Hi All,

Ever since i've had my FF i've had an issue with heavy steering but only really when stationary. When you first start the car it's fine but after driving it and coming to a stop i have no power steering. Lightly raising the revs and left foot braking brings it back to normal but it's not right and is a pain when parking.

I've already changed the servotronic valve but that doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. How can i check to see what the valve is being sent from the BCM, i have the IIDTool but couldn't see any live values that would relate to this.

Or could it simply be that the pump is on its way out and not producing the pressure required until the engine is revved up a bit? However if this was the case i'd expect it to be heavy always when stopped, but then maybe the idle is higher when first started up and cold?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Pump would be my first port of call sir... Change the fluid first, if no joy, replace the pump! I would happily find a second hand pump as they don’t go wrong often so most used pumps will be good for life

Should have mentioned, also already changed the fluid a few months back. Will keep my eyes out for another pump then. Do you know if there are any differences to the pump over the various years/models?

Also i'm assuming the same pump would have been fitted to X5's......they seem a fair bit cheaper and will probably go with a reconditioned unit if they are

i'd have a look at the servotronic valve wiring and make sure its ok............ ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Just found the pin-outs so will test the wiring for continuity, although i don't think it is that as it would then be intermittent. This seems to always be the case when i come to a stop and a slight raise in revs (only to ~1k rpm) is enough to bring the steering back to how it should be.

to me those symptoms still point to the valve ...i gather it was fitted ok with the little replacement filter as well.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Yes, i fitted it myself and made sure the filter was properly seated etc. Then did a full flush of the fluid afterwards.

another member here is having the same problem and thinks it could be the BCM,
http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic33390.html


have you the tools to reset it ? [if indeed it can be] ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

I did see that but the symptoms are a bit different i think, in that his always works for a few seconds and then fails, which i agree sounds like the BCM.

I did have a check last night what options i have with the IIDTool and there's nothing coming up to allow me to reflash the BCM ECU which is what i was hoping for. I did put it into transport mode and back out again in a hope this would reset it but didn't make any noticeable difference.

Craig suggests the pump, so would pulling the pump fuse be an indication if its working or not? ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Quote:

I did have a check last night what options i have with the IIDTool and there's nothing coming up to allow me to reflash the BCM ECU which is what i was hoping for.

GAP now offer a "Fast Lane" service for flashing the ECUs not embedded in the standard firmware (at a cost of £25 per ECU for non-Pro users).  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

I'm the person having the issue with the heavy steering after startup, you can check the BCM output but putting a multimeter across pins 9 and 11 (black/white & black/red) you should have a voltage around 7-9 volts. Mine has the issue where with ignition on i get the correct voltage and unto 5-10 seconds after startup then the BCM turns all power off to the valve.

I have done lots of reading on BMW forums as they suffer the same issue and people have said that the BCM will shut power to the valve off if the valve doesn't return the correct resistance although i have checked mine and the valve is brand new and i also ran 2 brand new wires from the BCM direct to the valve just to rule out the loom.

My BCM logs a short circuit fault even none exists hence the theory i have a faulty BCM ECU which is a known issue on BMW's

Matt

stan wrote:

Craig suggests the pump, so would pulling the pump fuse be an indication if its working or not?

I'm not getting any errors on the BCM when checking for errors so i think i'm ok on the BCM front. I've ordered a reconditioned pump which will hopefully be here tomorrow so will have a tinker over the weekend and see if there's any improvement.