A simple question.

Some folks have mentioned pulling a fuse to disable the VDC.

I'm hoping that there is a separate fuse for the Vehicle, Dynamic Control, Transmission Control module and the Anti-lock Braking System.

If someone knows where any or all of these fuses are and whether or not pulling one disables something else, please tell me where they are located and, of course, what the fuse disables.

Is there a picture in the FSM of a fuse box which shows which fuse is which? If so, could you scan and post that page here? If a scan is not possible, where can I get the FSM? Perferrably in softcopy format.

Does anyone have an image they could post? You know, a pchopped image with a circle drawn around a fuse with an arrow and a caption for that particular fuse. I'm not asking too much am I?

 

Which fuse is what is usually marked directly on the fusebox. There should be a fuse box in the driver's kick panel, and another one in the battery compartment.

I don't think you want to disable the transmission control module.. I believe you're intending on disabling the adaptive feature, while pulling the fuse may disable the transmission from shifting at all or force it into a failsafe mode. That's just a guess.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

What to kids say these days?

<font color=red>My Bad!</font color=red>

I meant to say "Traction Control Module".

 

Well, that's a horse of a different color. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Disabling ABS would disable all of this, as it all relies on ABS to operate. Except the VDC's torque throttling, which you can handle with the in-cabin push button.

Is this for daily use, or specific track incidents? I wouldn't recommend it for daily driving.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

Pulling the fuse for the VDC disables VDC, TCS & ABS. (No need to pull the two ABS fuses and there isn't any fuse marked TCS.)

I've just confirmed the disablement of all systems by two tests.

1. The "VDC Off" light is on solid. The "Slip" light is on solid. The "ABS" light is on solid.

2. The VDC is not engaging when I take a corner at speeds when before "pulling the plug", the VDC would pulse the outside front brake. The TCS is not cutting the throttle. The ABS is not pulsing the brakes if I lock them up at speeds in excess 30mph.

At least now I have a car whose behavior is predictable rather than relying on systems that are erratic at best.

 

I autocross my car, and just turning off the VDC with the pushbutton makes the car plenty predictable. I might have to try pulling that fuse sometime, though, just to see if I notice a difference.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

Even with the VDC off via the "VDC Off" button, I still occasionally get a "Slip" light warning. However, I can't state with certainty that no "Throttle Cut" or "Brake Pulse" was executed by one or more of the modules. I do occasionally get a "Brake Pulse", but no "Slip" light, during a cornering event with and without my foot on the brake. I.E. I can't tell if it is the supposedly disabled VDC, the TCS or the ABS, but one of these modules is still kicking in when it is definitely not needed. With VDC enabled, these modules drag my "G" down to 40mph on corners where I could go 50mph in a 4500lb ImpalaSS with 255/50Z17 BFGs. With VDC disabled, my 3300lb "G", with 255/40Y18f & 275/40Y18r, can take these same corners at almost 60mph except on those occasions when one of these systems decides to pulse the outside front brake ("understeer") or the inside rear brake ("oversteer"). I.E. These modules on the "G" make her unpredictable.

That is why I'm very dissapointed in the VDC, TCS and ABS modules. Both with and without the VDC disabled via the "VDC Off" button I can not predict when my car is going to fight against me. Note, I said against me not for me. I have yet to get into a situation where any of these systems would have been helpful.

But with the fuse for the VDC pulled and all modules disabled, I can finally drive a predictable car. In my 35 years of driving, 25 without any of these systems, ABS only since 8/88, TCS since 9/02 and VDC since 01/03, I have yet to get into any kind of situation where any of these systems would have provided any help. I always learn the capabilities of my car. I learn the braking threshold. I learn the lateral adhesion under various conditions. I learn to read the signs she gives me when she's about to "understeer" or "oversteer". And I learn how to get her back under control if something unexpected happens such as accumulated detritus at the apex of a corner. So, when something gets out of hand, such as someone cutting me off and slamming on their brakes, I have always been able to drive my way out of the situation. If all I ever did was freeze up and lock my brakes, I would have been in an accident by now. (Ok, I've been in one accident. Doing 45mph on a blind curve I encountered 1/4" deep river of rain runoff. Absolutely no VDC, TCS or ABS would have prevented the accident because the entire car was floating. I manually pulsed the brakes while turning into the spin but nothing was going to stop her. When we got across the river of runoff and the tires regained traction, my car was at a 45 degree angle to the road and we went flying across a ditch and through a corn field. I contacted the SHP. He came, he looked, he did not give me a ticket.)

Teach people how to drive and they'll survive.

Teach people that their car protects them from mistakes they make and they will die when they drive beyond the capabilities of these systems to correct the situation or when one of these systems fails. (I'm a software programmer. I know what kind of mistakes programmers can make and the consequences of those mistakes. Regardless of what they say, electrical engineers also make programming errors. Which is why I'm glad that when they start launching "Pilotless" commercial airliners down the runway, I'll be retired. Of course when they let computers take over the driving of cars I hope I'm already dead.)

Its like that story about the RV that ran off of the road and into a tree. When asked what happened, the driver replied "I put her in cruise control and went to the bedroom to take a nap."

