Hicas And General Steering Problems

[siiick]

Hey guys,

I've recently been experiencing my Hicas light on the dash flash on and off on occasion, like many others have experienced. My steering is now crazy stiff as if there's no power assist, but the fluid is full.

This happened over the period of about a week, starting with just the light, and progressing to the tight steering.

I've searched Hicas and a lot of you have been experienced different problems and have suggested the hicas lock bar. Does this bar fix all problems relating to the HICAS? Anyone had this particular problem, replaced the bar and fixed it?

Could the HICAS light suggest other problems, such as the vehicle speed sensor? (since I'm fairly sure these cars have speed variable power assist) I'm thinking this could be the culprit, but without the means to check the OBD codes, I can't be sure. Is there any other way?

Cheers.

Richard

[Godzilla32]

Anything been changed/altered since the problems started? Aftermarket steering wheel fitment etc? Wheel allignment?

[siiick]

Cheers for the quick reply.

I forgot to mention these:

New wheels (225/45/17" IIRC ) went on 2 months ago, and got a four wheel alignment 4 weeks ago. Light only started staying on after starting the car this week though.

Took it back to my wheel alignment mechanic to see if he could think of anything, and he suggested it to be an electrical problem and referred me to an auto electrician. Unfortunately finding one that knows these cars could be tricky in my area.

Edited December 6, 2006 by siiick

[Godzilla32]

Only get the HICAS lock bar if you dont want it anymore, you can fix the problem without removing it. Most are just too lazy.

Last time i had my car on the road, i had this same problemLight would always come on after 10 minutes driving (steering wheel was not on straight) I also experienced heavy steering on a couple of occasions. If you dont already have it, download the workshop manual for your car and read how to conduct a HICAS diagnostics test. That should help narrow down the cause of the problem..

Deren

[GTRgeoff]

It's most often a dodgy connection so go over them and pull them apart and clean with crc/rp7/lanox.

As Deren said, only remove HICAS if you have a need like racing or if the problem will start costing more than the bar to fix..

[siiick]

When you say clean the connections, are you talking about the two cables connecting to the hicas bar? give those connectors a clean?

Deren, which service manual have you used? I've downloaded the R33 Engine service manual, it doesnt seem to have self diagnosis specifically for Hicas.

Edited December 7, 2006 by siiick

[SLIPPERY]

No.

the steering wheel has HICAS sensors. i think left to right and speed.

my light was on and the steering became heavy after 80secs because hicas wasnt getting a speed signal from my speedo because it was spinning freely inside the cluster. Once i fixed that by removing the cluster and repairing a cracked piece of plastic, HICAS was getting its speed signal and everything is back to normal.

[GTRgeoff]

Actually the worst are the ones at the back on the HICAS unit. Clean them and then see how you go.

[siiick]

I gave those connectors on the Hicas unit a clean with CRC but dont think it helped much, still stiff steering. Is there a way to do diagnostic test with the fuses?

[siiick]

BUMP!. Still don't know what workshop manual to use, and still having bulk problems...

[GTRgeoff]

Take a look in the tutorials to find how to enter general and HICAS diagnostics. Such a gradual loss of function is usually a dosdgy connection.

[siiick]

The steering seems possibly better since i cleaned the connectors on the hicas bar. hicas light still remains on all the time. The diagnostic test i found is as follows.

1.Start car in neutral.

2.Turn wheel left and right 20deg a few times

3.Pump the brake 5 times then once more. (all of this within 10 seconds of starting the car)

4.Put it in gear then out

5.Then drive 15 feet forward or backwards.

The hicas light is supposed to flash a code or something, is this the test you are referring to?

[Godzilla32]

When you say clean the connections, are you talking about the two cables connecting to the hicas bar? give those connectors a clean?

Deren, which service manual have you used? I've downloaded the R33 Engine service manual, it doesnt seem to have self diagnosis specifically for Hicas.

Hey buddy sorry for the late reply. The manual i use is the R32 GTR manual so it may be different for your car but i doubt it...It sounds similar to what you mentioned in your last post but i remember something about not going over a certain speed.. Gimme a sec i'll find the section in the manual....

[Godzilla32]

Heres the diagnostics out of the R32 GTR manual...

[siiick]

Thanks heaps for that Deren, my manual did not contain this.

I have tried previously, however was not sure if it worked.

Is the Hicas light supposed to flash on and off, or does it just light up a little brighter? Because that is what i have seen.

[siiick]

hey guys,

It has been about 2 weeks since i've had a problem with my hicas. The light has remained, the steering has been fine until now. The stiff notchy steering has just returned, and im still contemplating on buying the lock bar to fix the problem. I decided to do a test of my own.

I unplugged the plugs from the hicas bar and took the car for a drive. It seemed as if the front of the car was floating when turning left and right down the straight road at about 50km/h, and seemed to be understeering a lot. It felt bad, and im hoping this isnt what it feels like with the lockout bar.

My question is, if i get a hicas lock bar do i simply do the same thing buy removing the plugs and just taping them off, or do i also remove a fuse to disable all power to hicas system?

[Godzilla32]

The lock bar replaces the rear end steering rack. Basically when you remove the rear rack you are just setting a constant toe adjustment instead of the rack making minor changes during driving. It should be fine to drive without HICAS. From what i saw ages ago on my car, when your in diagnostics mode and its telling you the codes it flashes fast and slow depending on the code its giving you. As in light completely on and light completely out. Try fllowing those instructions again closely and see how you go. I may be able to give you a had if you are in brissy?

Deren

[siiick]

Hey Deren,

Sorry im not in brisbane. i believe if i get the lockout bar this will effectively be the same as unplugging the hicas plugs on the stock hicas bar.

Because the normal hicas bar is not always at a straight angle when i was driving the back wheels would have been doing anything, and probably were all over the road at different camber lol. So by getting the hicas lock it should lock it straight and possibly get rid of that awkward feeling.

The steering wieght was like normal so i think it should work. what do you think?

I'm selling the car soon so i want it to feel great for the buyer.

Edited January 1, 2007 by siiick

[Godzilla32]

Yes your right it will lock the read end to a constant setting instead of the rack controlling it or falling apart or both.. If its just a matter of bolting the rack up properly or something silly like that then by all means fix it up but it sounds like it could be more than that so the cheapest fix is probably going to be the lock bar.

[oweban]

Yes your right it will lock the read end to a constant setting instead of the rack controlling it or falling apart or both.. If its just a matter of bolting the rack up properly or something silly like that then by all means fix it up but it sounds like it could be more than that so the cheapest fix is probably going to be the lock bar.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm still trying to get an idea of how my car will feel with the lockbar.

When the HICAS light does come on, my steering feels really sluggish, like there's no power steering, but when it's off (which is most of the time, thankfully), it feels beautiful.

I'm assuming the lockbar completely eliminates the sluggish feeling, because nothing will be happening in the rear end then? Just a nice solid rear wheel drive with power steering?

Sorry again...