer intervening. When I do get it sideways with the TC on, it feels like the car slides a couple inches and then the engine bogs down and the rear tires catch grip VERY abruptly. Based on your original post, I would guess that the TC is not working.

The easiest (and most fun) way to find out is to go to a deserted parking lot and do some doughnuts. Crank the steering wheel and put the throttle to the floor!

 

I agree...try flooring it in a deserted area, if the tcs turns on it will only spin a couple feet and fall on its face. dont expect tcs to 'save' you from romping on it too hard, its still got enough power to initially break loose and slide a bit- 9 out of 10 times it just stumbles and straightens out, but if pavements slick, can still slide around... rear wheel drive can step out even with all the electronic supervision.

with the mustangs 'sports car' tuning, i read ford allowed quite a bit of wheel slip in straight line mode, and tcs comes in pretty cleanly if spining on dry pavement- but in the wet, it shuts down pretty hard, same if turning a corner- its like the ignition is turned off...

my wifes 07 v6 pony doesnt have tcs at all- I didnt even realize it was a option on V6's till a few months after we got it...and told her to watch it in the rain. her 07 avalanche has the best tcs ive ever seen, have tried sliding it around in the snow, it wont do it...chevy must fire the front brakes too, as if you try to slide it, it straightens back out before it slides even a foot, pretty impressive- but i'm sure in the right situation, it could still get loose.

we had a new 2011 marquis rental for a month, crap tcs on that car- really crap tires from the factory...got stuck on a icy road, couldnt even touch the gas without shutting down the motor, took a minute to find the 'off' button (in the glovebox???) to get the thing off the road, luckily before someone slid into us...that car would spin out super easy too. ended up getting a 2000 marquis as a winter car, suprisingly its a tank- same crap tcs, but its got great winter tires compared to the ones ford put on the last of the mercurys, it just goes...if ice though, still gotta kill the tcs to be able to spin/move.

 

Don't the Mustang's have "Street Smart" traction control? Or did they get rid of that. Or did I dream it up? It knows when you want to spin the tires from a stop and therefore it doesn't engage.

 

i'm gonna try to light em up in a circle or on a turn and see what happens...one more thing when i turn the tcs off is there a indication light that comes on in the instrument panel...cause there is no indication its off besides the light on the tcs switch...thanks to all

 

You are correct, the only indication is the OFF on the button itself.

 

i maybe thought that light on the instrument panel of a car with 2 skid marks comes on when the tcs is off.....from what i can gather the tcs must be working cause there is no indication light that tells me differrent, or am i wrong? thank u

 

I was wondering if someone did the mod where it is off unless you turn it on. Reverse from stock.

 

i'm not sure, cause on or off there seems to be no difference, i just don't want to take it to the dealer and get hosed when it is working fine. i'm just wondering if the tires on it just don't grab enough

 

do a brake tq man .... giver some juice

 

i will do that....thanks

 

Doesn't the dash indicator only come on when TCS is active?

 

i'm not sure, it never comes on except when u first start it up for like 3 seconds

 

Do you have the screen where it tells you your mileage, fuel to empty, all that stuff? If so, when TCS become active, there is no light that comes on, but the screen will say TCS ACTIVE, or Traction Control Active....something to that effect

 

come on go do a burn out and report back asap