 

I couldn't agree with you more. I've done both.. panic braked straight into things, and instinctively corrected a skid before the adrenaline could kick in. Skill and experience are very useful. I plan on sending my kids to a performance defensive driving school before turning them loose on the roads, as Driver's Ed in this country is a joke. Kinda like saying, "Here's the power switch, keyboard, and mouse. Congratulations, you're an expert computer user."

Stability control systems are not a bad thing, though. I've had the one on my G35 kick in when it was truly needed. Now, given my experience, I would most likely have brought the car under control myself given a half second and a few more feet of lateral space... but even though my instinct can correct a skid before the adrenaline kicks in, the G35 corrected it before my brain could send nerve impulses to my hands and feet. Granted, it gets in the way when it's not wanted, and Infiniti's "off" position leaves room to be desired compared to other maker's off switches, but I'd rather have the systems on when I'm just commuting or the weather's not perfect. It's an extra margin of safety.

But you're right about there being no substitution for driver's skill. (As for the motor home, I'd say that's more a lack of common sense than skill. [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img])

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

The VDC, TCS and ABS need multiple modes of operation.
1) Protect my Grandmother (actually everyone else on/near the road).
2) Protect me and/or my family during inclement weather.
3) Let me have fun but keep me from wrapping myself around a tree.
4) Get out of my way, I'm learning the limitations of the car.

What we have are # 1 with VDC enabled and # 2 with VDC disabled.

As I said, with VDC disabled something still kicks and pulses the front outside brake during hard cornering. TCS flashes the "Slip" light but I don't know if it actually does anything like it does when VDC is enabled. And ABS is <font color=red>off</font color=red> in a panic stop.

Nobody can learn how to drive the "G" when the car is constantly fighting against you "in your best interest". (Man, how I hate someone thinking that they "know what's best" and need to "protect me from myself".)

Yes, I'd like to have the ABS turned on because it can pulse the brakes faster than I can and there are times when I'm boxed in by traffic and something happens to put me in a "panic stop" situation. But I don't want it to pluse the outside front wheel in a hard corner if the VDC is disabled.

But, since the VDC fights me two or three times each day, even when "disabled, and since the need for ABS is rare, I'm going to be driving with the VDC fuse pulled for some time. It will be just like all of the cars I've driving from 1968 - 1988 (although the ABS on my Bronco was rear wheels only and didn't help at all on snowy hills below 5mph while sliding toward a "T" intersection). First there was a '66 1200cc VW, a '69 302CID Fairlane, a '68 455CID 4bll Delta88, a '67 327CID 2bll Camaro Convertable, a '73 400CID 2bll Grand Am, a '78 2100cc Mitsubishi Colt, and a '84 T-Bird. Then I had a '88 Bronco rear ABS only, a '94 4.3L TownCar ABS only, a '96 4.3L TownCar ABS only, a '94 350CID Impala SS ABS only, a '00 357CID F150 ABS only, a '97 4.6L MarkVIII ABS and TCS and now a '03 3.5L G35 VDC/TCS/ABS. I'm not counting the 100+ thousands of miles driving pre '71 trucks for a living.

Ok, no more ranting. I've b*tched about this long enough and too many times. Pulling the plug on the VDC/TCS/ABS gives me the car that I want. There's no need to justify myself to others. Nothing I can say here will get Infiniti to reprogram the VDC/TCS/ABS to give me what I want.

 

ABS is supposed to remain on even with VDC off.

Anyway, you're not alone.. one of the common complaints about this car is the inability to turn VDC all-the-f'ing-way-off.

Incidentally, the pulsing of the brakes with "VDC Off" isn't the stability system. It's the "Brake LSD" system -- faking an LSD by braking the slipping wheel to put the power to the other side. This is the main thing that cannot be turned off (without pulling a fuse) and is probably what's giving you headaches. I don't know why it would pulse the front brakes, though -- of course, with the wonderfully detailled and descriptive owner's manual, there's no telling what the system is really doing at that point.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

I've got Cusco Sways on order. I'm hoping that the 73% increase in rear swaybar stiffness will cut down on the "lift" of the inside rear wheel. I'd say that about 50% of those times when I accelerate from a dead stop around a right hand turn or when I accelerate up a driveway that turns right and goes up a steep hill, the inside rear wheel starts spinning/squealing. People look at me like I'm some kind of idiot for "burning rubber". I guess they expect someone my age to not be driving like an 18 year old kid. They don't understand that the "burning rubber" is not deliberate. That's just the way it is with the "G". Too much power and too much body roll (and maybe too much throttle input [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]).

As far as pulsing on entry to a high speed corner, it could be the TCS doing the "Brake LSD" thing. I just didn't think of it as I think of the "Brake LSD" being an "acceleration" control system, not a cornering system. And its funny that it still does this with the VDC disabled. I say this because with the VDC disabled and launching from a dead stop on wet pavement, I can break both rear tires loose, shifting up through the gears in order to not hit the rev limiter, meanwhile balancing the "G", like a broom stick standing on end in my palm, in order to keep the rear end in line with the front. All this and no "Slip" light, throttle cut or "Brake LSD" from the TCS.

THERE I GO AGAIN. GOTTA SHUT UP NOW. JUST MAKING MYSELF HOT UNDER THE COLLAR!