Flat battery now steering issues...NO MORE

[kis]

Could be Woodworm

Took me a second, then gave me a chuckle!

[firebobby]

So no show from the auto electrician, Any way the steering came back to life the other night, after a 50 mile drive out and the sports button lit up and all seemed fine. Next day EPS light back on and heavy steering, no sports button. So now I'm looking at going down the ECU route. I was interested in the BMW recall and did a bit of scouring of the net.
I found this from 2012 https://suffolktradingstandards.wordpre ... ng-recall/
which looks like a recall for the early Z4, any thoughts on this.

[Behr]

If you ring a dealer then they should be able to tell you if there’s an outstanding recall on your VIN.

I do dread this EPS system. Not only is this a failure that I dread happening but the system itself (IMO) is the worst part of the car in terms of driving pleasure and feedback. If I had the time then I’d definitely be looking at a hydraulic conversion.

In fact if Mike at the Zed Shed started offering this as a service then I might well be his first customer.

Back when I put an S50B30 into my E30 Touring, the best upgrade for the E30 steering was to drop in a rack from an E46 Club Sport or M3. I recall it was a 3 or 3.25 turn lock-to-lock rack. I’m wondering if the same rack wouldn’t go into the Zed. Anyway, I digress. Good luck with sorting this and please do let us know the outcome.

[MACK]

So no show from the auto electrician, Any way the steering came back to life the other night, after a 50 mile drive out and the sports button lit up and all seemed fine. Next day EPS light back on and heavy steering, no sports button. So now I'm looking at going down the ECU route. I was interested in the BMW recall and did a bit of scouring of the net.
I found this from 2012 https://suffolktradingstandards.wordpre ... ng-recall/
which looks like a recall for the early Z4, any thoughts on this.

This is the sort thing that was happening on mine when the battery was on its last legs. New battery and it's been fine for the 2 and bit years since. The fact that after 50 Miles of driving everything came back to life could indicate it's a battery/charge issue. Have you actually tested the battery? Might be worth trying a new one etc before going any further.

[Ducklakeview]

.

In fact if Mike at the Zed Shed started offering this as a service then I might well be his first customer.

Funny you should mention this, having been asked by a couple of people it's currently on my to do list!

Mike

[firebobby]

So no show from the auto electrician, Any way the steering came back to life the other night, after a 50 mile drive out and the sports button lit up and all seemed fine. Next day EPS light back on and heavy steering, no sports button. So now I'm looking at going down the ECU route. I was interested in the BMW recall and did a bit of scouring of the net.
I found this from 2012 https://suffolktradingstandards.wordpre ... ng-recall/
which looks like a recall for the early Z4, any thoughts on this.

This is the sort thing that was happening on mine when the battery was on its last legs. New battery and it's been fine for the 2 and bit years since. The fact that after 50 Miles of driving everything came back to life could indicate it's a battery/charge issue. Have you actually tested the battery? Might be worth trying a new one etc before going any further.

Hi Mack, yes I checked the battery with bladeowners tester and I've bought my own now. I get 12.6v when the car has been sitting for a day or so and 14.1 when started and running. From what I have read, this is OK. I'm going to call BMW, so will let you know how I get on.

[firebobby]

OK, so BMW said they will fit a brand new EPS system free of charge, as long as I don't go to the papers with my story. Told them to stick their offer...







Not really, their not interested. Had the car checked by an indi in the end and he confirmed what bladeowner found the other week, the EPS is not communicating. So I went digging under the dash and got this bad boy out. Bloody tight but it came out with the column in situ.

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Thank you to the forum members who replied to my questions on PM, now off to ECU testing and hopefully I will have a working power steering.

[Scooba_Steve]

Good effort, hope they sort it for you

[MACK]

Good luck with it, hopefully they should be able to sort it. I guess if you wanted to you could drive the zed again with that motor out of the system, albeit with old school non power steering!

[firebobby]

Good luck with it, hopefully they should be able to sort it. I guess if you wanted to you could drive the zed again with that motor out of the system, albeit with old school non power steering!

I was wondering about that, would it not give me more lights on as there is a part missing from the car, these cars don't like electrical tampering. Also, I read that you should lock the steering straight ahead so things stay in line. Think I will leave it alone until it's back.

[firebobby]

So looking at ECUtesting and found this on ebay, same name and logo, but different addresses.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4-Elect ... 1438.l2649

http://www.ecutesting.com/common-faults ... ng-problem
Ebay is £300 or less and the other is £300 + vat

[bladeowner]

Company info is the same though Fred -http://www.ecutesting.com/company_info.html

[firebobby]

Company info is the same though Fred -http://www.ecutesting.com/company_info.html

I know Dave, I'm a doughnut

[MACK]

Company info is the same though Fred -http://www.ecutesting.com/company_info.html

I know Dave, I'm a doughnut

BBA Reman used to pull the same trick on ebay (dont use them anymore so they may still do.) higher price on their website, cheaper on Ebay.

Good luck with it, hopefully they should be able to sort it. I guess if you wanted to you could drive the zed again with that motor out of the system, albeit with old school non power steering!

I was wondering about that, would it not give me more lights on as there is a part missing from the car, these cars don't like electrical tampering. Also, I read that you should lock the steering straight ahead so things stay in line. Think I will leave it alone until it's back.

It might be worth just leaving it to be on the safe side. that said the folks that have done the conversion to hydraulic steering are basically driving around with the same column setup as you currently have. They seem to get on fine, although they all seem to still have the dash lights on. I dont recall anyone ever being able to get rid of them/code them out and do wonder if this effects the stability control systems etc.

[firebobby]

Just posted it to ecu testing, will let you know how it goes