Traction control comes, testing speed sensor

[Crankywitch]

Hi all,

I recently replaced brakes and rotors on 2006 yukon denali 1500 AWD. I started experiencing my traction control light coming on and limiting power so I have to turn it off. I did take it to a mechanic and he picked up nothing on his scanner besides a slightly worn wheel bearing (which I already knew about) so I replaced it anyway and the issue is still there as I figured it would be but worth a shot anyway.
I figured maybe a bad speed/abs sensor? I disconnected them to check continuity and get nothing from either rear and 1132 and 1063 from the fronts. So my question is should I be getting reading from the back and I am just testing them wrong? Are both bad and thats why no reading? Is there another way I should be testing them? They are pretty expensive so don't want to order one just to find out mine are still good. Ok Thanks and have a great day.

 

[Doubeleive]

Hi all,

I recently replaced brakes and rotors on 2006 yukon denali 1500 AWD. I started experiencing my traction control light coming on and limiting power so I have to turn it off. I did take it to a mechanic and he picked up nothing on his scanner besides a slightly worn wheel bearing (which I already knew about) so I replaced it anyway and the issue is still there as I figured it would be but worth a shot anyway.
I figured maybe a bad speed/abs sensor? I disconnected them to check continuity and get nothing from either rear and 1132 and 1063 from the fronts. So my question is should I be getting reading from the back and I am just testing them wrong? Are both bad and thats why no reading? Is there another way I should be testing them? They are pretty expensive so don't want to order one just to find out mine are still good. Ok Thanks and have a great day.

if one hub was bad it's likely the other is not far behind it, that being said in most cases if the error is a abs sensor it will be a front one and a replacement sensor is only about $20-25.
AND, the proper way to diagnose if it is abs sensor is to connect a scanner that can read live data and monitor the 4 abs sensors as you are driving to see which one is erroring out, slow, erratic etc.
any other method is guessing and throwing parts at it unless you get a very specific code. the traction control is self correcting so it won't save code.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

^^^^^x2^^^^^ Your mechanic either has a cheap (non-bidirectional) scanner, or did not take the time to troubleshoot completely. If the issue is a bad wheel speed sensor, and I believe that it is, then a quality bi-directional scanner would take you straight to root cause (meaning that it will tell you which wheel has the issue). Also, while not very common, the electrical connector for those wheel sensors could become disconnected or electrically disturbed when brake and rotor work is performed.

 

[Crankywitch]

if one hub was bad it's likely the other is not far behind it, that being said in most cases if the error is a abs sensor it will be a front one and a replacement sensor is only about $20-25.
AND, the proper way to diagnose if it is abs sensor is to connect a scanner that can read live data and monitor the 4 abs sensors as you are driving to see which one is erroring out, slow, erratic etc.
any other method is guessing and throwing parts at it unless you get a very specific code. the traction control is self correcting so it won't save cod

if one hub was bad it's likely the other is not far behind it, that being said in most cases if the error is a abs sensor it will be a front one and a replacement sensor is only about $20-25.
AND, the proper way to diagnose if it is abs sensor is to connect a scanner that can read live data and monitor the 4 abs sensors as you are driving to see which one is erroring out, slow, erratic etc.
any other method is guessing and throwing parts at it unless you get a very specific code. the traction control is self correcting so it won't save code.

Thanks for the reply.
When the traction control issue first started I brought it into the mechanics and we drove around with his scanner on and he didn't pick anything up except to say my front right wheel bearing was going which I already knew but it wasn't really safety issue yet but he told me that he didn't find anything else so it was more than likely that wheel bearing triggering the traction control activation.

I said fine change it but I had a feeling that that wouldn't help and I was right because the traction control light still keeps activating and I get the power drain until I turn it off.

We did drive around again after the wheel bearing replacement with his scanner still didn't pick anything up even when the traction control activated again. So I am confused as to what it can be as wouldn't a bad wheel sensor be picked up on his scanner?

Now I am also reading something about engine misfires causing traction control activation/light.

When I changed the brakes and rotors and this traction issue started I was on my way on a road trip so as turning it off temp fixed the issue I just left it so I could deal with it at a later time.

When I was on the road I did get a couple engine misfires and the engine light came on and flashed ( this happened twice) but this was after I already had the traction issue which I should add only comes on occassionally and usually when I am trying to giver from a dead stop or honking on gas to pass,it is usually fine when I am just keeping a steady pace.

So now I'm wondering if it's bad plugs triggering my traction control issue? Maybe I'm just not getting a light every time when my engine misfires and it's only just activating my traction control.

I just don't know how to diagnose this when the scanners aren't picking anything up. I'm confused as to what my next move is as like you said I don't want to start throwing Parts at it like new rear sensors as they're like 200 bucks a pop I've been quoted though they're cheaper on RockAuto LOL.

