LC 180 TCS Working?

[sie77]

Just a quick question to fellow LC 180 owners about the TCS light on the dash.

I'm not sure if mine is working right as i have never seen it flash and i can spin the front wheels in first, if i press the button the light does come on and stay on but my brothers tdi 150 the light is constatntly flashing in the first 2 gears.

I have good tyres but not top of the range.

Do you think i have a problem or is this normal?

Thanks.

 

[sie77]

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

can you feel it cutting the power as the light comes on? .....when its turned on and your loosing traction?

 

[sie77]

When the TCS is on the light never flashes even under heavy acceleration in low gears but on the other hand the car doesn't wheel spin or feel out of control in anyway. Even in the wet the light doesn't come on it just seems like the car grips.

When i turn the TCS off I notice no difference whatsoever to be honest it seems to drive exactly the same.

At no point i have noticed the car cutting the power, so i'm amsuming the light should flash under acceleration?

 

[drue1]

sounds like your tc is foooooked then because the car should not wheel spin or if you take a corner well hard the light should flash and cut the power down

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

Doesn't sound like it buggered to me?

If its not beaking traction its not going to cut in is it.

 

[sie77]

No the car never feels like it's losing traction.

When the TCS comes in is it really noticable or could it be doing its job but not flashing for some reason and i just don't realise because since I bought the car (3 months ago) I have never ever had an issue with traction in any gear or any weather condition?

 

[dav3]

The tcs can still cut in even without the light flashing on the dash had this on my old v6 vectra. When it kicks in it makes the engine sound like it got a miss fire and a big flat spot.

 

[matt-drummer]

When the TCS is on the light never flashes even under heavy acceleration in low gears but on the other hand the car doesn't wheel spin or feel out of control in anyway. Even in the wet the light doesn't come on it just seems like the car grips.

When i turn the TCS off I notice no difference whatsoever to be honest it seems to drive exactly the same.

At no point i have noticed the car cutting the power, so i'm amsuming the light should flash under acceleration?

If you can't make the car lose traction in the low gears even in the wet it sounds like you must be missing most of the cars power, it's possible to make any car wheelspin in first gear in the wet in my experience.

 

[sie77]

If you can't make the car lose traction in the low gears even in the wet it sounds like you must be missing most of the cars power, it's possible to make any car wheelspin in first gear in the wet in my experience.

I've never floored it in 1st in the wet but i will try it next time it rains, i'm 100% sure i will be able to get the wheels to spin from a standing start or moving slowly.

My brother has drove my LC 180 and he said it was quicker than his LC TDI 150 by some way so don't think i'm losing power but who knows.

 

[matt-drummer]

I mean this in a nice way - perhaps you aren't driving it hard enough for the tcs to be required to work? Under normal, even fast driving my tcs never cuts in, it only does when I take liberties with the car and I know I'm going to make it lose grip and cause the tcs to cut in, essentially it only cuts in when I choose for it to do so.

Also, if I am driving in a manner that will cause the tcs to kick in, I'm generally looking where I'm going rather than watching for a light to flicker on the dash, perhaps you notice it in brothers car as you are in the passenger seat and not concentrating on driving?

In your first post you say you can get the wheels spinning in first gear but in your second post you say the wheels never spin under heavy acceleration, you seem to contradict yourself or am I missing something?

 

[sie77]

Sorry i could of put it better.

What i mean is from a standing start i know i can spin the wheels as when trying to pull out quickly a few times they have spun slightly but i havent tried to really get them spinning if you know what i mean.

What i was trying to find out was if the TCS light on a LC180 should be flikering a lot during hard acceleration in the lower gears, maybe i'm not driving it hard enough like you say but when i put my foot down in my brothers tdi 150 the light is constantly flikering from 1st to 3rd, maybe thats a prob with his car but i know the tdi has more torque.

Whatever i do my light never comes on, but i'll have to try it in the wet flooring 1st gear.

 

[matt-drummer]

I have an lcr, it's quite hard to get it to break traction in a straight line in the dry, so hard that I won't do it as I feel it abusing the car too much.

You shouldn't need to floor it in first in the wet, I've had my tcs light flicker in fourth gear in a straight line in the wet accelerating hard.

What tyres do your and your brothers car have on?

Can you get vag-com on it to check for faults?

 

[sie77]

I'm not sure on the model number as they were on the car when i bought it but i know they are pirelli.

My brother has had 18" wheels put on his but he had the cheaper tyres at the time and hasn't got round to changing them yet. His TCS light is on in a straight line first 3 gears but i think thats his tyres after reading about your LCR above.

So to get the TCS on i need to corner hard? (never done that)

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

Without wanting to repeat myself......its not going to cut in if your not breaking traction.

I also have perelli's and its quite hard to get them to beak traction.....and my car is running fine

Best way to check if its working is to give it some stick whilst pulling away from a junction and see if it kicks in.

 

[sie77]

Without wanting to repeat myself......its not going to cut in if your not breaking traction.

I also have perelli's and its quite hard to get them to beak traction.....and my car is running fine

Best way to check if its working is to give it some stick whilst pulling away from a junction and see if it kicks in.

Ok thanks will give it a shot.

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

With crap tyres mine used to kick in in 2nd in the dry.....decent tyres and suspension make a hell of a difference.....actually makes the car feel slower when your not breaking traction.

 

[matt-drummer]

I think that in the dry you probably have to drive it like a loon to get the tcs working with decent tyres, perhaps not a good idea on the public highway.

The forces going through the drive train to get it to break traction in the dry with decent tyres on will be huge, enough to break things if you make a habit of it.

In my opinion, if your tcs cuts in in the dry you either have poor quality rubber or you are driving too hard for the road.

You should be able to get it to make the tcs cut in easily in a straight line in the wet in the first two gears.

The tcs light stays on when the system is turned off, if you can make it wheel spin in the wet in exactly the same with it turned on or off then it isn't working, the difference will be obvious if it's working.

Have you tried turning it off in you brothers car so you can notice the difference?

Sounds like you have better quality rubber on your car than your brother has, it can make a huge differnce, perhaps you could swap wheels with him for a short time and see what happens?

 

[sie77]

I think that in the dry you probably have to drive it like a loon to get the tcs working with decent tyres, perhaps not a good idea on the public highway.

The forces going through the drive train to get it to break traction in the dry with decent tyres on will be huge, enough to break things if you make a habit of it.

In my opinion, if your tcs cuts in in the dry you either have poor quality rubber or you are driving too hard for the road.

You should be able to get it to make the tcs cut in easily in a straight line in the wet in the first two gears.

The tcs light stays on when the system is turned off, if you can make it wheel spin in the wet in exactly the same with it turned on or off then it isn't working, the difference will be obvious if it's working.

Have you tried turning it off in you brothers car so you can notice the difference?

Sounds like you have better quality rubber on your car than your brother has, it can make a huge differnce, perhaps you could swap wheels with him for a short time and see what happens?

Ok thats good to know, the only experience i had of a cupra before i purchased mine was my bro's tdi and i couldnt understand why my TCS light never came on and his was near constant but i think it's down to his tyres/alloys.

I never tried turning my bro's TCS off i was too scared you should see it flicker!

If its dry tomorrow i will try it though.

thanks for your help it is really appreciated

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

If its a 150 TDI it will have shed loads of tourque = lots of wheel spin!

We had a 140bhp mk6 golf GT TDI and that used to rip up the standard 18's in the dry with decent tyres.