E89 power steering issue.

Owdgit said:
Don't know if it's just delaying the inevitable or a battery anomaly but after going for a good ride and an engine restart the steering warning has gone and it seems to be ok.
As unlucky Alf says "it's probably just a matter of time "
Click to expand...


If you follow your signature I would suggest you drive it a few times in the next few days...

Battery failure causes all sorts of both permanent and transient failures..

In the world of computing you can never ever reboot a computer enough times to see if you can reset it..

With 30 ECU’ s on board an E89 and the amount of interdependence of sensors and ECU’ s it’s worth a try along with a new battery and battery registration..

Probably 85% of all errors related to battery failure do reset themselves..sometimes you need to clear the codes and then drive and repeat..

You can lookup your vin to see if you were an unlucky one with a batch of duff steering systems ...I suspect your car is in the relevant age range..
 
If it turns out you need to have the steering motor repaired (see previous thread) do not remove the rack just remove the motor from it this can be done from underneath. Axle stands will be high enough
 
Paul Morgan said:
If it turns out you need to have the steering motor repaired (see previous thread) do not remove the rack just remove the motor from it this can be done from underneath. Axle stands will be high enough
Click to expand...

Cheers Paul, that sounds like a much better option if it does die.
 
I can't believe that I'm actually writing this but there has been no reoccurrence of the warning light and stiff steering.
I've even scanned it and cleared all the errors successfully so it looks like it could possibly have been battery related. The date stamped on the negative terminal was 52/09 so more than likely the original battery.
Fingers crossed it is sorted and stays that way.
Never known a make or model so sensitive to a battery.
 
Owdgit said:
I can't believe that I'm actually writing this but there has been no reoccurrence of the warning light and stiff steering.
I've even scanned it and cleared all the errors successfully so it looks like it could possibly have been battery related. The date stamped on the negative terminal was 52/09 so more than likely the original battery.
Fingers crossed it is sorted and stays that way.
Never known a make or model so sensitive to a battery.
Click to expand...

You're in a long queue of disbelievers that are then enlightened..
 
Double bugger.
Came to use the Z4 after a week away with it on the ctek and the steering fault has returned.
Going to get this fixed and probably get shut of the money pit. (Could be a knee jerk reaction)
Its done nothing but cost money since I got it.
New maps, new tyres, salmon relays, new battery, Bluetooth adapter and software to register the pigging battery, serviced and mot, and now this and I've only done around 500 miles in it.
Really disappointed with the crap bmw quality, it's like what's going to go wrong each time I get behind the wheel. :headbang:
Probably just venting on here.
 
Is it worthwhile me taking some photos of the removal and replacement of the steering rack motor it may be of some help to others in the future?
 
Yes, I think that would be good idea. I failed to do it and should have done. Be aware that the screws that you will need to remove are made of aluminium so don’t over stress them. Also when you turn the tensioning ring to slacken the drive belt there is also an inner one that must turn as well which is difficult to see. Good luck
 
Thanks Paul, that's why I struggled to get the belt off then. I wasn't looking forward to getting it back on. Couldn't find any mention of the tensioning ring in the ecu testing video, just to rotate the ring to align the cutout with the gear on the motor. Is it behind that one or is that the one you mean?
 
Hi Owdgit,
Yes it's behind the front one. I think its fixed and not loose like the like the front one they both have to locate together with a dowel when turning. Mine was rather stiff to turn. Your right ECU do not mention it but they do it the easy way on a bench. Once you have both plates turned to getter and aligned the motor will slide out easily and will go back without difficulty.
Keep at it. Paul,
p.s. think of the money your saving.
 
Thanks Paul, I can't get over how rusty the 8mm undertray bolts are, I had to grind the heads off a few and how bmw bolts the steel v supports directly to the aluminium cross member, lots of corrosion on both of the dissimilar metals. I think I will be priming the mounting bolts and hammoriting the steel v supports and using zinc bolts on the undertray.
Not my idea of fun at 58 scrabbling around on my back correcting bmw's shoddy design.
 
Hi again,

All of those bolts on my Z4 came out fine and it was very clean under thee cover. I see you car is a bit older than mine so things may have had longer to rust and corrode. MY car is a 2013 with just 50k miles.
I am 70, so if I can do so can you, it'll be worth it in the end.

Paul.
 
Yes it's a bit older but has only done 36k miles, a one owner car but it did spend its life in sunny Scotland. It's just the bolts, v frame and aluminium cross member showing signs of corrosion and other than the undertray bolts the rest is fairly pristine.
Chris
 
Yes, it's with ECU TESTING already.
I just hope that they do find a problem and fix it otherwise it's back to the drawing board
 
Took the motor off Sunday afternoon.
It was collected Monday afternoon.
Plenty of updates on the process.
Delivered back this afternoon.
Just fitted it, cleared existing steering errors and now it seems to be working fine with no errors reported.
Thanks to Paul for the advice and ECU TESTING for the quick and professional turnaround.
I'll get around to doing a "How to " when it's not a dry day in the meantime I plan on getting out in it, lockdown allowing.
Really glad of the help and advice from this forum.
Chris
 
That’s great to hear Chris, I take it ECU found and cleared a fault. Have a good drive out and I’m sure you won’t hear from that problem again. P
 
Hi


I realised I never updated this. Just to let everyone know I used ECU testing they resolved the issue, I cannot recommend them enough!
 
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