Hicas Locked But Still Having Steering Issues

[Munkyb0y]

what is this plug?

the line under it runs to the steering rack.

wider view

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

Edited April 4, 2010 by Munkyb0y

[SiR_RB]

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]

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

[SiR_RB]

speedo seems ok, where abouts is it more common for it to wear? the gearbox side of behind the dash cluster?

and how can i tell if its worn etc?

thanks

[Munkyb0y]

what is this plug?

the line under it runs to the steering rack.

wider view

anyone?

looks like perhaps a pressure sensor? p/s fluid pressure?

does that even make sense?

[MBS206]

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

[Munkyb0y]

thanks matt

i wonder if that sensor would have any bearing on the power assist weighting if it was getting a faulty reading.

[85URK]

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]

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]

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]

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

this is where it connects

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 April 9, 2010 by Munkyb0y

[85URK]

Yeah could be right, i reckon it would relay a signal back to ecu then from there to hicas ecu at the rear most likely.

[Jaredo]

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.

[Kruges]

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

[Brezza]

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]

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]

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.

[Munkyb0y]

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