TCS problem!

[aldillo96]

Hello! First of all, I'm new on this. I have a 1997 Infiniti q45t with 70,000 miles. I like my car but i have the tcs, slip and abs lights on! What can cause this and what I can do to turn it off? Please help... Thanks!!

[maxnix]

Check your alternator and battery, and not just superficially.

[qship96]

Failing alternator, which will soon kill battery and leave you stranded on side of road- get checked immediatly!!!!!!!

[miata007]

Checking alternator?

I've did a search and found some info regarding to putting a DMM in series to measure the current.

Can someone please provide easy to follow step by step instructions on 33?

007

[Q451990]

A quick check would be to check the voltage at the battery terminals. You should get about 12V at rest... a little less... maybe 11 or 11.5V during starting, and about 14V at idle.

Load testing is better left to someone with a load machine, but if you're getting marginal voltage at idle, you can always turn on all of the accessories... headlights on high beam, brake pedal down, rear defroster, radio up loud, etc. to give you an idea. The voltage will drop some, but shouldn't drop that much...

It's also possible that you actually have a problem with the TCS system. The FSM (available at http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Q45/ ) is a good place to start. The '97 FSM is incomplete for some reason, but the '98 one should be very similar.

Heath

[OZQ45]

You'll find there are many reasons for these lights on. That's why Q451990 / Heath's reply is the best place to start. In my case it actually was a problem with the relevant ABS/TCS circuits. Surprising!

While the '97 FSM is incomplete, the section you need is still there in the BR.PDF file - http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Q4...r.pdf

Start looking in particular from page BR-30 (844) - under the Traction Control System heading - and there is a self-diagnosis section from page BR-39 (853) with the real details starting on page BR-60 (874).

Good luck.

[maxnix]

One must always verify a properly functioning electrical system before chasing down circuit problems. Othere wise one could be chasing one's own tail for quite a while.

[OZQ45]

Thanks, I defer to your experience of Infinitis.

But to help me understand better please tell me where I'm missing the point.

From what I can see, Nissan specifically designed the TCU to turn these three lights on when it detected a problem in the ABS/TCS arena. It also designed a simple check to fine tune where to look for the cause. In my '94 its count the number of flashes on the side of the TCU and look up the table in the FSM for the 19 individual fault codes. Slightly different but not much harder for aldillo96's '97.

It took me under 15 seconds to work out where to look for the problem - not an electrical fault at all for my car. What a brilliant, simple and exceptionally quick system. All without any tools, and I didn't even have to remove the panel in the boot/trunk - the light was visible through a low section of the panel.

It must be a good check as I see even Wes has posted this advice back in 2006.

Personally I would only have gone looking elsewhere after I had excluded the areas the system designers told me to look.

And talking of chasing one's tail, the only reason I did this even though I was trying to give up doing my own work, was my mechanic, my Infiniti dealer (6 times) and 4 auto electricians had all decided to chase electrical issues elsewhere instead of following the steps Nissan designed the very fault indicating circuits for.

As a newbie to Infinitis although not vehicles - in a younger life I was the fleet manager for 550 light vehicles and commercials and around 50 graders, tractors, dozers and loaders all used in road construction - I'm keen to ensure my Q has a long life and so would love to know what the pitfalls are. Are you indicating that the Q's TCU is particularly prone to false readings under say alternator failure?

Even so, isn't it still much quicker to do this ultra quick check as per the FSM before believing the indicator to be false? I constantly see advice posted to "read the FSM". Is there a simple concise guide anywhere here then to indicate any areas that experienced members have found the FSM to be lacking or incorrect? If they could all be agreed on / verified and then set up as a separate post that would be a valuable addition.

[Haitian_King]

Thanks, I defer to your experience of Infinitis.

But to help me understand better please tell me where I'm missing the point.

From what I can see, Nissan specifically designed the TCU to turn these three lights on when it detected a problem in the ABS/TCS arena. It also designed a simple check to fine tune where to look for the cause. In my '94 its count the number of flashes on the side of the TCU and look up the table in the FSM for the 19 individual fault codes. Slightly different but not much harder for aldillo96's '97.

It took me under 15 seconds to work out where to look for the problem - not an electrical fault at all for my car. What a brilliant, simple and exceptionally quick system. All without any tools, and I didn't even have to remove the panel in the boot/trunk - the light was visible through a low section of the panel.

It must be a good check as I see even Wes has posted this advice back in 2006.

Personally I would only have gone looking elsewhere after I had excluded the areas the system designers told me to look.

And talking of chasing one's tail, the only reason I did this even though I was trying to give up doing my own work, was my mechanic, my Infiniti dealer (6 times) and 4 auto electricians had all decided to chase electrical issues elsewhere instead of following the steps Nissan designed the very fault indicating circuits for.

As a newbie to Infinitis although not vehicles - in a younger life I was the fleet manager for 550 light vehicles and commercials and around 50 graders, tractors, dozers and loaders all used in road construction - I'm keen to ensure my Q has a long life and so would love to know what the pitfalls are. Are you indicating that the Q's TCU is particularly prone to false readings under say alternator failure?

Even so, isn't it still much quicker to do this ultra quick check as per the FSM before believing the indicator to be false? I constantly see advice posted to "read the FSM". Is there a simple concise guide anywhere here then to indicate any areas that experienced members have found the FSM to be lacking or incorrect? If they could all be agreed on / verified and then set up as a separate post that would be a valuable addition.

Another eloquent post. I love it!