Pulled up the back alley to my driveway a few mins ago and thought I'd try testing the ASR in the light snow dusting. The light was OFF so the ASR was operating supposedly, but I booted it and the wheels span quite a lot with no apparent intervention from the ASR. The light on the dash didn't even flash.

I turned ASR off and back on again to make sure it responded with the light on the dash which it did so the LED hasn't gone.

Any ideas how to provoke the ASR into action? If it's deffo dead then it's yet another warranty job alongside the duff ARB links, mooing brakes and rusty bootlid.

Was the light flashing on / off on the dash when you booted it.

The light on the dash didn't even flash.

No.

if the wheels were spinning the light should be flashing away merrily.

if the wheels were spinning the light should be flashing away merrily.

agreed, easy to set off in the snow, quite good at keeping your traction, give it a few seconds to kick in though, it will allow some wheelspin ........

Yeah, the wheels were going round but nothing was happening on the dash.

I didn't keep the spin up for long before easing off the throttle but I'd have thought it'd have kicked in quite early on in order to get the car rolling?

well you need a bit of wheelspin bad snow to start moving, the ASR isn't intant, if its hard acceleration on a wet roundabout and power understeer, I can catch it way before the ASR does, but I will kick in after a few seconds

I see. This is the 1st car I've had with it fitted so perhaps I'm expecting it to be a bit more premature than it actually is.

I'll try letting the spin continue for a few seconds next time to see what that does.

Doesn't the light come on when the ASR is about to give up? When I've noticed it you could feel it braking the wheels to lock the diff. Get the feeling that it does more than you think pulling out of yet roundabouts etc. Remember that it's not ESP though...

all ASR does is reduce power to the driven wheels..... (so it will help understeer off a roundabout, but not oversteer, as you say it's not ESP! lol..) the light stays off when the system is turned on, and flashes when its in 'operation' reducing the power, if it's on all the time, you've pressed the switch (or there's a problem) and the system is de-activated.....