Steering Angle Sensor

[wuzzel]

Hi

i have a citroen c5 exclusive estate 2006 2.0 hdi, i am having problems with my power steering, i have total loss of power steering on startup but occasionally it will kick in at start up and when driving, this has kicked in at any time beeteween driving off after 100 yds or 5 miles????, but it has never packed in whilst driving.

i have had it checked at my local friendly garage who plugged it in to a bosch diagnostics, it came up with error code U1205 (steering angle sensor). he has cleared the fault code and re set the angle settings but this was when the steering was workink ok, acouple of days later it stopped working again so i went back with no power steering, when he had it pluged in it showed it was recieving different values when the steering was turned indicating that the sensor was sending the signal and sugested that possibly the comms unit?? was not recieving it, unfortunately he does not have a wiring diagram to progress any further with it, does anyone have such a wiring diagram??? you could supply a copy of? ar has anyone had a similar problem like this? if so what was the fix ?

this is my second C5 estate my first was the 2.0L hpi and it was virualy trouble free for the 6 years i owned it, i think they are great cars (when running ok ) but expensive to fix at citroen dealers

thank's in advance

 

Steve

[paul.h]

I guess this has already been checked, but make sure the connector to the electric pump is ok and the wiring. The steering sensor I think is part of the coms 2000 unit which is the part below the steering wheel including the wiper and indicator switches. If it is faulty then probably (but not sure) the complete bit will need replacing.

 

There was a post not too long ago on this forum asking about the location of the steering angle sensor so maybe they are becoming a common problem.

 

On C3s they sometimes have problems with the power steering but here the electric motor is part of the steering rack and the fix is to turn the ignition off and back on a number of times.

[wuzzel]

thank's for that paul.

i am not sure if the conection has been checked but i will have a look tomorow, i will try turning the ignition on and off as well, let you know how i get on

 

Steve

[wuzzel]

Hi i have had a look at the conections that i can find, yhey seem ok to me , but i will take it to the garage to have them checked , tried turning the ignition on and off, no difference , i even disconected the battery for 3 hours then re connect syill no power steering, still trying to get hold of a wiring diagram aas my mechanic sats it will help him trace the faul, thanks for the help so far, i will keep you updated

 

Steve

[DaveHerns]

It must be virtually impossible to drive without PAS working ?

[wuzzel]

its ok on straight roads but roundabouts are a bit hard, after 3 weeks of no power steering i have muscles in my arms like popeye, i do have the use of another car though, an mgf which is so light on the steering especialy now it has started to freeze, with it being resr wheel drive the tail wants to overtake the nose at the slightest turn of the wheel

 

Steve

[coastline taxis]

i know this will probally sound daft but have you checked the power steering fluid

[wuzzel]

yep topped it up with the correct fluid it took about half a cup, i dont have any probs with the suspension though????

[paul.h]

You should be able to get a wiring diagram from the service.citroen website but you will have to register (allowed as a member of a car club) and for none free services such as a wiring diagram there is a cost but parts diagrams can be seen free. To see ones specific for your car will need the VIN and RPO number (at the top of the tyre pressure sticker on your car if not already known). There are some wiring diagrams in the Haynes manual but not specific to the steering sensor and pump. Similarly to the French ETAI RTA manuals where they show the steering wheel controls (COM 2000) as a larger block (as in the Citroen wiring diagrams) with the connections to the BSI but the ones here do not show the specific steering sensor wiring and pump.

 

However, there may not be a wiring fault and paying for somebody to poke around all the wiring may be a waste. Also it may be once the COM 2000 unit is replaced (if required) it may then need programming to your car using a dealer Lexia or Proxia diagnostic equipment (if the Bosch equipment mentioned earlier can not do this). It may be quicker/cheaper in the end to try a Citroen dealer or Citroen specialist. On older cars dealers often have a lower labour rate to stay competitive.

[Johndouglas]

Is your battery in good condition? I lost my power steering on start up a couple of times when I had my old battery. Disconnecting the battery and charging it for a couple of hours reset the power steering

[wuzzel]

i just tried charging the battery, never had a problem with the battery before but saddly no difference after disconecting and charging up, power steering still intermitent, it has not worked for the last 2 weeks so i was about to bite the bullet and take it to the citroen dealers, but yesterday 6 times i started up and the steering kicked in from anytime between 1 and 10 mins of driving and 3 times it was there on start up. going to check out the web site recomended by paul to see if i can get the wiring diagram for my local mechanic

 

Steve

[paul.h]

Did you manage to check the electrical connectors at the pump ? According to Haynes it is located under the right wing and access is by removing the wheel arch liner, so not a quick check.

[paul.h]

After another look in the RTA book for the C5, the steering is included in the wiring diagram for the suspension. It shows:

 

The steering angle sensor in the block under the steering wheel has wires numbered 9000, 9001 CV00A going to the BSI and MCV0A going to an earth point.

 

From the BSI wires, numbered 9000B, 9001B, 6260 and 87715 go to the controller on the suspension pump.

 

From the suspension pump controller, wires numbered 7106 and 7107 go to the steering pump. Wires 9000D and 9001D go to the ESP system.

 

So it will be worth while checking the electrical connectors on the suspension pump controller - but it may be necessary to disconnect the battery before doing this since the suspension seems to be powered up most of the time. There was a report on here of a loose suspension pump connector but I can not remember what problems it caused.

 

Did you measure the voltage on the battery, 12.7 volts is fully charged and less than 12.5 volts is low, measured before running the engine. Once running it should be about 14.2 volts.

[wuzzel]

Thank's again Paul

i am taking it back to my local mechanic on monday and i have printed out your information for him. is this info in the haynes manual ? if not what is the RTA book and where can i get one from.

i have registered with the citroen service and dont mind paying for the access for 24 hours but i will need to log on at the garage for the mechanic to search for the info he needs, which he said shoild be no problem, keep you posted

 

Steve

[paul.h]

The Review Technique Automobile book is a French version of a Haynes type of manual. They are produced by ETAI and are available direct from ETAI or amazon's french website. The manuals are in French but are easy to follow with lots of drawings and photos, cost is about 25 euros plus delivery. For your car you will want the Citroen C5 diesel depuis (from) 09/2004 1.6 et 2.0 hdi CIP 690.1. I use this along with the Haynes manual since it often covers things better. A French/English dictionary may help a bit when first using.

Link to amazon - copy and paste in browser (http://www.amazon.fr/Rta-690-1-Citro%C3%ABn-1-6-2-0/dp/2726869017/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1327265689&sr=8-4).

 

A wiring diagram covering the steering pump and suspension is not included in the Haynes manual.

 

When looking at the parts diagrams on the service.citroen I have found it easiest to print them using a mouse right click for a print preview and then to print. I have not used the sections that need to be paid for so can not comment on these.

[wuzzel]

Hi Guys

i would like to thank you all for your helpful advice on my steering problem.

after checking out everything i posibly could I had to bite the bullit on this one and take it to my citroen dealer

for an initial charge of £60 to plug it in for a diagnostic they contacted me and said they would need 2 hours to find the fault and repair and they are confident it would fix the power steering issue the cost was £90 per hour.

the fault they found was a broken wire in the wiring harness from the sensor to the ecu they also re programmed the ecu.

so the total cost for a broken wire was £240..

but i am happy to have my car running perfaect again, and it was all done on the same day .

once again thanks for all your help with this

 

Regards

 

Steve