SLIP LIGHT BLINKS ON THE HIGHWAY

[djerok]

...this just started happening today. Let me start by saying that I am a very proud owner of a '97 Q45 w/ almost 145K. This vehicle is very well maintained. Adult driven and regularly serviced...

So this morning I'm driving to work (20 mile commute), about 15 miles into my drive I notice that my slip light starts blinking erratically. The slip light has never gone off when it was not supposed to. I was going about 80 and my instinct told me to punch the gas to see if the light went off.... Instead of the light going off, it continued to strobe and the vehicle had no responce to the gas pedal. I was starting to slow down, but not by choice. Within 30 seconds the light went off and i was able to accellerate again... very strange...

the whole day goes by and the light did not go back on. I drove about 20 residential miles.

on my way home from work, about 15 miles into the commute, the light starts to strobe again. This time when I hit the gas the car did accelerate with no problem. Within a minute or so the light went off like it never happened.

Has anyone else experienced a problem similar to this? The only thing I can think that this could be is my differential oil. I was supposed to change it 5K miles ago (ok, so maybe it's not THAT well maintained but come on the car is mint for it's age and milege), and I never had the chance. I could be wrong, but this is the only maintence that I haven't performed that may have something to do with the SLIP light... any help would be greatly appreciated... Thank you all.

-Eric

[maxnix]

Tell us about your wheels and tires including pressures at each location on your car.

First thing to wouild be to check the TCS relay, if there is one on the FGY33 like the G50 with TCS.

[djerok]

I thank you very much for the advice. After checking my tire pressure, it seems ver possible that this problem may have been tire related. It also seems like the tires may also be incorrect. It seems that my front tires are a special speed rateing where my back are not. Here's what I'm using, let me know if I need to change anything. Right is passanger side and left is driver side...

FR 225/60R16 98V 33PSIFL 205/60R16 92V 25PSIBR 205/60R16 91T 25PSIBL 205/60R16 91T 15PSI

I think that my BL tire may have a slow leek in it. I pumped up all the tires and made sure they all had 30PSI. Any comments on this situation would be appreciated. I will let you know if the light goes off on the way to work tomorrow. Thanks....
Modified by djerok at 7:28 PM 10/14/2007

[Q451990]

Looks like time for a new set of matching tires! Three different ratings and two different types of tires is certainly not ideal.

Heath

[maxnix]

Yes, budget for new tires ASAP. That's a disaster waiting to happen in inclement weather particularly.

[djerok]

OK so this morning I decide to go and do something about this tire situation. Unfortunately I was low on cash so I was only able to buy one new tire (I know I hate doing that... it's ok i just bought a single new tire last week). So now I'm running the 225/60 r16 98V's on the front axle and the 205/60 r16 92V and a 91T on the rear.. As soon as i pulled out of the tire place the car rode like a dream and about 15 minutes later the slip light starts strobing again... Sure enough, I lost control of accelleration when this happened. It stopped, then started right back up again. I am going to drain and refill my diff today becasue I could be hearing things, but it sounds like it clicking when I take off and when I come to a stop. Any suggestions on this topic would be greatly appreciated. This problem did not start until I purchased a 225 tire last week. The guy that sold it to me was an '02 M45 driver and he said the tire would be fine. I wouldn't think a jump from a 205 to a 225 would cause all these problems but apparently it has.. the whole loss of accerreration thing is really scary though... Thanks all...

-Eric

[96Qowner]

Heheh, shoulda bought a 205. Your SLIP is going nuts over the different sizes and therefore different rotational speeds of the two axles. It thinks the rears are slipping, cause they're going faster than the fronts.

[maxnix]

Yes, budget for new tires ASAP. That's a disaster waiting to happen in inclement weather particularly.

96Qowner is correct.

Take the bus until you can afford a new set of the correct tires.

T rated are a disaster waiting to happen. Same with different sizes (rolling diameters.)

[djerok]

I thank you all very much for your advice. It seems that this is all becasue I switched from a 205 to a 225 tire. I did not even tell the tire people to do this, they just did it. I guess it was an accident. I called them up and they said they would correct the problem tomorrow and I'll be back to all 205's instead of 225's in front and 205's in back. Hopefully this will fix the issue. I'm worried about my speed and knock sensors for the time being, so I will not drive the car tonight. Now there were some more symptoms that I want to discuss with you guys. Sure enought my SLIP light is still blinking on the highway. The light only strobes when my foot is on the gas. As soon as I take my foot off the gas, the slip light goes off. Once i turn TCS OFF on (once i disengage the trackion control system), the problem goes completely away. It does not come back until I re-engage traction control. Once I turn TCS back on, the promblem starts up again. Does anyone have any ideas? I will have the tires changed out tomorrow and I will drive with my TCS off until then. Any advice would be very appreciated. Thank you all very much.

