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R56 Steering rack replacement

3K views 12 replies 2 participants last post by  George1 
#1 ·
My steering rack motor gave up so I replaced the whole rack with a second hand one. I'm now getting a DSC fault and from what I understand the EPS unit needs programmed to the car and the steering angle sensor needs reset. Has any of you done this before?

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#3 ·
I expect most kit that could code new modules or carry out brake bleeds might also re-initialise a steering angle sensor
 
#5 ·
OK, so I've cleared all the steering codes and there's nothing coming back in the EPS module. What I'm seeing is the steering angle sensor is at a max value and it doesn't move. You can clear the code but as soon as the torque sensor in the EPS module detects a torque change and it doesn't see any corresponding change in steering angle then the DSC fault comes back.

I can only assume I've somehow broken the steering angle sensor as I can't reset it.

Is the steering angle sensor in behind the steering wheel on all these cars?

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#6 ·
are you initialising it or just clearing a code?

pretty sure it's the contact spiral/switch assembly, haven't had to change one but do know the column/spiral has to be kept central during any rack work, or the tape can subsequently rotate more in one direction than the other which is where damage can occur, new ones are taped up usually,
 
#7 ·
The code is to do with the DSC but the steering angle being stuck at 1016 odd degrees is the cause of it. It doesn't matter if you turn the wheel, the angle in live data doesn't change. I suspect I have accidentally turned the wheel at some point when I was changing the rack. You can clear the code but initialising/resetting the sensor fails. Do you know where the steering angle sensor is located? I've been trying to find it on real OEM but I can't see it.

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#8 ·
as above I'm pretty sure it's part of the contact spiral/switch assembly
 
#9 ·
Cool. I don't suppose there's any problem with using a second hand one as long as it's been taped up straight when it was removed. I can't find any information on its location but I think you're right. It should be part of this thing:


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#10 ·
that's the thing, whether someone bothered or not....


could possibly find its mid-point I suspect
 
#11 ·
I took the slip ring assembly off the steering column last night and plugged it back in to the connectors so I could turn it gently by hand. I can go from lock to lock (about 5 turns before the ribbon cable goes tight) with no change in the steering angle reading on live data. I dismantled the whole thing and checked for any physical damage but there's nothing. It all looks perfect.

A second hand one was £50 on eBay so I'm going to try swapping it out to see if the problem persists.

As far as I understand, the steering angle sensor in the squib and the torque sensor in the steering rack don't talk to each other directly but they both speak to the ABS module. It's for this reason that I don't think changing the steering rack can stop the steering angle sensor from giving a reading. It's all very confusing, it can't be a coincidence but I'm at a loss as to how I've caused the fault.


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#12 ·
A bit of progress. I split the unit and tried it on the car turning it in 360 degree increments. You have to keep turning the ignition off and on after every adjustment as once the sensor is maxed out then it won't come back into range. Anyway, after a lot of faffing about and splitting the unit every time the ribbon went tight then this happened. No codes in the SZL module now. The only issue is the indicators don't work after the indicator stalk fell off. I'm a step closer at any rate!


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#13 · (Edited)
Success!! Back together with no DSC/ABS warning lights and functional indicators. I'm going to plug it into ISTA later to check that nothing weird is going on but it all looks good so far.

The only outstanding code is in the DME now but I'm not too worried. It's complaining that the alternator wasn't coded when I replaced it but it hasn't put a light on. I might have a look at it some time

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