SVS/Trac Off

[[ion] C2]

NO ANTI-LOCK OR BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATED

What triggers the Service Vehicle Soon and Trac Off lights on these cars when it's NOT ABS related? I've read that headlights being out can trigger the SVS, and I did unplug/remove the bulb for both of my high beams, but that was months ago.

This began today after replacing the IACV (which still didn't solve my stupid issue of the RPMs staying high or surging higher when the clutch is disengaged while you're coasting down to a stop. Immediately goes back to idle RPM once speed reaches zero, but until then, the RPMs hang around 1800+). I've searched high and low and found similar issues across multiple platforms but absolutely no one has a solution. Every thread ends on a cliffhanger. Maybe I have yet another vac/boost leak.

[[ion] C2]

I fixed the vacuum leaks, checked my fuses, plugged my high beams back in. Checked headlights, all work.

I did notice that my blower motor sounds terrible and vibrates like crazy setting 3 and beyond. Max blower just sounds nuts with the vibration. Not sure if that can be related, but it sure is coincidental.

Still has an SVS and Trac Off illuminated. Taking it to a dealer so they can scan it with a Tech 2.

[tw0123]

My Trac off light is constantly lit as well... According to my tuner it has something to do with a setting in hp tuners and the only way to get rid of it is either pull the bulb or tape over it...

[[ion] C2]

Hmm the only thing that happened recently was:

1. I've been tuning a lot in open loop. A DTC for the O2 sensor is set due to it seeing rich all the time but that's just because I'm tuning right now.

2. I changed the Trans Type setting in the tune from "Automatic" to "Manual"

3. New IACV.

4. Replaced entire throttle body with a used one, including IACV/TPS.

GM Tech 2 reports C1278. Which could be either "TCS Temporarily Inhibited By PCM" or "a brake solenoid valve that cannot be energized." Googling around shows "C1278 indicates something is wrong in the PCM or the circuits it controls that is inhibiting the traction control. This usually happens when something is wrong in the throttle control circuits and the PCM cannot control the throttle properly."

I am causing the O2 sensor open circuit code recently with all the tuning; perhaps that is the only cause of this and once I go back to closed loop it will go away.

Or it could be the ABS module itself.

[[ion] C2]

Still have this light on. Been in closed loop for many driving cycles. No codes except C1278 and that is only readable by a Tech 2 for some reason and not HPTuners.

Does anyone else with a 2.4 have a relay where 11 is? It says it's "ABS Enable" on my diagram. From Googling, it seems like other Aleros have a 3604 relay there. But I also find images that look like mine.

[That01Olds]

When those lights came on back when I had my 01 it was the wheel speed sensor/bearings that had gone bad. That's the only thing I've ever experienced with those lights coming on and once they were replaced it took care of the issue. Only other thing I can think of is maybe the wiring harness for one of the sensors has gone bad or like you were saying above it could be the ABS module itself with the code that it's pulling.

[[ion] C2]

I looked at one of the wheel speed sensors and it looked OK, but I'll have to check em all.

I know the shop was fiddling with the ABS module trying to break loose the lines. Who knows. Not a huge deal to not have traction control right now, just mysterious cause. Focusing on engine related repairs/upgrades first.

[That01Olds]

^ Sorry for the late response. It has been kinda hectic here lately and I forgot to check back until now. Adulting is just so much fun lol. Did you ever happen to find out whether it was a speed sensor or the ABS module itself? Yeah, I totally understand that and I agree it is a mysterious cause. If they were messing with the ABS module though I wouldn't put it past it to be that and I don't blame you there. Traction control isn't necessarily the most important thing. It's nice to have for sure, but I mean nowadays a lot of these new cars you can't even turn traction control off. My 2017 Jetta is like that. I have to use the OBDeleven app and the bluetooth connector in order to get in there and be able to turn it off if I want to. Like is it really that hard to put a button in for that lol?

[[ion] C2]

Still haven't looked thoroughly. Found that a pack rat likes to eat my woven heat wrap if I park outside. It's possible it also chewed a wire related.

I'll do a thorough look tomorrow probably.

[[ion] C2]

No apparent wires chewed. ABS module is probably toast, it is outrageously rusty overall. Dunno. I'll post what it is when I get around to it.

[That01Olds]

*Bump* I know it has been a little while (months) since I last got on here. My bad. Was just wondering if you ever found out if it was in fact the ABS module that was causing that issue or if it ended up being something else? Hopefully it's fixed now and all is well.

[[ion] C2]

Haven't tackled it yet. I expect to have the entire ABS system replaced soon. The blower motor noise was a chunk of rust that fell into the fan, fixed that.

Kinda weird I don't remember the order of events but I definitely didn't fix the vacuum leaks when I said I did earlier in the thread, because I had the manifold re-welded in a couple spots and then dropped it off at the machine shop to be milled flat. It took 8 weeks to get it back sometime in mid-January. Right after that I decided to upgrade a lot of things.

