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Hicas Locked But Still Having Steering Issues

Munkyb0y
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Munkyb0y Grand Master

Munkyb0y

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

what is this plug?

the line under it runs to the steering rack.

post-a278867-1.jpg

wider view

post-29392-1270340266_thumb.jpg

i unplugged it to check the contacts were clean, and found it was wet in there.

Edited by Munkyb0y
SiR_RB Grand Master

SiR_RB

Posted
Posted

ok so found another problem with my hicas..

i went to do a parallel reverse park and as i locked the steering right and left it felt tight and as i got the car moving the hicas light came on and the front torque meter put power to the front wheels.

if im stopped and lock the steering full right(or left) it doesnt seem to go full lock until i get the car rolling abit and the bloody hicas light comes on and so does front torque

what the hell is it !! is there some sort of solenoid that could be faulty?

cos even when im at idle at lights the hicas light will still flash on and off, even though the car isnt moving.....the hicas light still flashes on and off when the attesa pump come on (soon as the attesa pump primes, the hicas light comes on, when it finishes which is only like 1.5seconds, the hicas light goes off)

any ideas?????????????

GTR_26 Collaborator

GTR_26

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

Not sure if this helps, but when I had my R32 GTR, I broke a couple of speedo cables. When the speedo wasn't working steering started off light, then got heavy. Not sure if R33 uses speedo cables? But R32(atleast my 1990 model) does. Maybe your cable is getting worn and its having issues reading the speed?

Long shot I know, but worth a shot(atleast for SiR_RB)

Cheers, James

MBS206 Grand Master

MBS206

Posted
Posted
ok so found another problem with my hicas..

i went to do a parallel reverse park and as i locked the steering right and left it felt tight and as i got the car moving the hicas light came on and the front torque meter put power to the front wheels.

if im stopped and lock the steering full right(or left) it doesnt seem to go full lock until i get the car rolling abit and the bloody hicas light comes on and so does front torque

what the hell is it !! is there some sort of solenoid that could be faulty?

cos even when im at idle at lights the hicas light will still flash on and off, even though the car isnt moving.....the hicas light still flashes on and off when the attesa pump come on (soon as the attesa pump primes, the hicas light comes on, when it finishes which is only like 1.5seconds, the hicas light goes off)

any ideas?????????????

Check your attessa and power steering fluid levels.

Munky, as to that sensor I think and only THINK it's the pressure sensor. But don't quote me... I don't have my car here to check

85URK Grand Master

85URK

Posted
Posted

i recently removed my rack from my R33 gtr, i noticed that plug was attched to the steering rack, i had to unplug to remove the rack. isnt it attched to the steering angle sensor on the rack its self? it might read how much pressure is flowing via the power steering fluid when u turn, and relay that back to the ecu which then tells other sensors such as hicas when to operate.

So if u were turning at speed the pressure would rise in the power steering fluid as it pumps, and then the sensor would pick it up and tell the ecu which tells hicas to turn to assist steering angle.

Thats just what i think would happen with these sensors, and im sure they dont last for ever and there for will fail eventually. we need to find out a way to test the sensors on the vehicles and then also where to get replacements from?

If anybody knows this info, im sure it would help out alot of people. Just so we can illiminate another problem with the hicas/steering etc.

Munkyb0y Grand Master

Munkyb0y

Posted
  • Author
Posted

the steering angle sensor (related to hicas) isnt on the rack, its behind the steering wheel.

but this does look like a pressure sensor. and if that pressure reading is used to adjust power steer assist, then it might be one of the causes.

all i know is since i cleaned that plug out, my steering has been working fine. it might well be a coincidence, dunno.

85URK Grand Master

85URK

Posted
Posted

I was talking about the solenoid on the power steering rack in the front end, it has some kind of a solenoid looking thing on it i had to unplug before removing the rack out to send of for reco.

i thought the photo of your plug u were showing was in the engine bay down underneath area, have u followed to plug to see where it goes?

i might be talking about a different plug altogether.

