This is my 4th Superduty and the first one that came with Traction Control, I've thumbed through all my documention and can't find anything about this option, but my truck has it

The switch is just above my Reverse Sensor switch, I'm just wondering how it works ??

My wife's LS has it and when the roads are wet or snow covered it seems to reduce power to the rear wheels until traction is re-gained, does this work in the same fashion ??

Thanks

 

I think it works with your ABS system, and when it senses a tire is spinning, it uses some brake force to limit the spin. That makes it feel like power is reduced. Hopefully the power is transferred to a wheel that has more traction.

 

Go down the page to the traction control definition and it has a brief explanation:

Ford Vehicle Glossary | The Official Site of Ford Vehicles | FordVehicles.com

 

It uses the abs sensors to determine wheel spin and then cuts power to the engine to stop the spin. It doesn't use brakes to stop the spin.

 

Oooh... I didn't even realize it was available on the newer trucks. Is this something that can be retrofitted onto older trucks?

While tire smoke and screaming tires are great for showing off, for actually getting around, letting the wife drive, towing and maybe a visit to the drag strip... TC would actually be really cool to have.

 

How do you know this? Not arguing, genuinely wondering. From the link powerstroke72 posted:

Traction Control — All-Speed

• All-Speed Traction Control uses components of the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) to monitor wheel slippage at any speed. All-Speed Traction Control is packaged together with AdvanceTrac® on certain models. The system helps improve traction on slippery or loose driving surfaces by using a combination of brake and/or engine control:
• Braking at one or both drive wheels
• Fuel injection cutoff
• Ignition spark retard
• Air/fuel ratio control When the traction control system is activated at speeds of 35 mph or higher, the braking system is deactivated and only engine control is used to limit wheel spin. Taurus and Taurus X All-Wheel Drive models use brake control only.

Traction Control (Fusion V6/F-150)

• Helps provide a confident driving experience under adverse road conditions by using engine control to reduce the amount of torque to the drive wheels to help limit wheel spin while accelerating on loose or slippery surfaces. The system limits torque by:
• Fuel injection cutoff
• Ignition spark retard
• Air/fuel ratio control

So it appears some do use brake, some don't. Since the Superduty isn't mentioned, how do we know? Personally I wish it did, because that would transfer traction to the opposite side of an open differential. Just reducing power makes it pretty useless off road in 4WD.

 

So it appears some do use brake, some don't. Since the Superduty isn't mentioned, how do we know? Personally I wish it did, because that would transfer traction to the opposite side of an open differential. Just reducing power makes it pretty useless off road in 4WD.[/quote]

I have an 08 and I know it cuts engine power from experiencing it. Also from the schematic, there is only one ABS sensor for the rear so the computer wouldn't know which of the rear wheels is spinning so wouldn't know which wheel to brake. And, there is no kind of mechanism in the brake system to apply only one brake. I would also prefer that it would use the brakes, but it doesn't. I have a 2 wheel drive and I turn it off if I'm in the desert going through loose sand, or it will just lose all forward momentum when it cuts engine power, (or it gets real jerky).

 

Good to know. Thanks for the clarification.

 

It's starting to snow here today, as soon as we got a bit of ice on the ground I'll try and spin the tires and see what happens.

Ofcoarse with the switch on and switch off, will post results to see if it's the same as a car.