My car's been sitting at a shop for the last 4.5 months (ridiculous shit delaying progress). Finally turned the car on and it has massive vacuum leaks due to non-flat flange surfaces. Fixing those this week hopefully with a new machine shop that will probably charge a ton.

At least it looks pretty good.

• new intercooler
• new charge piping
• new tubular turbo manifold
• all new oil feed/drain lines
• custom coolant reservoir with sight gauge
• killerglass upper radiator hose
• new intake manifold with actual velocity stacks
• new blow-off valve with correct spring
• billet/polyurethane engine mount
• most things polished and then clear cerakoted

[tw0123]

That coolant reservoir looks awesome!!! Well the whole thing looks amazing!!! Nice job Chris

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by tw0123

That coolant reservoir looks awesome!!! Well the whole thing looks amazing!!! Nice job Chris

haha yeah can't wait to actually get it back in my hands all day everyday so i can detail and clean things up in the bay and get some good pics finally and enjoy the damn car. it's always waiting on a part or something forever. this last 4.5 month fiasco was just ridiculous, bad project management overall.

the coolant reservoir is the most expensive coolant reservoir ever. intake manifold i am upset about because it was supposed to be a nice big smooth plenum and it the fabricator welded his big ass logo on the top center of it which i did not request but he felt entitled to do without asking because "he's welding it" - i went into it on facebook at length and the general consensus of everyone was that that's bullshit, but the fabricator sees absolutely nothing wrong with it. i sent him a long email detailing why it was ridiculous (do you get your car back from the body shop with a new paint job and find they painted/welded a logo right in the middle of your hood? you'd be furious, but "they did the work so they get to advertise" is his attitude).

i could go on forever about that insane entitlement. i plan to have yet another manifold made once i can waste $950 on doing it. i fricken bought $500+ worth of materials, designed the manifold, coordinated machining and water jet cutting and then i bring the shit to this fabricator and say i want it welded up. he has the audacity to slap his big effin logo dead center on it. i paid for a task to be done, and i got an unauthorized, permanent addition that is SOLELY SELF SERVING to the fabricator.

eff. he also spray painted my intercooler because he felt entitled to visually modify the parts i bought and brought, too. the guy literally cannot comprehend how this is a problem. "i've been doing this for 10 years and no one's complained" maybe because they're either building a race only car and don't give a shit about aesthetics or because they don't have the balls to speak up.

the turbo manifold looks awesome though.



oh yeah, i also have a custom oil feed fitting i designed that uses a copper washer to be leak-free. i had so many oil feed issues in the past it was time for a custom engineered fitting.

[That01Olds]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Haven't tackled it yet. I expect to have the entire ABS system replaced soon. The blower motor noise was a chunk of rust that fell into the fan, fixed that.

Kinda weird I don't remember the order of events but I definitely didn't fix the vacuum leaks when I said I did earlier in the thread, because I had the manifold re-welded in a couple spots and then dropped it off at the machine shop to be milled flat. It took 8 weeks to get it back sometime in mid-January. Right after that I decided to upgrade a lot of things.

My car's been sitting at a shop for the last 4.5 months (ridiculous shit delaying progress). Finally turned the car on and it has massive vacuum leaks due to non-flat flange surfaces. Fixing those this week hopefully with a new machine shop that will probably charge a ton.

At least it looks pretty good.

• new intercooler
• new charge piping
• new tubular turbo manifold
• all new oil feed/drain lines
• custom coolant reservoir with sight gauge
• killerglass upper radiator hose
• new intake manifold with actual velocity stacks
• new blow-off valve with correct spring
• billet/polyurethane engine mount
• most things polished and then clear cerakoted

That sucks if you end up having to replace the entire ABS system. Oh wow that's not good. At least it was a relatively easy fix though for the blower motor. That's crazy that it spent the last 4.5 months in the shop. Like that's not cool at all that it took them that long. It definitely looks good though man! Nice job!

[tw0123]

I'd be livid if they did that to my product without authorization... Show me on any agreed upon facts where you mentioned doing this... Oh you can't? Remove it NOW or I'll expect a monthly advertising payment from you. That's b.s. and shitty it took them 4.5 months as well...

If he won't remove the logo, can you grind it down and put something else over it? Or have the other side etched saying entitled pricks pointing to his logo? Lol plaster that all over his social media if he refuses to remove it...

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by tw0123

I'd be livid if they did that to my product without authorization...

it's "industry standard" he says, yet for all of the speed shops I've worked with I've never had one make a permanent addition without asking me. the logo being there does nothing to benefit me; it only helps spread their name. and he is SUPER worried about getting his name out there. i was pissed but also knew that there's absolutely nothing that can be done aside from completely making it from scratch again, so i mentioned my disdain for what he did and said if he would have asked i would have said "hell no".

later that day after sanity checking with a bunch of people to make sure i'm not just being unreasonable, i sent a large email detailing my issues with the logo plate welded front and center, because i wanted to buy more materials and have him make another without labor cost. he immediately called me at midnight, not reading the email because it was too big and he doesn't value my time. he saw it and was like ok i'm gonna call this guy at midnight instead of reading and understanding my perspective. he said he would absolutely NOT weld another one for no-cost even if i brought all the materials again spending another $500+ to do so.

