I would guess you have a defective ASC control unit. When you get the warning light on the dash by pressing the ASC toggle, the system should be deactivated.
Hi, its Jim again. When I bought my 850 I noticed the ASC+T worked all the time, even when I swithed it off. On take off the light above the speedo would flicker and engine power dropped, this happened on and off 2 or 3 times until the car stopped wheelspinning. This slowed the car down heaps on take off. The owners manual said ASC+T does not work when switched off, but reccomended the owner leaves it on. Weird! Anyway, I was wondering if the USA models are like this? What about models that only have ASC? When I first did engine mods to my car,I had the 3.91 gears fitted with no lsd. When I nailed it off the lights, the traction control bogged the engine down heaps and I was losing probably a second or more on my 0-60(mph) time. I asked a bmw dealer about it, they didnt know. I put the lsd in together with softer compound tyres and the problem went away(only because it couldnt break traction). The car now takes off with full power.(big difference) The only explenation I can think of is that BMW didnt want 850 owners to be going sideways all over the road (mainly in the wet) so they rigged the ASCT so it would work all the time.What is the switch for? Mine only switches the light on the dash on and off!! Can anyone explain any of this to me, or is it only the australian delivered models that are like this?