Will no Traction Control cause me to fail NCT?

Sobanek

Hey guys, TC on my E38 is gone (steering wheel angle sensor needs to be calibrated) and I was wondering if it will pass the NCT or not, or will it be just a visual retest.

Thanks.

Atlantic Dawn

Is there a warning light on for it?

Sobanek

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Is there a warning light on for it?

Yes.



Thats what it looks like (handbrake light doesn't stay on, just the TC light)

Daaryl

Just get somebody to wire it up to a relay and it'll go off after a few seconds

punisher5112

With that light on is a fail along with abs

Sobanek

punisher5112 wrote: »

With that light on is a fail along with abs

No ABS light, just this one.

HardenendMan

Try this:

Start car with steering wheel near centre.
Turn wheel FULL lock to the left and hold for couple of seconds.
Then turn full lock to the right and hold couple of seconds.
Bring back to centre.
Warning should reset (TC light goes off)

Repeat lock to lock turning if it doesn't reset.

This method is used on BMWs to recalibrate the sensor. Not sure if it only works on newer models.

Worth a try!

Sobanek

HardenendMan wrote: »

Try this:

Start car with steering wheel near centre.
Turn wheel FULL lock to the left and hold for couple of seconds.
Then turn full lock to the right and hold couple of seconds.
Bring back to centre.
Warning should reset (TC light goes off)

Repeat lock to lock turning if it doesn't reset.

This method is used on BMWs to recalibrate the sensor. Not sure if it only works on newer models.

Worth a try!

Will try it when I get home from work tomorrow, thanks

punisher5112

Sobanek wrote: »

No ABS light, just this one.

I know that...
Was saying abs if lit would also be a fail.

CiniO

Sobanek wrote: »

No ABS light, just this one.

Here's the list of dash lights that are a cause of fail on NCT.

Malfunction indicator for
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
airbags, electronic stability control
(ESC), antilock brake system (ABS),
electronic braking system (EBS),
parking brake, tyre pressure
monitoring systems (TPMS),
electronic power steering (EPS),
or brake fluid warning lamp.

I'm not sure if your traction control light can be treated as ESC... I assume it could, but that's bit discussable.

If you are just looking to go through the test, possibly you could take out a bulb from this light completely.
Were all E38 equipped with traction control? I can hardly see how tester would know if your model was equipped with it or not.

Foxhole Norman

CiniO wrote: »

If you are just looking to go through the test, possibly you could take out a bulb from this light completely.
Were all E38 equipped with traction control? I can hardly see how tester would know if your model was equipped with it or not.

Yep, all E38's were equipped with traction, I think all BM's from that Era on had it.

9935452

Daaryl wrote: »

Just get somebody to wire it up to a relay and it'll go off after a few seconds

ive never heard of that being done,
I dont know why as its a great idea

punisher5112

9935452 wrote: »

ive never heard of that being done,
I dont know why as its a great idea

usually hooking it up to oil light as it will light when ignition turned on then goes out after a few seconds unless you are low on oil.

bryaner

Try tracking the car, my tc light was on and the steering wheel was slightly off, got it tracked and the steering wheel angle sensor calibrated itself in a few days.

Henry Ford III

Why not just fix it properly? If the car didn't need traction control it wouldn't have been fitted presumably?

Sobanek

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Why not just fix it properly? If the car didn't need traction control it wouldn't have been fitted presumably?

As much as I'd love to, I can't afford to do it on top of new xenon bulbs, new tyres and other few bits and pieces.

If I had NCT in three weeks time, I'd do it no bother.

challengemaster

CiniO wrote: »

If you are just looking to go through the test, possibly you could take out a bulb from this light completely.

Lot of effort required to go de-soldering LEDs

visual

9935452 wrote:

ive never heard of that being done, I dont know why as its a great idea

if I bought a car with safety lights disabled I come back to visit the seller and it would not be for a conversation

TBi

Does it have the same steering angle sensor as the e60? You can just clean it if it is.

Edit: No it doesn't. Try this
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=646253

CiniO

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Why not just fix it properly? If the car didn't need traction control it wouldn't have been fitted presumably?

Well I quite disagree.
In the 90's traction control and ESP were quite rare and only higher spec cars would be equipped with them.
They are obligatory on new cars from around 2012 AFAIR.

But I can't really understand why they are required on NCT, just because car was equipped with it.
F.e. you could have bought standard model of some car, which wouldn't be equipped with ESP or TC or alternatively you could buy higher spec one with ESP and TC.

So if cheaper model can go through NCT without them, then why more expensive model with them, can't if they stop working?

That's greatly unfair, isn't it?

Henry Ford III

CiniO wrote: »

Well I quite disagree.
In the 90's traction control and ESP were quite rare and only higher spec cars would be equipped with them.
They are obligatory on new cars from around 2012 AFAIR.

But I can't really understand why they are required on NCT, just because car was equipped with it.
F.e. you could have bought standard model of some car, which wouldn't be equipped with ESP or TC or alternatively you could buy higher spec one with ESP and TC.

So if cheaper model can go through NCT without them, then why more expensive model with them, can't if they stop working?

That's greatly unfair, isn't it?

No.

If the manufacturer fitted a traction control sytem (or any other safety system) it's only reasonable that it should be functioning to pass it's NCT.

Boskowski

Blacking the led won't work. If the tester is any good he'll notice it's not coming on when turning on ignition. Speaking from experience.:pac:
Also in my e39 this is the same light for abs failure. I failed on it and had to get it fixed properly which is a good idea anyway.

