Inserting fwd fuse.. makes your car fwd?
 

Just wondering because I plugged a fuse in there today (bored) and drove around.. couldn't tell the difference

works on my car. the dash light comes on saying 'FWD'. I used it once, for tray sliding, which was pretty awesome in a low, heavy car like the SVX btw - and the rear wheels were completely inoperable. I'm sure you'd notice more of a difference in the rain or snow, as its 90% FWD anyway

With the 4EAT there's a neat-o mod you can do fairly quick & cheap. You can run 2 wires from the FWD fuse holder into the cabin, then mount a nice switch to allow your 4EAT to be a true 4wd. I did this on my '97 Leggy. It allows you to put your spare tire on without opening the hood & trunk.

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

When I put the FWD fuse in my old Legacy (read: 130hp) I could barely get the tires to chirp - and that was on a turn. Now, with the SVX, without the FWD fuse in, I can make the wheels chirp from dead stop on dry pavement :rolleyes:

someone wanna help a newbie out with this and explain it a little more in depth??

When you insert the fuse in the FWD part of the fusebox, it disengages the AWD so it is only FWD

Okay, seriously, guys, stop it.

Don't put the FWD fuse in just to spin the front tires. You'll damage the transfer clutch.

Putting the FWD fuse in, or wiring it up with a switch, does not make it 'permanent 4WD.' All that fuse does is prevent the car from sending signals to the transfer clutch solenoid. Without pulses going to that solenoid, it doesn't apply any pressure to the clutch. So it works, go figure, pretty much like a FWD car. Use it when you have to put the spare on the car or when your solenoid starts going bad and makes the clutch bind up.

And the SVX is not '90% FWD.' The pressure on the transfer clutch is variable, and 10-50% of the torque an be applied to the rear wheels.

No, you wouldn't feel any difference just driving around town. You would, however, feel a difference on a more slippery surface like gravel.

The FWD fuse under the hood forces the trans to open the transfer clutches. This "turns off" the AWD.

To get a bit more detailed, The transfer clutch(es) are controlled by the Transmission Control Unit (TCU). Using input from the ABS wheel sensors. The TCU varies how much slip the transfer clutch has, based on speed differences between the front & rear wheels.
When the fronts are on, say, ice, and you punch the gas, they start to spin. This sends a signal to the ABS unit, which forwards the signal to the TCU. The TCU then activates the duty "C" solenoid. This closes the clutch, sending power to the rear wheels.

Please note: I've skipped several details in making this easier for non-Soob geeks to understand. ALSO this does NOT apply to the 5MT.

makes sense now, im gunna have to look into it more if i end up getting this svx im looking at

I'm sorry, I misspoke. To clear things up, the switch mod makes the car part time AWD.

More importantly... arent you on a 5 speed Ricochet?

You're right, the TCU does vary the pressure it applies on the clutch based partly on the difference between the front and rear wheel speeds, but it does not determine this difference using the ABS sensors. It uses the speed sensors in the transmission. One measures the speed of the rear wheels and the other measures the fronts.

Also, the clutch does not 'close.' The solenoid you speak of 'flutters' open and closed at varying rates, which varies the amount of fluid going through the valve and therefore the amount of pressure applied to the clutch.

uh... you don't have FWD anymore

Tom

Yeah that too.. so I'm guessing that fuse does nothing for me