 

[Crankywitch]

^^^^^x2^^^^^ Your mechanic either has a cheap (non-bidirectional) scanner, or did not take the time to troubleshoot completely. If the issue is a bad wheel speed sensor, and I believe that it is, then a quality bi-directional scanner would take you straight to root cause (meaning that it will tell you which wheel has the issue). Also, while not very common, the electrical connector for those wheel sensors could become disconnected or electrically disturbed when brake and rotor work is performed.

Thanks for reply!
Yes I was thinking it was prob a wheel sensor as I had to really pound those rotors off and thought maybe I hit it and damaged it, but as the mechanic didn't pick it up with his scanner I kinda kaboshed that idea. You could be right that their scanner is not good though.
I did check all the sensors and wiring and they were all good.
Guess maybe I need to go to a diff shop lol

 

[Doubeleive]

Thanks for the reply.
When the traction control issue first started I brought it into the mechanics and we drove around with his scanner on and he didn't pick anything up except to say my front right wheel bearing was going which I already knew but it wasn't really safety issue yet but he told me that he didn't find anything else so it was more than likely that wheel bearing triggering the traction control activation.

I said fine change it but I had a feeling that that wouldn't help and I was right because the traction control light still keeps activating and I get the power drain until I turn it off.

We did drive around again after the wheel bearing replacement with his scanner still didn't pick anything up even when the traction control activated again. So I am confused as to what it can be as wouldn't a bad wheel sensor be picked up on his scanner?

Now I am also reading something about engine misfires causing traction control activation/light.

When I changed the brakes and rotors and this traction issue started I was on my way on a road trip so as turning it off temp fixed the issue I just left it so I could deal with it at a later time.

When I was on the road I did get a couple engine misfires and the engine light came on and flashed ( this happened twice) but this was after I already had the traction issue which I should add only comes on occassionally and usually when I am trying to giver from a dead stop or honking on gas to pass,it is usually fine when I am just keeping a steady pace.

So now I'm wondering if it's bad plugs triggering my traction control issue? Maybe I'm just not getting a light every time when my engine misfires and it's only just activating my traction control.

I just don't know how to diagnose this when the scanners aren't picking anything up. I'm confused as to what my next move is as like you said I don't want to start throwing Parts at it like new rear sensors as they're like 200 bucks a pop I've been quoted though they're cheaper on RockAuto LOL.

sounds like you just need a deeper diagnostic and yes engine problems can make the traction control activate under certain conditions
if it was simply a lazy abs sensor then the only way to determine that is with a live data feed as there is some allowable error before it triggers a abs code, yet causes other problems like with traction control or when coming to a complete stop abs may activate for a brief moment.

 

[Fless]

Are all four tires the same mfr. and size, and with the same tread depth? A scanner that can read -- ideally graph -- the wheel speeds would be helpful to rule out any differences in wheel speed.

If you can acquire a DTC while the Traction Control is disabled, that might help point you in the right direction. The scanner needs to be good enough to read the ABS codes, and brake codes should be "Cxxxx" codes. The DTC might also have snapshot data to list the various conditions that happened when it was triggered.

If you're interested in some diagnostic help, the link below will take you to your vehicle's specific info:

https://charm.li/GMC/2006/Yukon%20Denali%20AWD%20V8-6.0L%20VIN%20U/Repair%20and%20Diagnosis/

When you're there, you can back up using the links at the top of your browser. But here I've expanded a couple of categories:

Note the last two items, TSBs and Diagnostic Trouble Codes, which can be helpful if you can pull a code or two.

Good luck with it, and keep us informed about what you find.

 

[Crankywitch]

Are all four tires the same mfr. and size, and with the same tread depth? A scanner that can read -- ideally graph -- the wheel speeds would be helpful to rule out any differences in wheel speed.

If you can acquire a DTC while the Traction Control is disabled, that might help point you in the right direction. The scanner needs to be good enough to read the ABS codes, and brake codes should be "Cxxxx" codes. The DTC might also have snapshot data to list the various conditions that happened when it was triggered.

If you're interested in some diagnostic help, the link below will take you to your vehicle's specific info:

https://charm.li/GMC/2006/Yukon%20Denali%20AWD%20V8-6.0L%20VIN%20U/Repair%20and%20Diagnosis/

When you're there, you can back up using the links at the top of your browser. But here I've expanded a couple of categories:

View attachment 463654

Note the last two items, TSBs and Diagnostic Trouble Codes, which can be helpful if you can pull a code or two.

Good luck with it, and keep us informed about what you find.

Hi! Thanks for all the info and I will!

 

[Crankywitch]

sounds like you just need a deeper diagnostic and yes engine problems can make the traction control activate under certain conditions
if it was simply a lazy abs sensor then the only way to determine that is with a live data feed as there is some allowable error before it triggers a abs code, yet causes other problems like with traction control or when coming to a complete stop abs may activate for a brief moment.

Great! Thanks!