EPS failing in specific circumstances

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:30 am

Hoping someone can shed some light on this for me, ive done plenty of reading on EPS issues but this one seems very specific...

The car can go full lock to the right, no problem. Going to the left, the EPS fails once it hits 1 1/4 turns.

This is repeated multiple times and it has never triggered turning right, only left. Same issue stationary or moving.

Now, I can't see this being a broken connection in the torque sensor because restarting the engine removes the problem. I also can't imagine it being sticking joints or similar, as surely the steering would pass the same point returning from right full lock.

The error code is 611C, the generic torque sensor that could be caused by multiple issues.

I can't imagine it being an issue with voltage as a very specific input triggers it. If the battery was bad, surely it would be random.

The only thing it occurs that I haven't yet tried is starting the engine with the wheel already turned left to see how it reacts.

Could it also be the steering angle sensor telling the torque sensor the wrong steering angle? And the EPS shutting down as it thinks it's going past where the lock should be? Then again, surely this would trigger some form of DTC or tyre pressure warning as the wheel speed wouldn't correlate to what the car expects if it believes straight isn't actually straight.

I'm lost, and very confused by this!

hopz121 · Post by **hopz121** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:48 am

The EPS is known to cause issues especially in the hot weather, I cant really help with your issue but I expect a recon steering rack would resolve it.

Vrooom · Post by **Vrooom** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:32 pm

At start i had similiar symptoms (also 611C). After restart it was OK. But over time it was worse. At the end it was just broken wires (well the sensor felt off after small shake). After resoldering it work again. No need to pay crazy money for new steering column.

markplant · Post by **markplant** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:34 pm

Try contacting andyfanshawe he's in chesterfield and has had some success with power steering issues, might be worth the trip over

Ducklakeview · Post by **Ducklakeview** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:28 pm

hopz121 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:48 am The EPS is known to cause issues especially in the hot weather, I cant really help with your issue but I expect a recon steering rack would resolve it.

The steering rack will be nothing to do with it, as it's actually a bog standard manual rack! The power assistance is provided by the electric motor on the steering shaft.

Mike

Ducklakeview · Post by **Ducklakeview** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 pm

Op, as mentioned, the hairspring on the eps do come away from the connector, and it can be intermittent, as turning the wheel can push it back into contact. What did you use to get the code, and is it a generic?

Mike

hopz121 · Post by **hopz121** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:51 am

Ducklakeview wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:28 pm
hopz121 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:48 am The EPS is known to cause issues especially in the hot weather, I cant really help with your issue but I expect a recon steering rack would resolve it.
The steering rack will be nothing to do with it, as it's actually a bog standard manual rack! The power assistance is provided by the electric motor on the steering shaft.

Mike

Didn't mean to say rack meant column.

My advice wasn't overly helpful to the OP anyway sorry for the poor advice/confusion.

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:06 am

Ducklakeview wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 pm Op, as mentioned, the hairspring on the eps do come away from the connector, and it can be intermittent, as turning the wheel can push it back into contact. What did you use to get the code, and is it a generic?

Mike

Pulled it off with Carly, I do have a Bcables silver cable to hook up to INPA etc, but can't seem to get them working on my laptop... seems it doesn't recognise the USB connection when trying to install!

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:09 am

I'm probably going to take the column out over the bank holiday weekend, as I have the Friday off too, and strip it down. Hopefully that should get me some way to sorting it, and if not then I'd be half tempted to sack off the EPS and do a hydraulic conversion!

Ducklakeview · Post by **Ducklakeview** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:01 am

mjennings23 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:06 am
Ducklakeview wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 pm Op, as mentioned, the hairspring on the eps do come away from the connector, and it can be intermittent, as turning the wheel can push it back into contact. What did you use to get the code, and is it a generic?

Mike
Pulled it off with Carly, I do have a Bcables silver cable to hook up to INPA etc, but can't seem to get them working on my laptop... seems it doesn't recognise the USB connection when trying to install!

Have you changed the COM port to COM1? That's what it needs. Give me a bell if you need help setting it up, you have my No.

Mike

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:48 am

Ducklakeview wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:01 am
mjennings23 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:06 am
Ducklakeview wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 pm Op, as mentioned, the hairspring on the eps do come away from the connector, and it can be intermittent, as turning the wheel can push it back into contact. What did you use to get the code, and is it a generic?

Mike
Pulled it off with Carly, I do have a Bcables silver cable to hook up to INPA etc, but can't seem to get them working on my laptop... seems it doesn't recognise the USB connection when trying to install!
Have you changed the COM port to COM1? That's what it needs. Give me a bell if you need help setting it up, you have my No.

Mike

Isn't giving me the option in the installer, it doesn't seem to be recognising the USB connector.

Now, I am running it on a virtual machine running W10 as a mac was the only laptop I had at home, so thinking I should dump that and install it as a new partition because that might be causing issues.

Might also be better to use an earlier version of windows?

Ducklakeview · Post by **Ducklakeview** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:52 am

Mine all works fine with Win 10 on the Toughbook.

Mike

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 12:33 pm

Good to know, I'll try installing it on a separate partition tonight or tomorrow then, perhaps it's just having issues with the USB connection. As I said the cable works fine with Carly so it has to be a software issue.

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 12:39 pm

Something has just occurred to me, in all cases I've read of EPS failure, it also means the sport button stops working as it's tied into the power steering motor too.

Now, maybe I'm just clutching at straws hoping this is a smaller issue than it seems, but mine still works fine. Obviously when the EPS fails it has no effect on the steering, but the system still works in regard to the throttle.

Does this actually mean anything? Or am I just being hopeful?

-banned- · Post by **-banned-** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:43 pm

Sounds lie steering angle senor need recalibrating or replace it ,in some cases wheels alignment sorts the problem out . Reading can be cheeked with inpa, should 0 degrees when going straight .

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