What does the C1287 code mean?

 

C1287 or C1288 Steering Position Sensor Curcuit

see this link

http://www.corvette-web-central.com/C5DTCcode.html

 

C1287 Steering Sensor Rate Malfunction

Taking a quick wild guess without looking it up, you might need to check your alignment or your steering wheel position sensor is starting to have problems.

 

DTC codes 1287 , steering wheel position sensor error, disables the active handling. First thing clean the grounds on the front frame rails and reseat the EBCM and SWPS connectors, if that didn't work use http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...php?t=1650217| this thread can help u determine if steering wheel position sensor is bad.

U can stick probes from multimeter in the back side of the connector and see if the sensor is getting +5v on the orange/black and ground on the gray, but the two signal wires, pin 5 and 6, show dead spots (sudden drops to .5v) as u turn the wheel.

the sensor is GM PART # 88965543 which lists at $70. Just make sure that's correct as it just comes up as Sensor on GMpartsdirect.com.

Here's the Reader's Digest version:
- Set the steering wheel straight, so that the front wheels are
straight, and try hard not to turn it during the whole process.
- Disconnect the wire from the sensor.
- Disconnect the topmost U-joint under the hood (probably
the "hardest" part)
- Pull the knee bolster and its support bracket
- Get the new steering sensor - leave the pin in it!!
- Remove the 4 bolts that hold the steering column to the car.
- Pull the column into the car just enough to clear the sensor.
Rest it on the cross member under the dash, but don't pinch
any wires.
- Swap in the new sensor - note alignment when removing the
old sensor - leave the pin in the new sensor!!
- It helps to have a helper slide the column back in while you
reconnect the U-joint under the hood, but I did this myself
with several back-and-forth. Watch for pinching wires.
- Reassemble.
- Pull the pin in the new sensor.

HERE IS another PROCEDURE....you will need to PM mathia
Senior Forum Member to get these photos:

First thing to do is loosen (but don't remove) the bolt that connects the upper steering shaft with the steering column. I found it was a lot easier to get at the bolt by disconnecting the rubber hose going to the AIR tube on the exhaust headers.



You can see the upper steering shaft with the blue "Notice" sticker. Here is a pic of the upper joint with the bolt that will be loosened. It's just below the right most ignition coil.



In the above pic the wheel is turned straight ahead. In this position the bolt head is at an angle you can't get at. Turn the wheel about 90 degrees to the left (IIRC) and you'll have the bolt head pointing up. Like this I was able to use a couple of extensions together to get a socket on there and be able to swing the ratchet.



Make sure you just loosen the bolt. You want to have the wheel pointing straight ahead when you install the sensor. Once you get it loose, turn the steering wheel to straight ahead and then remove the bolt by hand. This is where removing the AIR tube hose really helps, but it's still kind of a pain.

Now with the steering shaft disconnected from the steering column you can unbolt the steering column. There are four bolt that hold it in place. To get at the upper ones you need to remove the knee bolster. With that out, you can see the upper two nuts.



And here are the lower ones.



Well, actually you can only see one of them in the pic. You can also see the sensor here. It is behind the green ring. On its left you can see the connector for it. Remove the connector and all for bolts. There are also some ties that secure the wiring harnesses to the steering column. Undo the ties to create some slack in the wiring. You can now pull the steering column away from the firewall and fully disengage it from the steering shaft.



In theory, at this point you should be able to slide the steering sensor off the end of the column. Mine was really stuck on there so I ended up pulling the column out of the car to get a better grip on it.

If you're removing the column that means you have to disconnect the air bag. The GM service manuals state that the air bag holds about 15 seconds worth of charge so that the air bags can deploy even if the battery is disconnected. To avoid possibly having the air bag deploy you must disconnect the battery and then pull the fuse for the air bags. (I forget which on it is now, I'll post it later).

Once you're certain the air bags have no power and are fully discharged, disconnect all the wiring connectors on the steering column. I must say I hate automotive electrical connectors, unplugging them in particular. These have a little locking piece you've got to push out with a small flat head screw driver before you can pull them a part. Once they are all undone you are now free to pull the whole column out.



Slide the sensor off and put on the new one. The new one has a black pin in it to keep it from moving out of the centered position. Don't remove that pin until the sensor is on the shaft, otherwise it won't give the right voltage on center. Here you can see the pin.



With the new sensor on slide the steering shaft back through the firewall. This is a little tricky because there is a rubber grommet and a seal the column goes through. If your not careful (like me) you can push the grommet out of the firewall. It's a bit of a pain to shove it back in. I recommend having a second set of hands hold the grommet in place from the engine compartment side.

Then bolt the column in the car and plug in all the connectors. Put the upper steering shaft bolt back in by hand. Turn the wheel so you can access the bolt with a socket and tighten it. I think that's it. It's been a couple months since I did this and active handling has been working fine since.

 

The C1287 code was a history code not a current code. I cleared all the codes and everything was fine for a few days and then the DIC said service traction control and the light on the dashboard went on. When I checked the codes the C1287 code was the only trouble code displayed. The EBCM has already been rebuilt so I believe its ok because each time I turn off the ignition it resets and the traction control light is off but as stated before the C1287 code eventually shows up and the traction control light. So I guess before condeming the sensor the wheel alighnment should be checked. It seems if the sensor is bad the dic would display the code right away and service traction control message and light.

 

at least, now you know what to do, if there's more to be done.. Good Luck & Hava nice Christmas Holidays!
let us know how it turns out!

 

If it drove without the code for a couple of days, then its probably not the alignment. I would imagine your sensor is dying...it happens. Its located at the base of the steering column inside of the cabin.