Help! Hicas Light On, Power-steering Gone!

[Stitch]

Just to clarify. I have an S1 R33 and it does not appear to have any diagnostics. I've tried it about 1000 times without success.

Interesting point you make about the leaking capacitors, I am going to check mine tonight. I will report back any findings.

Thanks for the tip.

[Stitch]

im having a bit of trouble understanding how the hicas computer can effect the power steer?? can someone expand on it please??

I got this quote from the GTR Canada forum: http://forums.gtrcanada.com/showthread.php?p=460972

Heavy steering = HICAS ECU in limp mode.

Sometimes HICAS ECU has bad solders inside. I encountered this problem on my cars HICAS ECU when steering went heavy. Also had water entering breathing holes on HICAS due to trunk lid wasn't closed properly and resulted in damaging HICAS ECU. I ended up changing HICAS ECU and flipping it upside down, so breather holes faced downwards.

[Stitch]

I have removed the HICAS ECU, taken it apart and lo-and-behold this is what I found:

I shall resolder the joins and report back.

If this works I will be a very happy man...

[steve12]

Stitch,

See page 3 of this thread. Replace all 3 caps as one maybe open circuit. My car had C35 leaking as in the picture above.

[Stitch]

I took it to an electronic repair store, they are replacing the caps as I write this.

Thanks for the tip Steve, I probably would never have had the balls to mess with the ECU unless you had mentioned it earlier.

As I said before, I will let you all know how it goes.

Thanks again!

[Stitch]

So I got the ECU back today. Put it in, still doesn't work.

[Mizz33]

I've got the same prob with the hicas light being always on, except i still have full power steering - not sure if it does has anything to do with an aftermaket steering wheel being attached as mentioned before. as my '33 previously had one, on until i put the factory one back on to see if that was the problem but the light still continues to come on so stuff knows =(

[bert_]

get a hicas lock bar, my car did that before my hicas started to give up.

[J_Red33]

Hi guys, been doing a bit of reading on here with this & a couple other threads.

After having had my R33 series 2 broken into nearly a couple of years ago, after I got it back on the road the HICAS started to play up. Initially it started happening intermittently & once the HICAS light came on as I was straightening the car up out of a low speed corner & ended up crabbing down the road. Killed the ignition re-started the car & the light went out again & the car drove straight. Eventually it was doing it all the time.

In the end when I started inspecting bits, I looked at the steering sensor & when I went to check out the circuit board, there were several dry joints for the wires to the HICAS module & also a broken/blown track. Initially I had suspected that the break in may have caused this damage but now I think it was just coincidence. I repaired the soldering & track damage, but to no avail, I still had an error.

I tried running the diagnostics as shown on these pages & it didn't work, so eventually I took it to an old friend of mine who ran his diagnostics tool & got the error code 'steering sensor not present'

I then decided to check the control module to make sure that wasn't also damaged, & it turned out to be spotless. So without further delay I installed the brand new sensor I'd purchased (it was cheaper to go a newie than a wrecker!) & now it all works again like new! I have also tried running the diagnotics again & it worked first shot!

A couple of extra notes:

-I have never had a problem with heavy steering. I do not know if the pressure switch for the power steering has a role in feeding info to the HICAS in these cases as really, it should not be noticeable if HICAS isn't meant to work below 80km/h, I'd say the HICAS light is deviating people away from the real issue, which may in fact be what's happening up the front end, or there may in fact be 2 issues.

-I have also had a speedo that was cutting out intermittently (also dry solder joints & now fixed), but was not affecting the function of the HICAS. I have never had an error for the speed sensor as the speedo gets its feed from the ECU.

-I very much doubt that heat is an issue when the capacitors are rated at 105 degrees. From having worked in the trade, I have seen this problem in many electronic modules that were all built around the same era (especially early 90's) with the same brand of capacitor regardless of where they were mounted. The main module also hangs in the boot with a parcel shelf & a layer of sheet metel to help protect it from the hottest point in the car. I'd be more worried about my speakers if there were that much heat under there.

I hope a few of you out there find this info useful.

Cheers

Jared

Edited March 17, 2010 by J_Red33

[awsam]

Has anyone found a working solution to this yet? I've been trying to figure it out for many months and have found one peice of info not mentioned here. The hicas light on after switching ignition off then on again (for me) seems more heat related. During summer it would happen 100% of the time, but now that its much colder, the car needs to be driven for longer to heat up more before I get the above mentioned hicas problem. Leaving it sit for 30-45 minutes lets the car start normally. I had a hicas scanner plugged in with the light on and no communication, no communication with light off either. Mechanics replaced Hicas and tried to scan but with no luck. Scanner still kept saying "Can not communicate" So unfortunately for me I still have no power steering after turning ignition off then on again.

btw, hicas light @ 80kmph is (usually) steering sensor coil in the steering column.

