aowRS

Not quite sure why you seem so hell-bent to discredit the premise of my post. Like a normal person, I finally reached my limit of frustration with these systems. I know the topic has come up before. I've been a long-time participant on 4X4 Wire and know it has surfaced there also. I could care less if anyone responds, this weekend, to my post. I simply started a new post about a topic that has confounded me since buying the truck.

Have you never posted a topic here that has already been discussed? Give me a break and take you condescending manner out on someone else. I do all of my own maintenance personally and could do without your instructional tone.

At least my topic addresses an issue that many people have grappled with - not just another post regarding the fitment issues of 285/75/16 tires.

Andreas

mike_d

yeah, i always want to pull the abs fuse on my subaru, it's the dumbest abs i've ever driven. the only problem i can see is that if you get into an accident and they find that your abs fuse was pulled, you're probably in for a big lawsuit.

Dr. Zhivago

Dude, lighten up. I can now see that you have NO sense of humor about this issue and I'll leave you alone to fend for yourself.

Good luck making friends around here with your attitude...

G

lee

ditto. you gotta relax and appreciate that people are discussing your topic to begin with.

EDGE

give the guy a break, he replied to me with a sarcastic remark how would anyone here feel if you asked a question and the answer was yeah probably

aowRS
I've had the same issue with my 03, a few times it would have gotten out so much quicker and easier if the freakin tires just could have spun, since my truck is not with me at the moment all I could suggest is pullin some fuses, anything that is similiar to what you looking to disconnect, I've figured out in 5 minutes how to disconnect the odometer, just pull some fuses but watch if the CEL goes on, 1 pet peeve I have with these newer computer enhanced super electronic cars is pulling a fuse will not only disable 1 thing but 1 or 2 other things which you will eventually find out, like on my friends 00 GXE Maxima I pulled the odometer fuse to bypass the speed limiter and realized on the way home it somehome also bypassed the alternator and the battery was dieing, not something you want to experience in an area with no street lights in a black car.

and 2nd make friends with a Toyota tech, head teh who knows what he's doing and ask him if he can point you in the right direction but remember to compensate him and he'll be a happy man

aowRS

EDGE,
Thanks for the thoughts. As soon as the weather clears up a bit, I'll get under the hood and sniff around a bit.

The reason people post questions on public forums is to see if anyone else has dealt with the same issue(s) before. This serves to prevent needless frustrations and headaches. I certainly did not post this question, or any other one, to waste the time of others. Those who actually know me, would say that I'm quite the humerous person. Obviously Dr. Z and I have never met.

Andreas

Dr. Zhivago

Andreas, you totally misunderstood me, I wasn't saying you were wasting MY time, or anyone else's for that matter, but your own.

Again, sorry if my being glib rubbed you the wrong way.

Peace.
G

aowRS

All's well. Maybe I took your words the wrong way.

Now back to the regular scheduled programming...

Andreas

Dozer

Any luck yet? I am taking the runner to the shop on monday and will try to get the wiring diagram for the master cylinder...

Dozer

aowRS

No luck yet. I looked through my entire shop manual - but I only have Vol. 2. Vol. 1 has the wiring schematics...

That would be great if you could get info on what each of the plugs do at the master cylinder. I know one is for brake fluid level, and another is for brake line pressure.

Andreas

4RunnerFever

Looks like it is the VSC & TRAC that is frustrating, not necessarily the posts. I don't have the electronics systems, but this post gives me food for thought when I go to replace my 4runner.

HuntRunner

I know it was mentioned above, but I second the fuse pulling to disable. I only say this because on my 2003 my fuse was blowing out because of a short. Anyway, when it was out, none of that stuff worked. That dash was lit up with a lot of lights and I had no brake lights but it would at least allow you to bypass the system for the moment.

hillbilly

Here's a link to a thread I started many moons ago about trying to disable Active TRAC:
Manually disabling Active TRAC (traction control) on a '01 4Runner 4x4

I was able to reduce the effects of Active TRAC removing the relay mentioned in the above post, but never completely able to defeat it. The ABS system seems to have redundant electrical paths, which allows the ABS system to remain functional in the event of a single component failure.

And other on the same topic:
Any Way to Disable Active TRAC

The '01 owners manual, page 115, second paragraph, last sentence of section "L4" mode (low speed position, wheel drive, center differential locked):

"In the following cases, the output of the brake can be controlled by the active traction control system if the enigne speed is under 3000 rpm (normal engine speed is under 3000 rpm when the wheels get unstuck).

• The front drive control lever in the "L4" position and the automatic transmission in the "L" position or the automatic transmission lever in the "D" or "2" with the transmission downshifting to the first gear.

• The front drive control lever in the "L4" position and the automatic transmission in the "R" position."

This tells me one of two things:

1. A-Trac becomes disabled if in 4Lo/Lo (or automatically downshifting to "L") and the engine RPMs are over 3000.
   
2. The A-Trac system remains active while in 4Lo/Lo, but cannot control wheel(s) spin when engine RPMs exceed 3000 (possibly due to excessive torque??).

aowRS

Hillbilly,
Great sleuthing! Now I remember reading your original posts. While these two systems have their merits for everyday street driving, the fact remains - the ability to defeat both at the flick of a switch would make the '01 - '02 4Runners far more capable offroad.

In the situation I was in that prompted me to start this thread, massive wheelspin was the only escape. A slight slope, soaking wet grass and muddy tracks. Initially the truck just sat there, clicking and clacking like an industrial sewing machine. I had a client in the car and was showing a 30-acre parcel of land. We were a good mile from the nearest paved road and it was raining. After a minute of this madness I backed up yet again, threw it in "D" and buried the pedal. Yes it was in 4WD and yes I had engaged the center diff lock. This type of situation must be hell on the brake pads and shoes. I think that my REVOs were probably most instrumental in this minor extraction. The original Dunlop TG-35s would have meant a long hike in the rain...

Let's keep this topic alive. Even though its been discussed multiple times, a new member may come across this with a solution!

Andreas

hillbilly

With the work I've done, I believe disabling the wheel spin sensors may be the best/simplest, if not the only, route since the ABS controller appears to have multiple electrical paths for safety reasons.

aowRS

Hillbilly - did you actually find out more after simply disconnecting the passenger side VSC relay?

Andreas

Simon

I took mine out last night with no noticable change. The only thing I did notice was that the parking light stayed on when the parking brake was not engaged.

aowRS

Simon - did you take out the VSC relay, or the ABS fuse as others have suggested?

Andreas

Simon

I took out the one that said TRC MTR. It was pink. When I looked closer at the writing on it, it said something about ABS monitor.

johnyrrr

I took a look at my master cylinder to unplug the plug as suggested by someone that did it on a seqouia and there are a total of 5 electricle plugs coming off the master cylinder on mine. If I remeber at least 2 of the plugs have a ton of wires and 3 have only a coulpe of wires each. What happened to the days when you had a couple of hydrolic lines coming off the master cylinder? Anyone try unplugging anything at the master cylinder yet?