[brianl703]

Let me describe how traction control works:

Without traction control, in the rain/snow (or even in the dry), if I give it too much gas, the wheels will just spin and I will go nowhere.

With traction control, if I give the it too much gas, the computer will detect that the wheels are spinning and cut back on the throttle with a device connected in-line with the throttle cable to the throttle plate.

The device works by adding slack to the throttle cable, thereby reducing the
amount of throttle opening, which has the same effect as taking one's foot off the gas pedal.

In addition to that, if the traction loss occurs at slower speeds(under 15MPH I think), the computer will also use the ABS pump to apply the brake to whichever wheel is slipping, transferring power to the other wheel. It can apply the brakes only to the wheel that is slipping. It works kind of like a limited slip differential.

It's the same reason that pulling up the parking brake on a rear-wheel drive car while the rear wheel is spinning sometimes works to get you unstuck.

My experimentation has shown that if I floor the gas pedal in the rain, the wheels will slip for a split second, then stop slipping as the traction control takes over.

In fact, if I want to be childish and peel out/screech the tires, I have to turn the traction control off..

[Ligeia]

This is all way too much detailed information for me, but as I was stirring the spaghetti sauce, the term "Posi-traction" came to mind. That's what Chrysler called it then.