Does Anyone Know How The Fiesta Traction Control Works ?

[Nay ZS]

Curious to know if anyone ever got to the bottom of how the traction control works on the new fiesta ?

Some say it justs limits engine power but others say it also uses the brakes sometimes too.

Either way I think the system is great in the way it progressively controls wheel slip rather than instantly cutting all power.

Thought I'd give it a new test before.

I placed one wheel on some really wet short grass and the other on tarmac.

I then floored the throttle. The traction control quickly cut in but I could also here a grinding from the front axle. Maybe it was the brakes being used too but im not sure ?

The car instantly started moving forward slowly with the TC light flashing away.

The drivers wheel which was on the tarmac started to spin, then stop, then spin which meant some torque was getting through to it. This was almost what I would expect from an Electronic limited slip diff.Im pretty sure the fiesta doens't have that function, so it goes to show just how good the TC was at controlling the wheel that was on the extremely slippy grass.

Any thoughts or experiences welcome.

Thanks

[beatty36]

Hiya mate. IMO i think that the traction just cuts the power off, dont think it uses breaks just takes away the acceleration. For example if i would be going round the town at night i would turn it off because when tackling a corner you can have power on as soon as you come out instead of having the delay.

;)

[Smett72]

If I remember correctly the ABS and Traction Control were part of the same system on my old Puma. I just assumed the Fiesta used a similar system.

Can anyone in the know give us definitive answer.