[maxnix]

96Qowner is correct.

Take the bus until you can afford a new set of the correct tires.

T rated are a disaster waiting to happen. Same with different sizes (rolling diameters.)

Install only H speed rated or higher tires and they must have at a minimum a 94 load rating.

Read the sticky on tires in Infiniti General.

[djerok]

So you guys think that by straightening out this tire situation, my SLIP light problem will disappear? I don't know, the whole dead gas pedal thing really seems like it could be a serious problem... Sorry about being a newbie Layman here but it just seems really strange how having the wrong tires on your car would stop the car from accelerating. Could be potentially very dangerous. Does not happen at all on side blocks, only on the highway. I'm just really hoping that I didn't already damage any of my sensors....

and what do you guys think about 205's vs 225's? My tire place put the 225's on by accident.. should i keep the mistake and just shell out another $220 for two more? Or should i make them put 205's on like there was when i drove on their lot? I do plan on replacing that T-rated (205) tire btw...

thanks again...

-eric

[maxnix]

It's all about load carrying capacity, speed rating (construction differences) and OEM diameter (about 800 revolutions per mile.)

Width is immaterial as long as your wheel is sufficiently wide to support it properly.

Look at tire rack.

[96Qowner]

The correct size is 215/60x16.

The 225/60s are a bit too tall - 26.6" vs OEM 26" - but not bad. I'd get two more of those 98V rated 225's. Your speedometer will be off by 2.3% - no big deal. Once you get the fronts and rears the same size you won't have problems with the SLIP anymore.

Of course, 215/60s would be best.

[Aquaholic]

So you guys think that by straightening out this tire situation, my SLIP light problem will disappear? I don't know, the whole dead gas pedal thing really seems like it could be a serious problem... Sorry about being a newbie Layman here but it just seems really strange how having the wrong tires on your car would stop the car from accelerating. Could be potentially very dangerous. Does not happen at all on side blocks, only on the highway. I'm just really hoping that I didn't already damage any of my sensors....

and what do you guys think about 205's vs 225's? My tire place put the 225's on by accident.. should i keep the mistake and just shell out another $220 for two more? Or should i make them put 205's on like there was when i drove on their lot? I do plan on replacing that T-rated (205) tire btw...

thanks again...

-eric

One thing TCS does to maintain control is to cut fuel = dead gas pedal.

I vote for the 225 tires - the extra width provides more traction and protection for your rims form curbs. T rated will be fine and will last longer/be cheaper than V rated. But make sure all 4 match before you drive 80 again.

[1990QOwner]

Having different tire sizes to my knowledge is not good at all. If I was you than I would go to TireRack.com and choose a nice tire. Those guys have the best prices on the market and a good warranty. You should be able to get a nice set for around $500. Here is a link to where you need to go: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...dex=0

Good Luck, let us know if it fixes your problem.

[maxnix]

1.) I vote for the 225 tires - the extra width provides more traction and protection for your rims form curbs.

2.) T rated will be fine and will last longer/be cheaper than V rated. But make sure all 4 match before yoon the u drive 80 again.

1.) This is not true as the area on the road (tire patch contact area) is the same at the same load and tire pressure regardless of tire width. Traction ratings of the tire will indicate more accurately the wet and dry traction. Read some TR tests, usually with lighter BMW 3er.

2.) Aboslutely not true! Nothing less than H speed rated and 95 load index. It's not so much about speed (if you don't go there) as it is about construction, quality control, and tire carcass degradation as it wears.

Read Q45tech's posts.

[johnsy33]

I realize that I'm reactivating a 3 1/2 yr old thread but there weren't any other threads that were as specific to my issue as this. Actually, I believe this thread has already answered my issue but I wanted to provide more info in case someone else may experience the same.

I switched my wheel setup yesterday and since have had the slip light blink a few times while driving. But earlier today, I also lost acceleration for a good 5 seconds and in the middle of a big intersection at that! I was very nervous that something bad was happening to my Q as I just had a bad ignition coil experience which tripped the CEL, TCS off & slip lights. But after reading this thread, I'm confident it's my wheel setup. The wheel setup is staggered 19x8.5, 19x9.5. Front tires are 245/40ZR19 & the rears are 275/30ZR19. I bought the wheels with tires on them. The fronts were showing nylon from serious camber wear & the rears had about 10% tread left. I changed the front tires from 245/35ZR19 to the ones just mentioned & was planning to change the rears to 275/35ZR19 when I get more cash in a couple weeks. The difference in wheel diameters appears to be my issue so I'm making the purchase of those rear tires a priority to bring the circumference within more acceptable parameters.

Just wanted to say this forum has been of tremendous help & makes being a Q45 owner that much more enjoyable. Thanks NICO!