Only running FWD now?
 

Since the snow has been flying over the past couple of weeks up here in Toronto, my SVX has been having some serious traction problems, wheels spinning with very little effort??? Even with decent snow tires mounted at all 4 corners.

Then the proof was detected when I put one rear wheel into a very small snow bank (only 6 inches deep), which should not have been any problem to pull out of with AWD. However, I could not get out as my front wheel(s) where spinning on ice and the rear wheels where not turning at all. From my understanding once the front wheels break loose, the rear wheels should be transferred a good portion of the drive power. But this did not happen.

I checked into a fuse holder that disengages the rear wheel drive section of the tranny. Not sure how that works, but there was no fuse in that position!

Any idea's on how this could occur? Other then a problem with the tranny/center diff or possibly a broken U-joint (but wouldn't that make alot of noise?).

Thanks,

Does your power light blink at startup?

Also... try putting the car up on jack stands and seeing if the rear wheels turn at all. or if the driveshaft even moves

Thanks for the quick response. Regarding the Power Light, it does not flash at startup. It does come on for a few seconds as it normally does at startup, then it goes out.

I am not at home today (visiting relatives), so I won't be able to lift it up on jacks until Friday. I will give that a go when I get home and respond back then.

Thanks again,

If there is no code posted, it is likely that the Transfer clutch is not working. Either the clutch plates are worn, or the C solenoid valve assemble is stuck in the off position.

The back of the box has to come off to replace the parts, not a big job, the box doesn't have to come out.

Till you get it fixed, try not to spin the front wheels, as it can damage the front diff.

Harvey. ;)

Thanks Harvey for the excellent feedback. I will have the plates / solenoid checked on Monday.

Regarding not spinning the front wheels, I hope that no damage has been done so far, as it is extremely easy to break the wheels free in the snow now. But I will endevour to reduce the wheel spin as much as possible from now on.

Thanks again,

Hey Harvey, because its not a viscous coupling, the fact that its really cold where he is doesn't really change the amount of wear or "slip" thats allowed does it? (can't remember how the svx transfer case works...)

Greg, I believe that the SVX uses an electronically controlled set of clutches that transfers power between the front and rear axles based on feedback from a set of sensors (they might use the ABS sensors)... but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Re: Only running FWD now?
 

The SVX can easily spin its tires in snow, even with a good set of snow tires. 230 HP is a lot...this isn't some under powered Justy we're talking about:)

I'm not sure which markets got this option, but the U.S. models were given a way to skip first gear: push in the "Manual" button on the shifter and move the shifter down to "3". This forces the transmission to start in second gear making it MUCH tougher to spin your wheels. This has saved my arse many times:)


Dave

Thanks for the word of advice, and we have begun to utilize the manual shift feature to reduce wheel spin in the snow.

We have owned 2 SVX's over the last 10 years and we have a pretty good feel for its traction capabilities. However, this year something has definitely changed -- hopefully we will get this problem solved next week!

Thanks again,

The AWD takes input from quite a few sensors. Try unplugging your TPS to see what the AWD does.

Thanks for the quick tip. However, please forgive my ignorance, can you ellaborate on where the TPS is located?

Thanks again,

TPS is on the driver's side of the throttle body under the large engine cover. There's 3 wires that go to it.

This won't tell you anything. I think it's likely your transfer clutch is worn out.

My money is on the Solenoid C being bad. I seems like it's one of those pieces on the SVX that can "go away" without necessarily throwing a code. SVXFiles just helped me replace mine - pics in my locker.
-Bill

Did you also replace your clutch plates? If the transmission had any kind of miles on it, I would replace both the clutch plates and the solenoid if I determined either one was bad. I justify this the same way most justify replacing the water pump when replacing a timing belt. :)