Originally Posted by tw0123

If he won't remove the logo, can you grind it down and put something else over it?

It's been polished and clear Cerakoted. It's theoretically possible to machine it down and engrave something else like the Olds logo or something, but I wanted it to be smooth and shiny the whole way. My bay is supposed to be heading towards the wire-tuck look, clean and powerful. There's no way to remove it without causing a super weird appearance even if you had it somehow ground to be the same profile as the rest of it. Has to be brand new. So I'll try to sell this one down the road and make back some part of it at least.

I did plan on posting all sorts of reviews and blasting it everywhere. "Treats your car like it's his own." because he'll just modify shit for aesthetics to suit himself at any time without consulting you. Not worth the trouble. I might mention it in posts. Like on shots of the car exterior:

"Here you can see part of @streetorstripconcept's logo because he decided to spray paint an intercooler I brought without consulting me first. Why? He felt entitled to visually modify my vehicle simply because I was paying him to install it."


To me it's painfully obvious how wrong doing that is. To him he absolutely CANNOT comprehend how anyone would be upset by his actions. Either no one's had the balls to call him out on it before, or no one really cared because a lot of "race builds" don't give a eff what shit looks like. Me, I'm about aesthetics and function. I want it to look the way I want it to while performing.

Spray painting his logo on my expensive Garrett intercooler was an overstep for sure. For what benefit to the customer did you spray paint your logo? None. It's solely to self-serve and advertise himself like it's some sponsored build and his shop is famous.

[tw0123]

Gotcha... Either way it sucks that he's not respecting your car and yourself... I love the direction you're taking this build and cannot wait to see the final product!!!

[[ion] C2]

Fixed the intake and throttle body vacuum leaks, but not in the way I expected.

Had the intake manifold milled flat on both surfaces. Had a gasket company make softer Viton gaskets, which should compress more and give even more sealing power. I torqued everything down.

Still leaked. About half as the original un-milled wavy surface was, but still significant leaks everywhere.

Decided to do the old tried and true messy method. Permatex's The Right Stuff gasket maker. It's instantaneous, and it works, no matter what. Pressure tested perfectly to 25 psi about 20 mins after install.

So now, of course, there's another mysterious problem. Turned the car on after the pressure test, and forgot to remove the cap I put over the exhaust, and it didn't blow off instantly during cranking. The car actually started up and ran, indefinitely until I noticed and turned it off. So obviously there's a big exhaust leak, because usually on a couple cranks during starting that thing BLOWS off.

We noticed a 3 bolt flange under the car midway down was, in fact, loose, but I believe there is still a large leak source in the chaotic looking turbo manifold setup.

I drove the car briefly and it doesn't build boost well at all. It's slow. The BOV is near-silent when I try to get it to spool up and let off. There is something significantly wrong that is preventing the car from building pressure and being efficient as it was.

Hopefully it's as simple as a major boost leak in the charge piping somewhere, like the intercooler is trash, or the BOV is missing its seal so it's staying open and leaking all the air. Currently researching and analyzing potential causes of this odd behavior.




I know the goop was squeezed out during installation, which means it also squeezed out in the ports, and hopefully all that excess flapping around either stays there dangling or is harmlessly is eaten by the engine. I should have had a custom blue fel-pro material gasket made and then spread a thin layer of The Right Stuff on both surfaces like I used to. This time I followed the instructions and laid a thin bead. Hopefully doesn't bite me.


Also, the poly/aluminum engine mount causes INSANE vibration levels for the rest of the car. My entire car shakes so much. The fenders and hook are quite noisy. Wife will probably like the vibrations, though. But holy shit are they intense right now. Car sounds like it will fall apart when idling at a light to everyone around it. However, the shifting is vastly improved. Feels good on clutch engagement and such. Might have to change the bushings on this mount to a softer durometer, though.

[[ion] C2]

I message him and say when are we boost leak testing because I'm ready when he is. I have the ability to make a smoke tester in like 20 minutes if our boost leak test shows no problems, and then we can check exhaust leaks.

He calls me an hour later claiming he came in on a Sunday to work on my car and whatever he checked the charge pipe clamps and they're all tight and he turned on my car and the BOV is open at idle so he deduces 100% that the BOV is at fault.

I said that's not a real test, my old BOV was also open at idle, and why don't we simply hook up my boost leak tester which already exists and is there and test it for free and KNOW FOR SURE.

He says "no it's not free I have to pay rent in 4 days and I need this car out of here so I can bring in things that are paying"

He hung up on me after saying I can come tow the car away tomorrow and test whatever I want on it and it's on me. He was all pissed on the phone claiming I was just trying to find things wrong that he did. No, I'm trying to find whatever is wrong and fix it. I don't give a eff who's "to blame" Mr. Pride/Ego. So unprofessional. I just sent him a big text explaining my thoughts.