This link shows the picture of the solenoid i had to unplug before removal

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=2968273

Munkyb0y Grand Master

Munkyb0y

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

the one i have circled i the pics above. yeah i followed it. it connects to the steering rack.

this is the one i'm talking about

post-29392-1270797275_thumb.jpg

this is where it connects

post-29392-1270797321_thumb.jpg

must be a pressure sensor for the p/s fluid.

what i dont know is if that pressure reading is fed back to the hicas ecu, or somewhere, and used to determine how much power assist. ie causing heavy steering if faulty pressure reading.

my steering has been great since i cleaned that plug out. so there may be something to it.

Edited by Munkyb0y
  • 2 weeks later...
Jaredo Explorer

Jaredo

Posted
Posted
must be a pressure sensor for the p/s fluid.

what i dont know is if that pressure reading is fed back to the hicas ecu, or somewhere, and used to determine how much power assist. ie causing heavy steering if faulty pressure reading.

my steering has been great since i cleaned that plug out. so there may be something to it.

It is indeed a pressure sensor for the p/s fluid. I'm pretty sure its responsible to giving the engine some revs when you start steering. From the ECU diagram it doesn't seem to appear that this signal gets fed to the HICAS ECU. Though it may say drop the "Engine RPM" signal to 0 thus reducing the p/s via the HICAS ECU.

From the R34 manual(I assume the same as t he R33)

Power steering oil pressure switch

Type: ON-OFF switch

Location: Rear of radiator lower hose

Its apprently only "ON" when at full lock

Interesting though.

  • 3 weeks later...
Brezza Proficient

Brezza

Posted
Posted

i recently had a problem with my power steering cutting in and out in my 32 GTR. i had a lock bar in it and the light used to come on after driving for around 20 mins and the steering would be a tiny bit heavier but i wasw told it is normal to get this.

but the big problem started when my powersteer would cut out and it would really annoy me, it was like playing daytona USA at the bowling alley.

i tried topping up the power steering resevoir, that didnt help then, on the odd occasion my guages would drop out.

took it to the mechanic and broke down on the way there, the battery was completely dead and car wouldnt start.

it turned out to be the fusible link that wasnt making a proper connection and the power steering was cutting out first then the rest of the electronics.

so it may help to check the fusible link? its only a $50 part and has solved my power steering problems.

Brez

jrm Veteran

jrm

Posted
Posted
Any more word on this switch, my 33 s1 just started having these symtoms and want to know where to look.

Most of this conversation is around R32 which use a hydraulic system which is also related to power-steering (uses the same reservoir, etc. The R33/34 use electric actuators, not hydraulic system - so a lot of the comments, etc aren't applicable.

Jaredo Explorer

Jaredo

Posted
Posted

Just a supporting idea, I tried cleaning the pressure sensor plug mentioned a few posts above - though It was getting dark and probably didn't do a good job. Instant HICAS light and the next morning the same. Slowly it got worse and worse with no power steering 100% of the time now. So I'm adamant that this plug interacts with the HICAS system - defiantly cannot be a coincidence. Going to give it another go when I get some free time.

  • 9 months later...
Munkyb0y Grand Master

Munkyb0y

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It's been a long time, but i've finally solved my power steering issue. The problem became much worse lately. It was happening on a daily basis, on almost every cold start.

So i replaced the steering angle sensor behind the steering wheel, with another used one. But it made no difference.

I then replaced the hicas ecu in the boot, with a used one from an S2 (mine is s1), and it solved my problem.

A major difference between the two hicas ecu's is the S2 ecu has just one circuit board inside, whereas the s1 ecu has two levels of circuit boards.

I wasnt confident, but it worked fine. So i guess it's just a revised version of the same thing.

Also, the mounting brackets are different, but you can just swap the case over and it will bolt up fine.

S1 on the left, S2 on the right

post-29392-0-78355800-1298017234_thumb.jpg

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