Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

i think it is good - just not for sure. cleared the codes and it showed no dtc present.
first though i jacked up the front so that the tires were off the ground; then i used forscan.
after that i got the laptop and associated stuff (there is a lot with my rigg-up) out of the way and of course the key was off.
there is a reset of the ps control module - from the internet but i dont know if it is valid - cant hurt. put the steering wheel straight ahead
i had already done that
Turn the key to on. The eps indicator comes on for 6 seconds; within 4 seconds while the indicator is On, turn the steering wheel 45 degress to the
left and hold it until the eps indicator goes off - well it wont be very long since it is only On for 6 seconds. turned the key off and bought some of the stuff
inside. Then i disconnected the negative battery cable for 5 minutes of so (i know one only needs to do it 10 seconds (i think)). reconnected the battery.
few minutes later i did the relearn
procedure for the 09 which is one of the simpliest ones there is: gently push all the way down on the brake pedal and gently let it come back up.
when i did the reset procedure, i noticed that the wrench light was NOT on.
i am going to leave it jacked up and when i get back from work tomorrow evening, i am going to start it.
If the wrench light is NOT on - it is OK (i hope)

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

So you didn't replace the sensor? It'd be great if it keeps working. Let us know and good luck!

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

at the final of this - SO happy;
took it off the blocks and started it and there was no wrench light;
pulled up a little - ps is good. left it idle and drove around the block - Perfect power steering.
had i had forscan there may not even have been a post.
a FAIL-SAFE system designed by ford engineers (I guess) - if not then it was a fluke and i am SURE it was not that.
they have it designed that if you are sliding on ice (or snow) and turn whereby the turning does not result in the corresponding amount of turning, and then
go off the ice and it jolts the steering quickly back to where it should be - then the angle sensor comes into play and it recognizes that AND then kicks it off of power
steering to save the electric motor gears from being damaged (and thus the FAIL-SAFE system worked). ALL of this is IMHO.
cannot believe there would not be a post on this forum that covers this.
ALL i did was erase the codes using forscan (i think i have written what all i did (dont want to go out of this and look it up).
someone did say to do that on one of the replies to one of Brian youtube videos.

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

That's really awesome. It looks like there's some logic/intelligence running inside the power steering control module that can turn it off under certain adverse conditions even though nothing else is really "wrong" - which is great to know. The reset procedure + Forscan worked! You've got close to the best possible outcome there. Please let us know how it goes after this and congratulations! Lots of time/money/potential heartache was saved.

Not bad for a "country boy!" ;)

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

Oh, I can. That's a very rare thing to happen, very infrequent. I'm glad you documented it, because it shows the amount of thinking that actually went into the logic that governs the electric power steering. Very cool that you fixed it with the reset procedure and also very cool from a theoretical point of view that it's in there in the first place.

There is always a lot of programming logic that goes into critical systems like this and because we do not have access to the engineer's thinking and the corresponding logic, we find these things out when they occur. This was like one of those episodes of The Saint. Now go out and find some company and have a martini!

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

I tend to agree. Our 2010 Hippo steering column sensor warning locked up the vehicle. Had it towed to an independent who quickly diagnosed it. Resetting the code allowed driving the vehicle but i think its a matter of when, not if you (or my wife) will be stranded. I had it replaced since having the vehicle towed again to my shade tree at my expense made a DIY not worth the bother. Its related to the previous recall that Ford deftly managed to control their costs. Initially the whole column required replacement which would have ruined Ford so the software "fix" !!!???### saved Ford's bacon. To their credit, they now offer the rather inexpensive torque sensor as a separate part and the labour hrs or DIY time is low. Offering the torque sensor part separately at low cost is the defacto recall that never happened. IMHO, if you are getting the trouble code, replace the sensor as preventative maintenance. Our cost including diagnostic was about CAD$900 including 13% HST. If your vehicle has not been done and you are keeping the vehicle, have it replaced proactively or at least buy the part and leave it in the car for a convenient repair, especially if you have auto club with long range coverage. If all parts that should have been recalled in vehicles were recalled, we would be paying a lot more for a new or used vehicle.The ultra low cost of used vehicles only reflects that they are not built to last and consumers don't want to pay for a lasting vehicle for a plethora of good and not so good reasons.

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

I haven't had the problem but I've bought a sensor as a hedge. I don't intend to collect a lot of spare parts for this car, but I don't care who you are: You're not going far without steering it! Lol.

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

Hello fglaustin,

a month ago, when doing a U-Turn quicker than I should have, my Power Steering went off. I am guessing it was the same fail-safe system that kicked it, so reseting it would be all I need!

I am not sure about the procedure you used. I found the FORScan software but I'm not sure what features I need. If all I need is to reset DTC errors, then the android app would work. But if I need to do "Configuration and Programming", then only the Windows version with Extended License would work.

Please share the steps or the link/video you used. I did read through the entire thread but couldn't understand the steps, especially the reset and the 45 degree part :)

Thank you
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gre...be90e601a0.png

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

Check the fuse under the hood. Mine was blown.

Re: Sudden loss of Power Steering
 

The flash and escape from the recall would have been negotiated. In the end, this is such a big problem, it saved Ford from huge losses on the Escape program. Not fun for stuck owners but at least they are still selling Escapes.