H3 Traction Control off / Stability System Warning

[Lauren]

Hey guys, I hope you are all well!

(2009 H3 V8)

So recently I had my power steering pump, steering rack(box..?), leaf spring bushes, brake pads changed and added a 2" lift kit, new tyres along with a few other small things.

Anyway, when she came back from the mechanic my traction light is always on and dashboard flashing "Stab Sys Service"
.. I'm guessing they knocked something or whatever, I'm not angry about it because I knew there was something wrong with the system anyway because whenever I turned it off to go in the sand, even though it said "Stab Sys Off" & "Trac Off".. you could hear loud clicking like it wasn't totally off and was kinda fighting itself..

Took her to a dude with a OBD and he says that the "traction sensors" need to be changed.

So I started researching and googling.. I can't find "traction sensors".. so do you think he is meaning the ABS sensors or Wheel Speed sensors?

Also, when I googled the warning, in the 'solutions' and youtube vids, the ABS dash light is always on as well.. mine is not..!

I've attached photos so you can see what I'm talking about, I was just wondering what your thoughts would be.

(Yeah the damn airbag light is on too.. apparently I gotta change the control module)

Thank you for all your help in advance, as always!
Be safe!

 

[4speedfunk]

Most likely your mechanic has the steering shaft incorrectly indexed. This is very common and it happens when the steering wheel gets rotated during the rack swap. This is why you ALWAYS tie off the steering wheel anytime you disconnect the rack. The airbag light is a definite tell-tale this is probably the case. Also try your horn, turn signals, and cruise control. Problems with any of these are also tell-tales.

The H3’s steering wheel has no “stops” so when it is disconnected, it can free spin unrestricted in either direction. The bad thing is there are some very critical devices inside the column that absolutely cannot handle any free-spinning at all.

The first item is the steering wheel position sensor (SWPS). This is a sensor at the base of the column that tells the computer the angle of the wheel. Normally, this sensor is set to center. But when the steering shaft gets unbolted form the rack, rotated, and re-connected...it is no longer reading correctly. This will freak out the Stabilitrac system and throw a code. It is a “mechanical” part and it CANNOT be reset with any sort of software. The column must be unbolted and this sensor manually reset to center or replaced.

The second issue is the smart switch. This is the stalk that contains the wipers, washers, turn signals, cruise, etc. Inside it is a small ribbon cable that coils up inside it. This cable also contains the circuits for the horn and airbag. This cable has just enough length to allow rotation of the steering wheel, 3 turns in either direction. Go past that...and the cable snaps! Just like the SWPS, when the steering shaft gets re-connected in the wrong position...this cable will have slack for 4 turns in one direction, but only 2 turns in the other. So the first time you take a sharp turn, you snap the cable. It cannot be repaired. You must replace the entire smart switch inside the column.

Both of these devices come out of the box with a small locking pin installed in them. You must pull the column from the truck...lock it to center...and replace these devices. Only after you “re-center” the entire column, re-install it in the truck, hook up the rack, can you pull the locking pins. This will repair the issue, and re-set the steering to center. It takes 3 hours and about $400 in parts. The entire procedure is in the GM manual (available in PDF from Schwartzzy.com)

It has nothing to do with wheel speed sensors (which is why you don’t have an ABS light).

 

[Lauren]

Most likely your mechanic has the steering shaft incorrectly indexed. This is very common and it happens when the steering wheel gets rotated during the rack swap. This is why you ALWAYS tie off the steering wheel anytime you disconnect the rack. The airbag light is a definite tell-tale this is probably the case. Also try your horn, turn signals, and cruise control. Problems with any of these are also tell-tales.

The H3’s steering wheel has no “stops” so when it is disconnected, it can free spin unrestricted in either direction. The bad thing is there are some very critical devices inside the column that absolutely cannot handle any free-spinning at all.

The first item is the steering wheel position sensor (SWPS). This is a sensor at the base of the column that tells the computer the angle of the wheel. Normally, this sensor is set to center. But when the steering shaft gets unbolted form the rack, rotated, and re-connected...it is no longer reading correctly. This will freak out the Stabilitrac system and throw a code. It is a “mechanical” part and it CANNOT be reset with any sort of software. The column must be unbolted and this sensor manually reset to center or replaced.

The second issue is the smart switch. This is the stalk that contains the wipers, washers, turn signals, cruise, etc. Inside it is a small ribbon cable that coils up inside it. This cable also contains the circuits for the horn and airbag. This cable has just enough length to allow rotation of the steering wheel, 3 turns in either direction. Go past that...and the cable snaps! Just like the SWPS, when the steering shaft gets re-connected in the wrong position...this cable will have slack for 4 turns in one direction, but only 2 turns in the other. So the first time you take a sharp turn, you snap the cable. It cannot be repaired. You must replace the entire smart switch inside the column.

Both of these devices come out of the box with a small locking pin installed in them. You must pull the column from the truck...lock it to center...and replace these devices. Only after you “re-center” the entire column, re-install it in the truck, hook up the rack, can you pull the locking pins. This will repair the issue, and re-set the steering to center. It takes 3 hours and about $400 in parts. The entire procedure is in the GM manual (available in PDF from Schwartzzy.com)

It has nothing to do with wheel speed sensors (which is why you don’t have an ABS light).

Thank you, 4speed!

