Power steering computer tinkering?
 

I'm in a love-hate relationship with my power steering right now. On one hand, I love it because sometimes I'm a lazy bastard and light steering effort is what I want.

On the other hand, I hate how sloppy the car feels on the freeway, and during slippery conditions it doesn't convey road feel as well (IMO at least).

On comes the computer... from what I've read, our cars have speed sensing power steering, which mine seems to not work that well. My 88 Accord's speed sensing power steering system adjusted much better, and the car always had a firm feeling at all speeds.

Well, I was messing around the other day and forgot to plug the connector back into the power steering computer, and cool... it firmed up... alot, like the pump wasn't working. It took me all of two seconds to find the problem, but it brought a wicked thought to mind: what if one could wire a switch to the PS CPU, and toggle it on or off based on your needs at the time? Snazzy thought? Yes... but what kind of damage could one do, and what would the side effects be of repeated usage? :D

You could probably wire a variable resister between the CPU and the speed sensor for even better adjustment/control of the power steering.

Hmmm, a knob... I didn't even think of that. Man, you're the brains of the operation around here. :D I'm getting ready to crack the FSM open and look at the wiring in a minute. How exactly does our PS pump adjust assist? I'm guessing it's some sort of valve that changes the rate of fluid flow.

No you most certainly could not. The speed sensor does not send a varying voltage to the P/S ECU, it sends a square wave signal, with the frequency of the waves being proportional to speed. You'd need to use something like this DIY speedo corrector kit: http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KC5380

It can be used to correct electronic speedos, but if you intercept the speed signal to the P/S ECU, you can also use it to alter the P/S system's behaviour.

welp, this is all fine and dandy, but i like mine gone, plus you cant beat the extra room in the engine bay....(changing spark plugs *shudders*)

That very thought has crossed my mind lately, but I'd rather keep it in. This is my winter FC, and I may end up selling it in the summer if I manage to get a company vehicle so I can bump up to a TII and drive taht only in the fine MN summers. :D

It sounds like your power steering is not recieving a speed input, because there should be no difference between feel at 50 MPH and the power steering computer unplugged. And at more than 15-20 MPH there should be barely any boost at all (less than 25%).

So if you have a S4, your probably have the power steering always on because of a default such as poor speed signal from the speedo gauge, and the power steering computers beeper is not working.

Fix the car before butchering up the system.

Just take it out. It feels much better w/o the power steering. Its not bad at all w/o it also. I enjoy the car much more. The feedback feels real and not controlled. I never have been a fan of ps.

Well that's just completely overly complicated and a bad design for people who want to easily tinker with the PS. :D

actually common standard Cruise and Electronic speed design since the early 80s, and found on most modern cars even to this day.

I have both A/C and P/S and can change my spark plugs with my eyes closed. I mean I can't see the plugs so why look right? ;) Seriously, I use my A/C and P/S hundreds of times more often than I need to change the plugs, so this would be one of the least important "advantages" from removing either or both systems.

Are you referring to the P/S system itself or the Speedo Corrector? Either way that was a pretty dumb comment. :rolleyes:

to each there own i guess, imo, the engine bay looks alot cleaner, with thoes two gone along with a e-fan. and, also imo, it gives a better feel for the road at speeds where the ps is still active.

You don't understand how the system works then, because at 45-50 MPH there is no boost.

At 45 MPH it would have the same exact feel as if you unplugged the power steering computer or took off the power steering belt.

If you think there is a difference between having the stock system in normal operating condition and no stock power steering pump, you don't have a clue about your cars handling. Any difference would be in your head.

I was joking, obviously. Do people not look at smilies anymore?

eh, felt different to me, atleast at the time. who knows, it was something like three years ago i removed the whole system. ether way, no need to get worked up about it.

I did check the FSM, and Icemark is correct. At ~50MPH the PS CPU triggers a motor that stops fluid flow into the rack, thus disabling the PS system completely. So it would be the same as removal above those speeds, which is perfect if I can get it to work correctly now. :D

It doesn't go into too much detail, but to test the system, you should check for voltage at the connector, then use the test connector to see what kind of codes it's spitting out I think. Here's the page:

http://img86.exs.cx/img86/1363/pscputesting7cj.gif

I'm assuming that one could take a LED and a resistor, then use some spade connectors to hook it up to the test connector and the flashes should match one of the results on the chart (the short wave=short flash, long wave=long flash), right? :D

It also says in the FSM that you can test the system by putting the rear on jack stands, then holding the gas down until the speedo reads 30mph and see if there is any difference in feel between that and 0mph (so the PS system adjusts at lower speeds as well from what I can tell there).

Other then those two tests, is there a way to check to output from the speedo to the PS CPU? I'm not super-savvy on electronics, and don't know how to diagnose a signal of that nature.

Dammit, my car is psycho (who's 7 isn't I guess :D). I hit a rather large bump this morning on the freeway, and my god damn power steering feels like it's working the way it should. It lasted all the way to work. She's teasing me. ;)

I'm pretty sure now that I have a loose connection. I'm going to pull everything tomarrow and give it a good look, and probably re-solder the connections in the PS CPU.

Does the cruise control share the same speedo output that's running to the PS CPU BTW? If so, my cruise control works like a dream, so maybe it's just in the connector :crosses fingers:.