Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

> How about i drive from austin to chicago and track down Makuloco

Around this time I would think of doing the same thing but I know it's horribly impractical. Lol.

BSG Automotive. Brian.

http://bsgautomotive.com/contact

You might try calling or emailing him anyway, he might answer! He's a pretty good guy. I'd like to know what he thinks.

Honestly, at this point I really think your code reader is not talking to the PSCM. I do not think the ABS controller will tell it *anything* about the steering system. These are separate modules, they have their own DTCs, and I don't think you're getting the full story. That's a guess, but I think you're going to have to get FORScan.

I went to that link. I plugged in the year, make and model. Here is what it says it covers: Notice on the first one, with just 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid plugged in, all it says is: "Check Engine".
Then if I call it a 2009 Ford Escape and select the engine as the 2.5L/Hybrid powerplant you get a lot more features but notice: STEERING ANGLE RESET is GREYED OUT.

I do not think that scanner can talk to the EPAS/PSCM system!

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gre...d2145a1223.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gre...2b7ff6dfd2.jpg

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

yes - chiTown is a far away place
Brian - TY
you were right - cannot read it with that; went back and used the 5210 again and the battery fault was not there;
and no reading of the wrench light.
so - onward tomorrow to somewhere ??

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

keep searching:
found this: https://www.bluedriver.com/code-lookup
ran b2278 and just what Brain said it was.
so "b" is a body code
and found this::

The diagnostic codes for check engine lights are divided into 4 categories, which are:

• Powertrain (P)
• Body (B)
• Chassis (C)
• Network Communications (U)

These codes are divided further into 2 main groups, which are:

• Enhanced or specific (1 comes as the 2nd digit)
• Generic or global (0 comes as the 2nd digit)

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

That's the torque sensor code! :( It's very specific. Unless you find something else, and after you check all the connectors. Even though you didn't get the wobble, apparently the PSCM just proceeded to shut down the assist completely. I think your torque sensor went AWOL. I'm sorry. :(. It's really not that terrible a job, it just takes some time and care.

A

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

thanxs so much for responding (will get to your tire post little later today) but i went to ford recall page and inputed my VIN - so NO recall for me. there is a utube video and the guy talks about the different JOBS at the KC plant. i have a kc sticker in the lower right hand corner of the windshield, and JOB 1 is the only recall (a ford dealer is only a couple of miles away - may go there just to be sure).
i found the nhtsa memo and here is the deal:
if B1342 or B2277 - replace steering column assembly
if B2278 - replace torque sensor
ALL OTHER dtc "B" codes - reprogram the pscm and the instrument cluster (IC) module.
as of right now - i do NOT know what code i have.

would like to have a handheld that reads these (i do have contacts so i may go that route), or i may
start the ball rolling to get FORSCAN and i can read it myself (I did want to turn off the daytime running lights so i need FORSCAN anyway.

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

Yeah. You really have to get the codes out of the car to figure out where you stand.

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

See, it's like FTMakuloko said: just flashing the module doesn't cure the problem. All it does is:

"The software updates may extend the time steering assist is maintained. In addition, the update provides increased driver awareness by sounding a chime and displaying the wrench light or warning in the message center when a fault is detected."

It just lets you drive farther on a bad sensor and rings a bell. But the sensor is still bad. That's what he talks about at the beginning of the video. Flashing the module is easy and it gets Ford off the hook from the recall.

"Any subsequent loss of assist repairs experienced after completion of module reprogramming are not covered by this recall." So on some of these cars, they just flashed the module, sent the customer on their way for minimal $$$ and then a little later on the customer is on their own paying to do the sensor. :angry:

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

i wonder if those dealers flash the module EVEN though they have one of those 3 codes, and are able to get it to work.
and send the customer on his way. Any return they then can put the burden on the customer. (RECALL has been done, then) hummmm??
someone responding in Makuloco's youtube message board seems to imply that.

had an error message in sending an email to acutron last night and thus did not get that done; hard to believe they do not have a
handheld to read a "B" code? I am sure that the laptop style that costs thousand(s) can do it.

will try to get to the dealer tomorrow (best next step). already got a couple of panels off (will just leave them off). already resigned to do the worse;
just dog-gone tricky to do.

ONE more trick to consider.
S Keith in one of his post tells about this: Take off both battery cable and (Make sure they do not touch the battery) use a jumper and jump the positive
and negative for 10 minutes. He says that this resets all the modules.
NEED expert opinion !!

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

I'd be SHOCKED! Just SHOCKED! if one Ford dealership or another out of the multitudes ever did something like that to save some money. ;)


Hmmm. Websites that can't handle email messages doesn't sound good. Maybe it's nothing, maybe they're not maintaining their website and they're about to go out of business. I'm not surprised by the niche-marketing strategy of people selling OBD scanners, though. A billion products, no two of which do the same thing, and no one of which does everything you want, except at the very highest price points. This is how companies survive. Or less charitably, what did W.C. Fields once say about suckers being born every minute? (I certainly don't mean to disparage you; I'm in the same boat most of the time, and sometimes it looks like that's how these companies make and market their products). Have you ever seen the niche marketing around digital cameras, for instance? Lol. I know FORScan sounds like a pain but it will probably do everything you need.

Sounds like a plan. If they're nice people maybe they'll put one of their machines on it and tell you what the news really is. I really do miss the days when you could show up at the local service station with a six-pack of cold ones and say: "Hey, could you look at this for a minute?" and the guy would smile, say: "Sure, come back in an hour on my lunch break."

I don't doubt SKeith. Maybe then, though, you have to re-learn the fuel trim at the very least (on Pg. 299 of my manual). And if the codes get cleared, but something is still wrong, it will just throw the codes again. It might get you some miles down the road before it does, though. I've never tried it but thanks for the tip.

Good luck! You're going to figure this out and get it fixed. You're not damaging anything, it's just a pain in the rear to drive the car with no steering assist. If you wind up having to do the sensor yourself, I think FTM's video does about the best job of showing how. Probably the hardest part is getting the front end off the ground and on jackstands, and then the rest is tedious, time-consuming and nerve-wracking because of that 5 degree window of tolerance on the sensor. In all these things just take your time.

And of course, please let us know what happens. I'm fascinated at this point, as you might be able to discern.