I've long been tired of holding down the ESC button for 10+ seconds every time I start the car... but I want to be in charge of the brakes and throttle when going through turns. When ESC kicks in during a hard jaunt, it can be pretty unsettling to how you were anticipating the car would pitch through the turn your in the middle of. When you've got ESC off, I _think_ you're also in competition mode.

After spending about $20 at Scrap Shack, and cobbling together a 555 IC-based timer circuit, I realized I probably could have just bought a latching relay to take care of my needs. So... I bought one. The Directed Electronics 528T pulse timer.


Installation and use is pretty straightforward. Essentially this box is going to "push the button" for you, for 10-12 seconds every time you start the car. You will still have full control over the setting by using the factory button manually.

Sorry... I didn't have a camera handy, so just pretend there are pictures.

On the HHR SS, the wires you're looking for are the from the harness that plugs into the ESC switch in the center console. This harness has 3 wires. You are interested in the blue one and the black one. For our purposes, it doesn't matter which does what. We're just going to short them closed for 10-12 seconds, thus mimicking the button being pressed by you.

On the DEI 528T, you're going to use the "30" and "87" circuit. If you are familar with relays, you know that these are normally open until the coil is energized, at which point they close.

1. Dovetail the brown wire into either the factory harness's blue or black wire. Again, it doesn't matter in this case.
2. Next, dovetail the yellow wire into the blue or black (the one you didn't use in the previous step).
3. I recommend you strip and solder, and use heat shrink. It's just the most solid way to do this kind of work. However, quality crimp connectors will work. Please DO NOT use "vampire taps" or "Scotch locks." They're crap.
4. You won't use the orange wire, but you should tape off the end... it represents 87a on the relay, and so it normally closed against 30, which means it's a live wire when the 528T is NOT triggered).
5. Leave the small gauge blue loop intact. This is only cut open to change the behavior of the trigger scenario, and we want the one it uses with the loop intact).
6. Black ground wire and black/white "trigger" wire need to both go to a quality ground. Don't assume a wire in the harness is ground just because your meter says so. Check the wire with the lights on/off, doors open/closed, key on/off. Some wires are pulled to ground only under certain conditions, and lose ground later. That's not a quality ground. Your best bet is to use a ring terminal (solder or crimp... you know my preference) that screws or bolts under the dash to some of the metal framing structure. Since you're probably wondering why we grounded the trigger... we're actually using the red 12v+ wire to trigger this relay. And so, without further adieu...
7. Red wire needs to go to a KEY ON 12v+ power source. I'm going to let you find one under your dash. I'm still looking for a good one, but I may just pull a wire from the fuse box under the hood. DO NOT use the keyed 12v+ wire in the radio harness unless you're willing to live with a small side effect of how the radio behaves after the key is off-- that is, the radio stays on for up to 15 minutes, or until you open the door. A nice feature, but for us, it means the 528T is going to be confused if you turn off the car (thus turning off ESC) but don't open the door before you turn the car on again. It's not going to "hold down the button" for the ESC... because the relay didn't get reset. The cure is to open the door, close the door, then turn on the key. However... I think you should just use a less tricky 12v+ keyed source.

The DEI 528T is available from Crotchfield for about $25 + shipping, or you can get them for quite a bit less on the fleabay. Note: when you do the install, you'll have to adjust a small varister to get the timing right. So don't cram it all under the dash before you get it dialed in. I found that turning the varister all the way to the left, then backing it off about 10° was good for 12 seconds. Varistors are sensitive devices. Use a small jewelers-type screwdriver, preferrably plastic. Be gentle. You're not torquing a head stud here.

Have fun.




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I admire your ingenuity, it's really quite impressive :)

I don't mind holding down the traction control button for 10 seconds after I start the car though, if I plan on driving aggressively - it's all part of the ritual and really not a big inconvenience

 

I don't think I quite follow, Pressing the ESC twice engages Comp Mode, once turns the whole thing off, holding it down for 10 seconds does what exactly?

 

Holding it down for 10 seconds completely disables traction control and stability control. Just pressing it once disables traction control but not stability control, and stability control can cut power in some pretty benign situations (like accelerating hard around a very slight corner) so it's nice to be able to turn it off.

 

Amen. I've got a nice bit of switchbacks as I cross a "mountain" on my daily commute. When I'm eager to let off some steam, I can play havoc on those curves. If ESC is on, that thing fights me every inch of the way... IMO, it actually CAUSES danger because it's fighting the wheel and pitching the whole car around in ways that an experienced driver isn't expecting. Maybe the underlying principle in the design isn't to actually CONTROL stability, but to scare the driver into slowing down Personally, I like a little road feedback in my wheel and pedal so I can make my own judgement about how close I am to the edge.

 

Thank-you, I tried the ESC today..... Wish I knew about this earlier. Thanks

 

ditto! Was that in the manual that I should read :) Now can I hit it once then hit it for 10 secs to get everything off yet still get comp mode? I like the idea of it doing it by itself, but I would still love to make sure comp mode is on.