Permanent Traction Override Switch

[Lil Abner]

Darren, you seem like the type who likes to LEARN, and not be told what to do. Let me pass this to you:

LINK

Those are for 555 timers. I think you want a monostable operation for your pulse.

Now, if you read everything, you might notice this page ALSO helps for pulsing brake lights. By messing with the duty cycle, and setting it to repeat, it can do constant pulses.

In the end, the 555 timer is CHEAP, and very flexible. If you have questions, let me know.

[chulooz]

Awesome post and great mod! I was thinking of placing such hidden switches at an easier reach; specifically under the shift boot along the drivers side of the center console. Good luck!

[xwd]

These ones are cheaper and come with an integrated relay I believe.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Timer-with-Spdt-Relay/dp/B0009WP09K/ref=pd_cp_hi_0"]Amazon.com: Pulse Timer with Spdt Relay: Car Electronics[/ame]


It's only $14.

Honestly the whole idea to me is a terrible idea. Why turn off something which might keep you from wrecking your car or injuring yourself or someone else. I don't worry about my own driving but if you need to defensively avoid someone else you could end up in a bad situation...

I'm an experienced driver and the only times I'll turn it off are when I'm on a track or autocross course. No need to play master dorifto while driving around town... I know you are using a toggle switch but if you can't spare 3 seconds to hold a button down...

[DarrenDriven]

Lil_Abner, you are right... I like to learn how to build this stuff and thanks for the link.

but...

dwx, thank you for that link and I just ordered two of them. That seems like it will be a little more reliable long-term than a home-built circuit.

I understand your position. For normal city driving I will likely leave my system turned off, but there are times (track days, etc) that I would rather have the convenience of my system in place.

[Lil Abner]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

Lil_Abner, you are right... I like to learn how to build this stuff and thanks for the link.

but...

dwx, thank you for that link and I just ordered two of them. That seems like it will be a little more reliable long-term than a home-built circuit.

I understand your position. For normal city driving I will likely leave my system turned off, but there are times (track days, etc) that I would rather have the convenience of my system in place.

Aww, you gave up on a custom circuit! But yeah, those Amazon circuits look like they should work great for what you're doing.

[GirlyScions]

Why not just rewire the traction control to work as an on/off switch? Not likely your going to accidently bump it on/off.

[DarrenDriven]

That is not a bad idea at all... it would basically trigger the five-second pulse output and either turn traction off or back on. Who needs the temporary traction override anyway? We'll see how my timed-pulse relay works and then I might convert my button to the main switch and ditch the hidden toggle.

[DarrenDriven]

OK, so I got this wired up last night and it works perfectly! When I start the car the relay closes the traction circuit for five-seconds which simulates a button push. This turns off traction control and then leaves the system to work as though it were stock. I can easily push the TRAC OFF button again to turn traction control back on... or I can turn off the hidden toggle switch to revert to normal operation.

I am disappointed that the 528T would not activate with a positive trigger as it is advertised. I even called DEI's tech line and they wouldn't help me because I am not an authorized DEI reseller. Ummm... thanks guys, it wasn't like I was asking a complicated question! So I had to wire in a relay to convert the ignition +12V to a ground output which would then activate the pulse relay.

If I would have planned for this, I would have installed this a little differently because the way I have it now causes the Bosch-style relay to be activated for the duration of the time that the car is on and I don't really like that.

Anyway, I'm happy with how it works and I will most likely forget about improving this unless something fails and I am forced to get back in there. Bosch relays are pretty bulletproof so unless it fails I likely won't be redesigning this circuit.

[lordtakuban]

I like this mod. It is quite annoying to have to constantly disable the nanny system every time I start the car. I'm quite used to driving a more powerful RWD car that had no such nonsense getting in the way of acceleration. I honestly don't see how people are wrecking these cars with TC off. The car simply doesn't have enough power to hurt itself (Even in the rain!). Maybe it was the years of driving without it that have me subconsciously modulating the throttle smoothly as to not spin out of control. I'm not sure. It certainly isn't because of the stock tires. Once it's time to replace the tires and I throw some R*S3's on it, I don't know if I'll ever hear a tire chirp again. haha.

If you find yourself breaking traction all the time with TC off while driving around town, then either learn to drive better or install a mod that keeps TC on for you all the time so you don't crash into someone else. [/rant]

[DarrenDriven]

This mod definitely isn't for everybody, but I'm with you. I've had my share of powerful RWD cars and I prefer to control my own vehicle. I strongly discourage anyone from doing this mod if this is their first RWD car!

[TouchMyHonda]

Cool for sure, shows a lot about who you are being able to come up with this. But seriously, just hold the button for 3 seconds. LOL I have a feeling the dealer would flip a shit if they saw what you did and fuck you on the warranty.

[lordtakuban]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

This mod definitely isn't for everybody, but I'm with you. I've had my share of powerful RWD cars and I prefer to control my own vehicle. I strongly discourage anyone from doing this mod if this is their first RWD car!

Yep. Definitely not for a first RWD driver.

[DarrenDriven]

Originally Posted by TouchMyHonda

Cool for sure, shows a lot about who you are being able to come up with this. But seriously, just hold the button for 3 seconds. LOL I have a feeling the dealer would flip a shit if they saw what you did and fuck you on the warranty.

Well, depends on the warranty claim, I guess. If my entire wiring harness catches fire and my car burns to the ground then maybe they would try to blame me... but I have documentation of the modifications and I could prove that my modifications couldn't have caused a fire, etc.

Basically, I just added a relay to simulate the three-second button push. The major problem I see is that I spin the car into a tree and then try to blame Toyota for it... but I wouldn't do that because 1) it's obvious that I have bypassed the safety feature since I posted it on the internet and 2) it would be too embarrassing to admit that I was stupid enough to spin into a tree.

[lazyluka]

@DarrenDriven

Perhaps update the warning on this DIY to include the following findings regarding the TC off using button technique:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34453