CiniO

Henry Ford III wrote: »

No.

If the manufacturer fitted a traction control sytem (or any other safety system) it's only reasonable that it should be functioning to pass it's NCT.

No, it's not reasonable unless this system was an requirement, not an extra.

Imagine - Mr.A buys a car model X. He goes for the cheapest version without TC or ESP. His neighbour, Mr. B at the same time buys same kind of car (model X) but he decides to go for higher spec model which includes TC and ESP. He pays extra money for it, as he wants the car to be safer.

Now after 4 years, they go for NCT.
Mr A's car passed the test without ESP and TC no problem.
In Mr B's car, TC system broke down and doesn't work. So at the moment his car is equivalently safe as Mr A's car. But for a change, Mr. B's car fails NCT.

That's bit nonsense.

Systems which were fitted as extra, shouldn't be expected to work for NCT purposes.
Yes - it is reasonable to expect those system to work, if they were fitted to every version of the car, or for cars after 2012, since they became obligatory.
But not on cars which had them as an extra.

Foxhole Norman

CiniO wrote: »

No, it's not reasonable unless this system was an requirement, not an extra.

Imagine - Mr.A buys a car model X. He goes for the cheapest version without TC or ESP. His neighbour, Mr. B at the same time buys same kind of car (model X) but he decides to go for higher spec model which includes TC and ESP. He pays extra money for it, as he wants the car to be safer.

Now after 4 years, they go for NCT.
Mr A's car passed the test without ESP and TC no problem.
In Mr B's car, TC system broke down and doesn't work. So at the moment his car is equivalently safe as Mr A's car. But for a change, Mr. B's car fails NCT.

That's bit nonsense.

Systems which were fitted as extra, shouldn't be expected to work for NCT purposes.
Yes - it is reasonable to expect those system to work, if they were fitted to every version of the car, or for cars after 2012, since they became obligatory.
But not on cars which had them as an extra.

Yes they should. Anything mechanically fitted to a car, extras or not should be tested, who knows, the safety systems of cars with TC could be built around it.

9935452

CiniO wrote: »

No, it's not reasonable unless this system was an requirement, not an extra.

Imagine - Mr.A buys a car model X. He goes for the cheapest version without TC or ESP. His neighbour, Mr. B at the same time buys same kind of car (model X) but he decides to go for higher spec model which includes TC and ESP. He pays extra money for it, as he wants the car to be safer.

Now after 4 years, they go for NCT.
Mr A's car passed the test without ESP and TC no problem.
In Mr B's car, TC system broke down and doesn't work. So at the moment his car is equivalently safe as Mr A's car. But for a change, Mr. B's car fails NCT.

That's bit nonsense.

Systems which were fitted as extra, shouldn't be expected to work for NCT purposes.
Yes - it is reasonable to expect those system to work, if they were fitted to every version of the car, or for cars after 2012, since they became obligatory.
But not on cars which had them as an extra.

Sort of agree but what happens if due to the malfunction the car locks a wheel at speed and causes an accident . The car would have been passed as safe by the nct

CiniO

9935452 wrote: »

Sort of agree but what happens if due to the malfunction the car locks a wheel at speed and causes an accident . The car would have been passed as safe by the nct

Indeed I must say that's a valid argument.
Question is how likely is it to happen?
I though that if ECU detects any malfuntion in any of those systems (ABS, TC, ESP) it just disables it and indicates it with warning light on the dash.
So once warning light is on the dash, the broken system won't be able to cause any danger.

9935452

CiniO wrote: »

Indeed I must say that's a valid argument.
Question is how likely is it to happen?
I though that if ECU detects any malfuntion in any of those systems (ABS, TC, ESP) it just disables it and indicates it with warning light on the dash.
So once warning light is on the dash, the broken system won't be able to cause any danger.

telling the truth not very likely.

I see what you are saying but what if the system was detecting a problem with the hardware. The electronics would disable the system but the mechanics are wrong .

PukkaStukka

This might sound silly to the point if being absurd, but is the traction control SWITCHED OFF? In my car, turning off the T/C puts on the light like that till you switch it back on.

Foxhole Norman

CiniO wrote: »

Indeed I must say that's a valid argument.
Question is how likely is it to happen?
I though that if ECU detects any malfuntion in any of those systems (ABS, TC, ESP) it just disables it and indicates it with warning light on the dash.
So once warning light is on the dash, the broken system won't be able to cause any danger.

On the E39 and E38 those systems are intertwined and if you have a TC error you'll have an ABS error as well, usually anyway.

CiniO

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

On the E39 and E38 those systems are intertwined and if you have a TC error you'll have an ABS error as well, usually anyway.

Well, OP says it not the case with him.

Sobanek wrote: »

No ABS light, just this one.

Foxhole Norman

CiniO wrote: »

Well, OP says it not the case with him.

Yeah but I was making a case for it being checked anyway. It can also affect the speedo on these cars too, it is important to be checked.

Sobanek

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Yeah but I was making a case for it being checked anyway. It can also affect the speedo on these cars too, it is important to be checked.

I had it checked with INPA so I know the culprit. ABS module is fine.

Can't go on the NCT anymore as I have to work. Happy days, cancelled it.

Foxhole Norman

Sobanek wrote: »

I had it checked with INPA so I know the culprit. ABS module is fine.

Can't go on the NCT anymore as I have to work. Happy days, cancelled it.

Oh I know on yours it's fine, it's just in general on those Era E cars if the TC goes it can take the ABS with it or vice versa.