# Traction Control forcing engine to idle down when no loss of traction is present **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** explorersporttrac, ford\ **Created:** [April 22, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865 "2013-04-22T19:16:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lucasm822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lucasm822](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lucasm822)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865/1 "2013-04-22T19:16:25Z")
A few months back my Explorer Sport Trac’s traction control activated while I was driving up a hill. My engine idled down and I slowed almost to a stop. Almost immediately, the light went off and everything returned to normal. This morning on the way to university, the traction control activated and would not allow the engine to resume acceleration until I disabled it (which only allows it to be disabled below 40 mph). It finally stopped as I was arriving at campus. There were no odd noises, nothing unusual about how it drove (apart from the issue above), and no other warning lights were present. Any idea about the cause, ease of fixing, and cost associated with it? ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865/2 "2013-04-22T19:19:32Z")
My first suspect would be a bad wheel sensor, or a problem in the wiring for one of the wheel sensors. There may be other possibilities, but this would likely be the cheapest one, so I suggest that you explore this one first. ---
**Author:** ![lucasm822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lucasm822](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lucasm822)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865/3 "2013-04-22T19:22:06Z")
Is there an “easy” way to diagnose which wheel sensor is causing the problem? ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Marc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Big\_Marc](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Big_Marc)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865/4 "2013-04-22T19:35:24Z")
need a scan tool that does abs ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865/5 "2013-04-22T22:41:28Z")
If you have had any other fun electric things happening like wiper malfunction or slow power window operation, check for a dirty or otherwise bad ground wire between engine and body. I never heard of it causing the traction control problem but some of the things it can cause are strange. Usually the body end is rusty or has been installed over paint. ---
**Author:** ![lucasm822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lucasm822](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lucasm822)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/traction-control-forcing-engine-to-idle-down-when-no-loss-of-traction-is-present/78865/6 "2013-04-22T23:11:43Z")
That is a strange suggestion, but certainly the quickest and easiest. I haven’t been able to recreate the issue today, but as I mention in my post, it was and could be several months between now and the next time it occurs.