I did read about the steering wheel spinning once everything is disconnected so I reminded the mechanic many many times and he said no worries he always clamps the wheel anyway .. but I will ask him again if he definitely did!

The steering is good and everything on the smart switch and horn is working perfect.. is there anything I can do to test if these sensors have been damaged? Or is it literally just a case of taking it all apart and checking if anything has snapped?

The airbag light came on before I had the steering rack replaced.. it came on after I had the car washed. They get really excited with the pressure washer here so I think the guy may have launched a load of water somewhere that does not like water! :sigh:

Again, appreciate all your wisdom!

 

[Lauren]

We took her into the sand for a little bit last night.. just wanted to test the traction to see if it still does its crazy loud clicking "on/off" thing.

Turned Traction off.. she said "stab sys off & Trac off" as usual.. started and there was no clicking! Put her in 4Hi.. no clicking!! Put her in 4Lo.. no clicking!!
So we ran around a bit in 4Lo.. did some donuts.. no clicking and she ran perfectly...?!
When we left, hit the traction button and she stopped saying "Stab sys off & Trac off" as you would expect, as if everything is back on.. its like the system is running better than before so I'm a little confused haha!

Here's some pics of her and the sand artwork..

View attachment 27228

 

[4speedfunk]

Oh...that certainly changes things. I was assuming the problems started after the work was performed.

I would advise against power washing, especially under the hood. As always the H3’s fuse box and battery terminals are highly suspect. Another area that is prone to water damage is the electronics behind the passenger side kick panel.

The clicking sound is most often cv joints but it sounds like maybe your t-case was stuck in transition. This would certainly trigger the Stabilitrac light. It could be a shift fork, dirty t-case fluid, encoder motor, or stuck dash buttons. It could also simply be a result of power washing, and water getting into someplace it shouldn’t be.

Maybe it just needed to go off-road?

 

[4speedfunk]

I forgot to mention. There IS a way to check the steering wheel position sensor electronically. You need a scan tool that can read the output values. You can check it electronically but it must be reset manually.

There are left and right values that change as you slowly rotate the wheel. They should both read close to the same number when the wheel is centered. If one number is significantly higher than the other, then the wheel has probably been mis-indexed during rack replacement.

You cannot reset the SWPS electronically, but you can see the values and determine which direction and how many turns it is out. Then you can take the clamp off the rack and rotate the wheel accordingly and re-attach it in the proper (centered) position. This is much easier than the alternative but, you must catch it early before you snap the ribbon cable inside the smart switch. There’s a thread on here from the Russian guy that describes this fix.

Lastly, the SWPS cannot become mis-indexed on its own. That is...it doesn’t just happen electronically. It is always the result of being physically messed with...either by a mechanic or a collision.

 

[Lauren]

Oh...that certainly changes things. I was assuming the problems started after the work was performed.

I would advise against power washing, especially under the hood. As always the H3’s fuse box and battery terminals are highly suspect. Another area that is prone to water damage is the electronics behind the passenger side kick panel.

The clicking sound is most often cv joints but it sounds like maybe your t-case was stuck in transition. This would certainly trigger the Stabilitrac light. It could be a shift fork, dirty t-case fluid, encoder motor, or stuck dash buttons. It could also simply be a result of power washing, and water getting into someplace it shouldn’t be.

Maybe it just needed to go off-road?

Oh! I apologise, I should have been clearer!
The traction clicking sounds and airbag light were previous to the works. Then after the works came the traction light and "stab sys service" warning.. with no clicking.

Yeah I do constantly remind the guys to use a gentle pressure due to the sensitive electric situation! I would wash it myself but I have no where to do it

Ok so maybe I should get the t-case checked out before changing ABS sensors.. because, I mean I'm no mechanic so forgive me if the statement I'm about to make is stupid, but thinking logically, if I did have a problem with an ABS sensor, wouldn't the ABS light be on too? and also, I've had an ABS sensor die on a previous car and trust me it was not fun to drive..


Being honest, I don't think the t-case has ever been touched since she rolled off the production line so I do think you're definitely on to something there! But I didn't realise the traction light was linked to it so that useful to know! I'll try and get it checked and then I'll do an update just in case anyone else runs into this issue too


Yeah we haven't really had a chance to take her off road for like a year now so maybe she needed to stretch her legs a little!!

 

[Lauren]

I forgot to mention. There IS a way to check the steering wheel position sensor electronically. You need a scan tool that can read the output values. You can check it electronically but it must be reset manually.

There are left and right values that change as you slowly rotate the wheel. They should both read close to the same number when the wheel is centered. If one number is significantly higher than the other, then the wheel has probably been mis-indexed during rack replacement.

You cannot reset the SWPS electronically, but you can see the values and determine which direction and how many turns it is out. Then you can take the clamp off the rack and rotate the wheel accordingly and re-attach it in the proper (centered) position. This is much easier than the alternative but, you must catch it early before you snap the ribbon cable inside the smart switch. There’s a thread on here from the Russian guy that describes this fix.

Lastly, the SWPS cannot become mis-indexed on its own. That is...it doesn’t just happen electronically. It is always the result of being physically messed with...either by a mechanic or a collision.

Ok I'll see if the previous guy has one, he seems to have scanning tech for most things!
Better to get it checked, just in case!

And thank you so much for all the info, I appreciate it, it's good to know what I should be looking at!