Whats up guys? I work at BnT performance in Wilmington, NC. I've got a 99 vette and have a question about the active handling... I just got finished building and instaling a 383LS1 with a procharger for one of my customers... All is well with the engine build, it hasn't thrown any codes with the new motor in, but it is displaying an Active Handling warming up message... i'd just like some input because I haven't encountered this message before on previous builds. Thanks guys.

 

Start by pulling your codes. Did you allow the steering wheel to move out of position while the engine was out?

 

It might have moved... the engine was out of the car for a good month and a half while the block was at the machine shop...

 

When the engine was pulled the steering turned to the right side (90 or 360 degrees), so loose the bolt on the shaft and turn it back (90 or 360 dgrees to the left) that should solve your problem..

 

You probably didn't realize that there is a sensor on the inside of the car in the lower footwell that measures resistance to determine where (position) of steering wheel.

You should alway lock the steering when pulling the motor, as to not screw up this sensor or the clock spring in the air bag.

 

True, the steering wheel (column shaft) should be kept from rotating once disconnected from the rack – and reinstalled in the straightaway position, wheels straight ahead. (as stated above)

Air-bag ribbon connector is also in danger of being damaged if the steering wheel is rotated too far from center. (as stated above)


Otherwise -

You didn’t say how long that message is displayed or if it eventually goes away or not.

In colder weather it is normal for the Active Handling to require time to warm up.

 

Alright guys, thanks for the help.

 

The active handling warming up message has nothing to do with temperature. The active handling system has to calibrate every time the car is started. Calibration requires driving the car in a straight line (steering wheel on center) for something like 100 feet. If this doesn't happen shortly after startup you will see the message until it can calibrate.

Most people see this when they are in a parking garage where you can end up driving in circles for sometime before you get to a straight. It's possible there's something wrong with the steering wheel position sensor so that the computer doesn't know your driving straight, but if there are no codes it probably just needs to be driven in a straight line for a bit.

 

 

I've driven the car a few times today and the message still lights up that it needs to warm up still... Its about 50 degrees here in Wilmington so its not rediculously cold... In order to re set the active handling, does the key need to be on with the engine off?

 

Its not something that you physically need to deal with. Just drive the car normally. I've gotten the message before. If says Active Handling Warming Up and then, usually a minute or two later, it gives a confirmation that its complete.

It happened to me mostly when leaving backing out of parking space and using lots of steering input.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...at-sensor.html

 

? ? ?

Several messages related to the ABS/TCS may be displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC), they are:

ABS ACTIVE: This message is displayed when ABS is active.
SERVICE ABS: This message is displayed continuously when an ABS fault exists.
SERVICE TRACTION SYSTEM: This message is displayed continuously when a TCS fault exists.
TRACTION SYS ACTIVE: This message is displayed when TCS is active.
TRACTION SYSTEM-OFF: This message is displayed continuously when TCS is turned off.
TRACTION SYSTEM-ON: This message is displayed for 3.5 seconds when TCS is turned on.
TRAC/ACT HNDLG-ON (JL4): This message is displayed for 3 seconds when TCS and Active Handling is turned on.
ACTIVE HANDLING (JL4): This message is displayed when Active Handling is active.
ACT/HNDLG-WARMING UP (JL4): This message is displayed if the SWPS has not been centered after 30 seconds. This message is also displayed if the underhood temperature sent from the BCM is to cold.
COMPETITIVE DRIVING (JL4): This message is displayed continuously when in competitive driving mode.
SERVICE ACTIVE HNDLG (JL4): This message is displayed continuously when an Active Handling fault exists.
TRAC/ACT HNDLG-OFF (JL4): This message is displayed continuously when TCS and Active Handling is turned off.
WARM UP COMPLETE (JL4): This message is displayed for 3.5 seconds after the SWPS is centered.

 

How do I go about centering the steering wheel position sensor?

 

when you disconnect the steering the sensor was knocked out of alignment so there is possibly damage to the sensor it needs to be realigned and pull the battery then go through another drive cycle to ensure this is fixed. This message sound only be displayed for no more then like 2-4 minutes of driving typically. If this remains on "warming mode" your AH/TCS will be currently disabled.

 

I stand corrected. Is that from the owner's manual? With the active handling issues I've dealt with and read about, I've only seen issues with the the steering wheel position sensor.

From the service manual:

Steering angle centering is the process by which the EBCM calibrates the steering sensor output so that the output reads zero when the steering while is centered. Using the yaw rate input, lateral accelerometer input, and wheel speed sensor inputs, the initial steering center position is calculated after driving greater than 10 km/h (6 mph) fore more than 10 seconds in a straight line on a level surface.

So if you driven like that and the engine is warmed up there must be one of the sensors that's out of wack which should throw a code.

There's more info on the steering position sensor here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...on-sensor.html