Stabilitrak light comes on

[Trailblazer186]

07 Chevy Trailblazer

The stabilitrak light comes on after a few miles down the road. If I shut the truck off it'll go away but return after 10 min of driving. Everything works fine, truck runs great. Any idea's out there?

Thanks

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

The steering wheel position sensor. Pretty common

 

[Trailblazer186]

Easy to replace? I'm a weekend mechanic

 

[Trailblazer186]

I did some research and it looks like these instructions are pretty good. My question is what is a SIR System and how would I disable it?

Do I need the steering column pin for this job?

http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?p=1362818

Here's the thread I found

 

[Mooseman]

SIR: Supplemental Inflatable restraint (aka: airbags). Easiest way is to pull the fuses for it.

The pin is to prevent the wheel from turning while you have the column disconnected. You can accomplish the same with bungee cords on the wheel an appropriately sized Allen key in the same hole for the pin.

 

[DAlastDON]

Until you replace the SWPS sensor...If you want to make the light go out with out shutting the engine off then just turn the ignition to start for a moment. Do not worry, the starter will not engage. Well it does not on my 08 envoy. Same thing...

 

[Mooseman]

I did not know that! Thanks!

And none of our trucks will engage the starter if it's running.

 

[dmanns67]

Until you replace the SWPS sensor...If you want to make the light go out with out shutting the engine off then just turn the ignition to start for a moment. Do not worry, the starter will not engage. Well it does not on my 08 envoy. Same thing...

Thanks for the tip, I was not aware either

I did some research and it looks like these instructions are pretty good. My question is what is a SIR System and how would I disable it?

Do I need the steering column pin for this job?

http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?p=1362818

Here's the thread I found

Here's another thread I found on SSowners when I was looking into replacing the SWPS. Pretty detailed and lots of pics.

http://www.tbssowners.com/forums/ho...w-replace-steering-wheel-position-sensor.html

 

[Trailblazer186]

Thanks to all!!! Now I feel more confident doing this job.

Funny...light went off last night and hasn't come back on lol

 

[cornchip]

Just a warning about how the procedure (resetting Stabilitak warning while in motion). DAlastDON mentioned 'turning off the engine' when in fact you don't have too at all. When the Stabilitrak message/light pop's up, just turn the key to 'start' and release from the run position. Feels like a good solid second works best. Turning the key backwards could lock the column. That kinda shit can ruin your day.

Thanks for the great tip!!!

 

[dmanns67]

Just a warning about how the procedure (resetting Stabilitak warning while in motion). DAlastDON mentioned 'turning off the engine' when in fact you don't have too at all. When the Stabilitrak message/light pop's up, just turn the key to 'start' and release from the run position. Feels like a good solid second works best. Turning the key backwards could lock the column. That kinda shit can ruin your day.

Thanks for the great tip!!!

Actually, Don said, "If you want to make the light go out without shutting the engine off then just turn the ignition to start for a moment."

Basically the same thing you just mentioned. Either way, its a great tip that I and others were not aware of.

 

[Blckshdw]

Note: Our steering columns do not lock.

 

[cornchip]

Damn, read through that too fast. Sorry. And yes....I assumed the column locked. I tried it since reading this post (still couldn't believe it). I just always thought of it as a theft prevention measure that would never go the way of the dinosaur. So what security measure does the Trailblazer have? I don't see a resistor key like the 90's and I doubt there's electronics in the key itself?

Cornchip

 

[DAlastDON]

Damn, read through that too fast. Sorry. And yes....I assumed the column locked. I tried it since reading this post (still couldn't believe it). I just always thought of it as a theft prevention measure that would never go the way of the dinosaur. So what security measure does the Trailblazer have? I don't see a resistor key like the 90's and I doubt there's electronics in the key itself?

Cornchip

I went WTF when i noticed the steering wheel did not lock. Passlock in the ignition cylinder is activated when the key is turned.

http://transponderkey.com/

 

[cornchip]

Ha, if there was such a thing as a master key, you'd be good to go. The cylinder has the resistor already to match the PCM. Kinda a step backwards if you think about it.

Funny side note, I used to drive a 95 Buick LeSabre with Pass KeyII. I had a very ripe banana in a bag on the floor and dropped my keys in the bag. The ignition key scored a direct hit and impaled said banana and the resistor contacts. I stuck it in the lock anyways and the theft light came on (no start). Cleaning the key made no difference after that. I went to the rear floor where I had a rusting adjustable, that fortunately was frozen in the right size to disconnect the ground cable on the battery. Started fine after that.

 

[Inferno333]

It looks like my sensor is going bad too. The stabilitrak system will activate while driving sometimes. Usually letting off the gas or tapping the brakes turns it off.

Does that sound like the culprit?

 

[Inferno333]

I had a reply typed out... Then I got a call.

Would this sensor cause the stabilitrak to kick on during normal driving? It's making the wife a bit angry.

 

[Mooseman]

The steering wheel position sensor would not do that. All it does is report what position the wheel is in in case it needs to do some skid control. What could do what it's doing to your wife is a wheel sensor that's erroneously reporting that a wheel is slower or locking up when it's not. I know that it is common for a bad wheel sensor to activate the ABS coming to a stop for no reason.

 

[DAlastDON]

I would educate the wife on how to turn off the stabilitrak off until fixed. I also think this should be a recall. Could cause the vehicle to pull in one direction.

 

[cornchip]

I had a front wheel bearing fail and mess up the speed sensor for that wheel. Caused the truck to pull left on slippery roads in 4 wheel drive while in 2wd it was fine (drivers wheel brakes while passenger side gets the power). Upon inspection to replace the bearing unit, I found the pads to be used up almost to metal on that one wheel only. The sensor must have been bad for sometime.

 

[Inferno333]

Okay. I see a better picture now.

I do have the drivers front wheel bearing getting pretty bad. The brakes need to be done too. The rear discs are half rust...

Think it's just the bearing causing it?

And my wife did shut it off. She knows some stuff.

 

[Mooseman]

On the rears, the sensors are in the axle tubes. Haven't heard of these failing. Front bearing failure is a common cause of the sensor not working correctly.

 

[cornchip]

I should have also mentioned my outer tie rod ends were gone at the same time. With so many bad parts in play at once, it was no big surprise it was acting up. Both tie rods replaced with Moog grease-able units, both front bearing hubs plus front brakes (also add a $55 dollar alignment). That was an expensive weekend. My trucks still young with only 112,000 kms, so it's worth it. Just feels odd to do all that with low mileage. It's the age we live in. Some components wear rapidly due to there maintenance free design.