Hi all,

Recently for Christmas I was away from my S2K for 8 days

(It's usually daily driven without a fault!)

Today I started it (first time) and immediately the EPS' light came on - first light I've had and ever seen on the dash

I noticed the power steering was not working at all just letting the car run on the driveway.

I'm looking for some advice on what to tackle first, and where to start, and perhaps what I can expect worse case..

So far all I have done is check the battery:

It was 12.5 V car off

When running initially was 14.1 V then rose to 14.4 V and stayed there as the car ran.

Once off again, the battery then read 13.0 V.


I also then took it out for a drive, which surprisingly didn't feel too bad at anything above 20mph. Only parking and junctions were hard, but not as bad as expected.

I'm guessing I need to start by checking fuses?

Is there 1 underneath the dash and 1 in the engine bay?

Anything beyond that is past my knowledge, I hate electrical things haha!

Could it be the control box gone? Is this in the engine bay and wheres the best place for a replacement?

Many thanks chaps,
T

 

 

Read the code. Thats the only thing you could do. .
Often these "Black Boxes" need a minimum voltage to work properly, they are very sensitive. If the voltage drops to low while starting the car, they could create wrong warning codes / ligth on. Even if you car start perfect!
As you wrote that you car was sitting for 8 days it is maybe just a old battery need replacing.

My Honda del Sol once has the Airbag light on. Code was: Airbag Black box damaged, replace.
In reality, the battery was a bit Old. The car started perfect, but the voltage dropped just a little bit to much.
New battery, code deleted, problem solved, never come back.

Thats a nasty problem. Because the car starts perfect you dont suspect the battery....

 

Thanks guys, I'm hoping it is the battery in a way as that seems straightforward.

Does leaving the car disconnected to the battery 'reset' the fault code / light?


The other reason I'm concerned is because it has an aftermarket immobiliser / alarm on, I'm worried changing the battery might not be a 2 minute job. It's a TOAD system, we will see I guess

 

There is a procedure to reset the EPS in the library (somewhere). Just takes a paperclip to connect two contacts on the OBD2 port and some wheel turning.

Any aftermarket alarm will have the ability to suck the battery dry. Read the battery voltage after leaving the car not running at least overnight (24 hours preferred). Should be 12.6vDC. Checking after the car has been running produces false information. Several Youtube videos on how to find parasitic loads.

-- Chuck

 

Thanks Chuck,

I'll look into that

I'm hoping to read the code tomorrow as I have an OBD scanner thing.

I did initially read the battery voltage after 8 days of not running, car off, and that was 12.5 V.. could it be that it dropped below the required 12.6 V and has thrown up the EPS light?

Cheers!

 

If the battery was at 12.5v after sitting for 8 days it should be fine and should not have shut down the EPS especially as the system voltage would be at least 13.6v as soon as the alternator kicked in.

Two years ago I turned the steering wheel with the front wheels off the pavement (on a lift) and the EPS went bonkers. I was able to reset it with the paperclip method. I keep saying "paperclip" but if you can make a jumper that includes a fuse it's much safer. The manual procedure requires grounding one pin of the OBD2 port and I feel better using a fused jumper.



-- Chuck

 

Thanks Chuck,

Checked the battery this morning after not being used 48 Hours and it was 12.2 Volts

Will look into the codes / resetting procedure anyhow

 

So weird, I plugged in the OB2 thing, couldn't get it to connect onto my phone with the Torque OB2 app, turned on the car with it plugged in and the EPS light was no longer there, steering working perfectly...

Ahh, cars!

Touch wood, seems to be OK now.. will monitor it though. Cheers all.

 

Honda shop would have charged you $200 for that and kept the car overnight.

-- Chuck