Transmission decides I've had enough?

First let me say that I haven't connected my DAD to my very cold Sprinter. That would probably provide some additional information.

The other day I attempted to cross a parking lot by following some other tracks. Not just one set, quite a few. It wasn't very well cleared of snow. As I got too far to go back I came to realize that the snow was deeper than I realized. I sunk down into the packed snow and got stuck.

A few back and forth motions were encouraging, but then I ended up dropped into crusty holes. I dug out the packed snow to open the rut with a hacksaw frame. I then got some movement.

After a bit of not overly aggressive rocking the wheels would not turn in either forward or reverse. I cycled the key off and then re-started. The tranny returned to normal and I did manage to get myself out and free.

So a couple things.

Be aware that this might happen to you in similar situations.

Anyone have any insight as to why it happened? I'm thinking maybe wheel speed sensors and output shaft speed monitoring.

Ambient was about 13F. Engine was just getting warm, certainly not hot yet. I really didn't beat the drivetrain at all. I know... connect the DAD, but it's friggin' cold out there still.

vic

Vic,
Did you do all this rockin fore and aft with the ASR ON or OFF.
Sounds to me like your ASR kicked in, and as the rear wheels slipped (first one then the other) the ASR actually locked
them both up and reduced your power.
Which, given the situation, it pretty much exactly what it was designed to do.
When I had the Continental Vanco Four Season tires on my 2006 T1N 3500, I accomplished exactly the scenario you are
describing several times. The only solution was to shut the ASR/Traction Control off, and then work the Sprinter free....or in several
cases in snow or loose sand, getting a tow to solid ground.
Had the same scenario the first day I drove my 2010 NCV3 144" WB 3500 off the dealers lot. Also on Conti Vanco 4 Seasons tires.
An hour later I was stuck trying to get up a little hill on ice. Sprinter slewed sideways and broke the turn signal lens of the RH mirror.
Couple of locals came out to help with a bucket of fireplace ashes....the Sprinter chattered it's way to the top of the hill, but the noises
from the Traction Control applying the rear brakes on one side then the other.... chattering back and forth between the slipping rear wheels, was painful to say the least. It also reduced the power available to allow the rear wheels (and the Sprinter) to just creep up the hill.
I have not had that issue since I changed to the Michelin LTX MS2 tires!
So, did you see any long term change or did your T1N drive and shift normally as soon as you got it on a good consistent traction surface and
reset the ASR/TCM by turning the ignition off and then back on?
Roger

ASR was off when the tranny decided to not let me turn the wheels at all.

Just to see what would happen I left the ASR as normal after the re-start and rocked back and forth a bit. I then defeated the ASR again and proceeded to get myself out.

All seems normal now with the transmission and drivetrain, as it has right after the re-start procedure.

Some people love the ASR. I do also when above just crawling speeds. Just crawling is when I use the defeat switch. I find the ASR is not a good thing at all once stuck.

vic

I have never had the ASR kick in, except at very slow speeds where is is a problem, not a solution. Almost ten years of driving, not once. I'm curious about when it does something useful.

david_42,
You are fortunate if you've never encountered a situation where the ASR (Anti-Skid Recovery) has kicked in when you are at speed.
I've been there and done that.
Coming from a snowy Hatteras Island, up through a snowy Currituck County, onto a one lane partially cleared Hampton Roads Beltway (4 lanes each way) through the HRBT tunnel onto a mostly dry I-64 (except the on/off ramps were wet and partially covered in snow.
I get 25 miles up US 17 and the road is completely dry. Temp in the 20's F.
I see a little patch of ice about 30-40 feet long completely across the road. I'm going 60 mph....road on each side of the ice is completely dry.
This was in the 2010 144" wb 3500 Sprinter.
The front wheels caught in a rut going to the left, the rear wheels caught a different rut/seam going to the right.
I just held the wheel straight and stayed off the brakes.
ASR kicked in, straightened me out, and I went on up the road.
The Yaw sensor detected that I was starting to spin (at least I was not going straight in the same direction as the road) and applied a little braking to the right rear wheel (I think as it was all over in the blink of an eye) and kept the van on the road.
That's the beauty of ASR.
If you start to lose control, the sensors will detect it and apply some brake force on the wheel/wheels that will tend to straighten you out.
I agree.....at creeping speed, the ASR causes more issues than it corrects.
Once you reach 3 mph, with all wheels turning, the ASR is a wonderful thing as it can keep you from crashing in emergency situations where you might not even know you've lost control until it's far to late to recover.
Hope this helps,
Roger

sailquik said:

... The Yaw sensor detected that I was starting to spin (at least I was not going straight in the same direction as the road) and applied a little braking to the right rear wheel (I think as it was all over in the blink of an eye) and kept the van on the road.
That's the beauty of ASR.
... Roger

Click to expand...

ASR and ESP have my confidence. They do stop me from having my slip-slide fun in deserted icy parking lots though.

I remember some people on the forum claiming they know how to drive and don't need the help. The trouble is that no matter how good a driver you are you can't react as quickly as the computer does and you certainly can't brake one wheel at a time as needed to keep things going in the right direction.

If my ESP, ABS, and/or traction light (spinning tire ASR) were to come on and show the systems are disabled I won't stop driving so long as brakes and everything else seem OK. That is because I know that those systems need to be defeated immediately for safety reasons and possible drivetrain damage should the system(s) show any hint of malfunction. That said, I feel much better knowing that they are operational. vic

P.S. - Roger. I'm running Michelins on the rear of my Sprinter.

Vic, maybe the tranny got overheated from the multiple shifts? You're probably correct that it was some sensor of another telling the van what to do and not do, regardless of the actual situation. A manual override of the snesor systems would be a nice safety feature.

I recently had the same problem come up, a slow off camber left hand turn up a steep wet hill caused my tires to spin then lose all power, differnce for me is that it would not reset! I had to get towed!
The following morning, today, I tried to drive to a shop and was fine for about 4-5 miles and then trans started slipping and losing all momentum. Now I'm sitting here waiting for another tow to trans shop!

sprinter MX17 said:

I recently had the same problem come up, a slow off camber left hand turn up a steep wet hill caused my tires to spin then lose all power, differnce for me is that it would not reset! I had to get towed!
The following morning, today, I tried to drive to a shop and was fine for about 4-5 miles and then trans started slipping and losing all momentum. Now I'm sitting here waiting for another tow to trans shop!

Click to expand...

If you notice, my post was back in February. I've been daily driving, vacation to Florida, towing my boat to regattas, etc. without any troubles since. (Knocking touching wood furiously as I type this. )

Unfortunately it sounds like you have some other problems going on than what I experienced.

Not that you asked...
Be certain that shop you use has a proper Sprinter specific scan tool, and they know how to use it. A proper scan will be needed to access all of the transmission related codes. A generic OBDII scan tool may reveal some, but not necessarily all the information which is available.

Good luck. vic

Vic.
Reading your description makes me think of an accumulation of snow inside the wheel jamming on the brake caliper. There is no software problem at low speed in any Sprinter or SUV that I have driven. In low range the asr works a treat. Eric.