Joey3571

So I had this issue on and it lasted about 24 hours. I started the car and noticed immediately that the steering was much stiffer. I then noticed on the DIC "Service Vehicle Soon". I drove home and checked out the P/S and everything seemed fine. Started it up and same thing. Let it sit until the next morning and it was fine. It has done it once again and it looks like it's here to stay this time. I've tried to search this subject on here and couldn't find anything specifically tied to this. Any ideas what this could be? I did see something about a steering wheel position sensor... but not sure.

RicK T

If it's out of warranty you can go to one of the big auto parts stores like Autozone and get the codes read for no charge. The power steering assist (magnasteer) works through the EBCM. There could be a problem anywhere in that circuit that you need to isolate to know what to fix.

Joey3571

So funny story. I called my dealer and they couldn't get me in until next Tuesday. I decided to look around the car to see what I could see. I lifted the passenger side foot rest just to check on some fuses and the like. I did not see anything out of the ordinary. When I put the foot rest back into place and started the car, the code is gone and the P/S is back. So there is obviously a short somewhere in the electronics area under the foot rest. If anyone has a schematic of this circuit and what I should be looking for to determine where this short is happening, I would appreciate it.

Joey3571

Update. Problem is back. Appears to be the actuator in the rack itself. More info to come, but looks like a new rack is in order since the actuator cannot be removed from the rack.

Joey3571

Update. They replaced the EBCM and that corrected the issue. So word to the wise, if you start to hear a ticking in the passenger side compartment whenever you depress the brake pedal, expect in a few months that your low speed power steering will go out. Evidently the magnasteer circuit goes through the EBCM and that is what was causing the lack of voltage at low speeds to the rack.

v26278

Glad you got your problem sorted out.

A clicking sound from the brake light relay is not uncommon and not necessarily indicating a problem, I believe the relay is in the passenger footwell. You might continue to hear that.

FortMorganAl

The BCM (Body Control Module) is in the passenger footwell and is the master computer that controls pretty much everything in the car. It delegates much of the power train functions to the ECM (Engine Control Module) computer which is in the passenger front wheel well. If just moving the passenger carpet caused your power steering to go in and out, it sounds like you had a loose connector at the BCM. I hope this was covered under warranty because replacing the BCM computer rather than repairing a connector is a rather expensive way to fix a minor problem.

The clicking from brake relay on the fuse panel in the passenger footwell whenever you press the brake pedal is very normal.

JKbride

Was this covered or did you have to pay out of pocket? What was the dealer charge to fix this problem?

Interesting thread.....thanks for sharing

Joey3571

The notes said they replaced the EBCM. It was around $1200. I have an extended bumper to bumper coverage on it so it was covered by that and not the factory 36/36000 warranty. I have 48000 miles on it as it is my daily driver. The clicking was not there when I first purchased the car in 2012. It showed up just a couple of months before I started experiencing the loss of P/S. So I just kind of put them together.

Joey3571

The EBCM is the Electronic Brake Control Module.

jsucraig

In my 2006 Coupe I never heard the brake relays clicking. When I bought my 2013 Grand Sport Coupe I could hear the brake relays clicking all of the time. My wife even asked "What is that clicking? The other Corvette never did that". I knew what it was and told her. I just chalked it up to being either the Z51 or Z52 Package on the Grand Sport that made the audible difference. Both were 3LT cars and the 06 had 5000 miles when I bought it in 2012, so it was practically new.

ETA: I have never had P/S problems nor do I think the clicking of the relays, at least on newer, performance package equipped Corvettes, is a tell-tale sign of trouble to come.

FortMorganAl

I learn something every day. Looks like I've accomplished my task today and it's not even 6:15 AM yet.

I thought people were confusing the BCM and ECM again. My mistake. The EBCM DOES participate in the control of the variable ratio steering effort which was something I didn't know before.