[ajbblues]

Hello,

I will be going to an Auction looking for a 1999 Deville. Amongst other things, one of the options I would like to find on a car is Stabilitrack. What is the quickest way to see if the car has Stabilitrack?

Thanks in advance,

Anthony

 

[Ranger]

Look for wires leading to the struts. Each strut should have sensors and actuators.

 

[ewill3rd]

Stabilitrak is a function of the ABS system. The struts and shocks with sensors are actually part of the CVRSS system or road sensing suspension.
Stabilitrak is software in the EBCM that monitors the yaw rate sensor and the lateral accelerometer to see if you are over or understeering the car.
It can apply corner brakes to help you keep the car going in a straight line.
I am pretty sure it's standard equipment.

CVRSS is an option which if you can get to the SPID label should be F45.
If it has F45 on the label then it has that feature.

 

[ajbblues]

Thanks for your replies. I'm still a little confused. From what I'm reading, Stabilitrack was an option during 99, not standard.

I checked our 96 Deville, it did not have the wires leading to the struts nor did it have the F45 code. (I didn't think it would as neither of those options were available that year.

I guess my remaining 2 questions are:

1. Is it possible to have the F45code and it not have Stabilitrak?

2. Do the wires leading to the struts definitely confirm that there is Stabilitrak? If yes, were on the struts should they attach, near the top or the bottom.

I appreciate any responses on this. Since I'm hopefully going to be seeing a bunch of these, I'd like to pick one with this feature if possible.

 

[ewill3rd]

If it has F45 I can almost guarantee that it has stabilitrak.
Let me look and see if I can find something in print... but as I said since this system has 2 sensors and is made of software, they don't have much to offer in the way of information. I am pretty sure it's not an option.
... I'll double check.

 

[ewill3rd]

Here is a start

Stabilitrak® includes an additional level of control to the EBTCM. Stabilitrak® monitors the wheel speeds, lateral acceleration and steering sensor inputs in order to calculate a desired yaw rate and compare the desired yaw rate to the actual yaw rate reported by the yaw rate sensor. Steering maneuvers may cause the desired yaw rate to differ from the reported yaw rate by some amount. This difference may result from the following factors:

Tire compliance
Suspension compliance
Wheel slip
Stabilitrak® tries to bring these yaw rates into agreement by selectively applying the front wheel brakes. This is known as active brake control (ABC). If wheel slip rates are excessive, traction control may activate in order to reduce power.

The following are 2 types of Stabilitrak®:

ICCS2
The ICCS2 uses normal force information from the CVRSS module in order to detect rough road conditions in order to help enhance vehicle braking.

ICCS3
The ICCS3 does not use normal force information from the CVRSS module in order to detect rough road conditions in order to help enhance vehicle braking. The ICCS3 is used on vehicles that are not equipped with CVRSS.

 

[ewill3rd]

I think the only thing that would eliminate stabilitrak would be the absence of Traction control, now that I think of it.
The EBCM has to have the ability to apply the brakes, it only has that if it has traction control. (which actually makes it an EBTCM)

I think you might be looking for JL4... I am still looking

Just look for a "traction control" button somewhere.
According to Service Information it's located in the glove compartment.

 

[Ranger]

Traction control was standard as far back as at least '92. I had it on a '92 Deville.

I thought Stabilitrac was a predicessor of CVRSS. Actually I guess it was but I thought it had electronic struts as well. Sorry if I gave you a bum steer.

 

[ajbblues]

I saw the JL4 code referenced in a forum about a newer CTS for Stabilitrak 2.0. When I found that code in a general listing of GM RPO codes, it was described as something like Braking Control.

Would that be the code for Stabilitrack in 1999? (I'm not sure if it was 2.0 back then) Does it apply for all GM's or is it model specific?

BTW - I'm 99% sure all the Deville's in 1999 (and earlier I think) have Traction Control. I read that if the car has Stabilitrak you can hold the traction button down for 30 seconds to turn off Stabilitrak.

Thanks again,

Anthony

 

[ewill3rd]

I don't think there is an RPO for stabilitrak itself, I think it's just part of the software that comes with Traction control. I worked for Chevy for 6 years so I am not on top of this stuff as I used to be, but I always thought that it was standard equipment. I haven't seen too many Cadis without traction control (at least not big ones like Deville) and the service manual doesn't show the yaw rate sensor and lateral accelerometer as "options".
Usually on the schematics they will indicate if a device requires an RPO to be there.

I was told a few years ago that it's not possible to "disable" stabilitrak.
Because it's really software and not a separate system, I think the only way to "disable" it is to unhook the required sensors and stare at the light on the dash.
I watched a video of a Deville presented by a guy who rode in the car with the camera, they tried to get the car to lose control (with a professional driver) and stabilitrak kept the car going the way it should have.
When they worked for an hour to "disable" the system and did the same maneuvers, the guy almost wet his pants. He said it was horribly violent and the car went totally out of control.
I think he hit his head with the camera.

I don't have much time to do more research than that for you.
I hope all this helped in some way.
I'd say if it has a traction control button in the glove box (or anywhere) that it has Stabilitrak.

Happy shopping!

 

[ewill3rd]

I was working on a car this morning, when I looked up the RPOs it said "JL4-Stabilitrak".

Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[ajbblues]

Thanks ewill3rd