Just finished installing a little circuit I made that pushes the Traction Control button for me every time the car is started. I can still turn it on and off like normal, but now the car comes on with it disabled and i just have to remember to hit the button if I want it on.
It took about 3 hours to get all the parts and wire up the board and about 30 minutes to decipher the connector on the back of the button and install the black box. I know there are off-the-shelf devices you can buy for about $50 to do this, but it was so simple and cost me less than $9 in parts (most of that being the black plastic box) that i just had to do it myself. If I did it again it would probably take about an hour start to finish.
I'll try to attach the schematic in case anyone else wants to do this. The parts you really need are a 555 timer chip (made by National, TI, NTE... very generic), some resistors, some capacitors, a diode, a small prototyping circuit board, some wire, and three inline splice connectors. All this stuff should be available at Radio Shack or any electronic hobby shop. The 12V normally closed relay makes it more reliable but is not absolutely necessary. If you don't have the relay, you can't turn the power on without starting the car and still have the timer work, you need to turn the key on and start the car immediately. If you include the relay, you can turn power on, sit there for as long as you like, then start the car and it will still turn the TC off for you.
I got very tired of the TC kicking in after I made turns out into traffic from a stop and cutting the acceleration just when you need it most. This will also give me one less thing to do when staging at the track.
If anyone wants more info or has any questions, I'll be happy to answer 'em.
It took about 3 hours to get all the parts and wire up the board and about 30 minutes to decipher the connector on the back of the button and install the black box. I know there are off-the-shelf devices you can buy for about $50 to do this, but it was so simple and cost me less than $9 in parts (most of that being the black plastic box) that i just had to do it myself. If I did it again it would probably take about an hour start to finish.
I'll try to attach the schematic in case anyone else wants to do this. The parts you really need are a 555 timer chip (made by National, TI, NTE... very generic), some resistors, some capacitors, a diode, a small prototyping circuit board, some wire, and three inline splice connectors. All this stuff should be available at Radio Shack or any electronic hobby shop. The 12V normally closed relay makes it more reliable but is not absolutely necessary. If you don't have the relay, you can't turn the power on without starting the car and still have the timer work, you need to turn the key on and start the car immediately. If you include the relay, you can turn power on, sit there for as long as you like, then start the car and it will still turn the TC off for you.
I got very tired of the TC kicking in after I made turns out into traffic from a stop and cutting the acceleration just when you need it most. This will also give me one less thing to do when staging at the track.
If anyone wants more info or has any questions, I'll be happy to answer 'em.