It is not a secret that automotive manufacturers are under the gun these days to produce their vehicles more fuel efficient. One way they are reaching higher kilometres per litre is by eliminating accessory loads from the car’s engine. A big contributor to this accessory load is a hydraulic power steering pump.
Electrical power steering (EPS), is a result of eliminating the power steering pump and has radically changed the way we diagnose and repair power steering system. These systems first came on production with the Suzuki Cervo in 1988 and have since made their way into many other production vehicles across all automotive manufacturers. Nevertheless these systems have been around for more than 20 years it is important that we know how the system works in order to fix them right.
An electric control unit (ECU), is like a brain, it senses many different electric power steering values and alerts a driver if something is functioning incorrectly. When the ECU is defective, the power steering system stops running normally and starts having issues with handling. Although ECU problems come in many forms.
Further we will look at how to diagnose VW electric power steering rack. EPS Controller MS561 is here to help!
To diagnose and repair ECU, EPS Controller MS561 and ODIS engineering diagnostic scanner are used. It means that the operations are not conducted in a car.
Before diagnostics and repair of the control units, it is strongly recommended to take into account the differences in the software and electronic arrangement of the ECU. Take into account that electronic control units (ECUs) part numbers differ and their software version as well. These differences should be taken into account while the ECU firmware flashing.
Firstly, the connected ECU is tested for existence of errors. All errors are divided into 3 groups:
Errors that do not interfere with the ECU’s operation. There is no visual defection in operation of the EPS. These errors appear if there are no messages via the CAN bus or under short irregular cases.
Errors that partly or entirely interfere with operation of the EPS. Such errors will be observed both in the car and laboratory environment. The reason is an open circuit in connection of the G269 sensor or its total failure.
Errors occurring as a result of a failed / wrong ECU firmware flashing. They appear in consequence of abnormal operation at the software level. It is not always possible to eliminate the problem by subsequent firmware flashing, especially, if the firmware file is selected incorrectly.
Most often, the signalize of a physical failure inside the ECU. In consequence of dirt or moisture ingress, bare terminals / buses provoke an internal short circuit to the body. The other common reason is an open circuit of the connecting jumpers inside of the unit. These errors do not always deleted with the function "delete errors", even after removal of the failure cause. In this regard, the ECU firmware flashing is needed.
Thus, to get the job done and satisfy a customer, the proper repair is obligatory. Want to know how? Check the full diagnostic process of VW electric power steering.
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