Just before I went for a quick drive, switched the car off for about 5 minutes, jumped back in and noticed the HICAS light is on solid and the car steers like a tank. A quick check of the steering belt and eveything seems fine (that is all I have had time to check so far as I am at work) but it's got me worried now, I just forked out a ton of cash to get it serviced and I'm hoping that it's not a major problem. I know nothing about the HICAS system. Really need help here.

1993 S1 R-33 GTS.

EDIT: Started car earlier and steering works fine again. Any ideas?

[Ice_Mage]

I had a simlilar problem to some of you. Mine was speedo not working, steering heavy and hicas light on. The hicas light is a common fault on r33s and so a lock bar is a good idea and remove the globe from the dash. If your speedo doesnt work the speedo sensor on r33s is located in the gearbox and can break. I replaced the speedo sensor with another and now everything is good for me. Power steering works and no annoying hicas light. This is just what i did to fix mine but if the steering is heavy i would have a quick look at speedo sensor cause if it detects no speed after a certain time the computer shuts off the power steering for some stupid reason.

[Jaredo]

Has anyone found a working solution to this yet? I've been trying to figure it out for many months and have found one peice of info not mentioned here. The hicas light on after switching ignition off then on again (for me) seems more heat related. During summer it would happen 100% of the time, but now that its much colder, the car needs to be driven for longer to heat up more before I get the above mentioned hicas problem. Leaving it sit for 30-45 minutes lets the car start normally. I had a hicas scanner plugged in with the light on and no communication, no communication with light off either. Mechanics replaced Hicas and tried to scan but with no luck. Scanner still kept saying "Can not communicate" So unfortunately for me I still have no power steering after turning ignition off then on again.

...

Same issue here, while it does seem heat related if you switch the ignition on and off a few times on a cool morning it'll act up. I also found while its cold and does act up it doesn't take too long before you can start the car and have working HICAS again(About 1min). I can drive from work to a servo 5mins up the road and it won't be working when I leave - You can feel the ECU starting to get some warmth into it.

Anothing point is when the light is on, after turning the igntion off and on again the HICAS ECU puts out 2.3V(roughly) on every output, EPS(power steering module), rear rack motor and sensors. Which it technically shouldn't

Have replaced leaking caps on the board, completely re-capped the steering angle sensor. None of which really helped at all haha.

There's quite a few people around here that have the same intermittent problem.... so there must be a common solution, well that's my reasoning haha.

[Munkyb0y]

lookie here http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Hi....html&st=20

this has worked for me, so far (knock on wood). but it's been a few weeks now and no issue. easy enough to check anyway.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Munkyb0y

[Jaredo]

lookie here http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Hi....html&st=20

this has worked for me, so far (knock on wood). but it's been a few weeks now and no issue. easy enough to check anyway.

Thanks Munky, will try that. Considering I noticed this problem start during the wild wet weather a few months ago it could be that haha.

[Stitch]

14 months later and I finally got around the getting another HICAS ECU (thanks livicuru). Put it in, hooked it up - No more HICAS light, steering works beautifully! Very happy!

[Jaredo]

14 months later and I finally got around the getting another HICAS ECU (thanks livicuru). Put it in, hooked it up - No more HICAS light, steering works beautifully! Very happy!

Same here, got a Series 2 HICAS ECU to put in my Series 1. Works flawlessly. Yet to take it for a drive but no lights no matter how much its turned off and on again.

Opened the Series 2 ECU to check for any leaky caps and the internals are completely different, Its now just 1 PCB instead of 2 in the Series 1. The green transistor/power regulator is now a black NEC unit. The other 2 chips on the heatsink look the same. Still 3 caps near where the green transistor/power regulator was. The two huge chips on the 2nd board in the Series 1 are now in a incredibly small package the size on your thumb. Must of been redesigned for a reason .

Some of the capacitors on the Series 2 board look like the bottom plug is being pushed out slightly. From what I understand that means gas is building inside and eventually they will pop their vents(silver top with 3 impressions) or fail eventually.

I'm interested in trying to mend the Series 1 ECU, its stuffed anyway but its worth a try.

Did you end up getting a Series 1 or 2 ECU, Stitch?(livicuru was selling me one aswell)

EDIT: You must be able to Calibrate the steering angle sensor during diagnostics. I got into diagnotic mode, got codes 22 and 23. I steered full lock left - rear wheels went opposite, then back to 'neutral' front wheels straight for 2 seconds, then full lock right for a few seconds. then back to center. Then the car starts rolling side to side a little wtf? and I notice the rear wheels literally doing a boogie. On its own it was going full right and full left(They move move quite alot more than 1 deg for sure) and my dash led was constant quick flashes indicating a normal condition(error free).

Edited June 7, 2010 by Jaredo

[Stitch]

Jaredo, the ECU I got was from an S2 Skyline. I was skeptical at first but overjoyed when I turned the car on and no HICAS light!

I ditched the old one as I did have the leaking capacitors replaced to try and fix it but it was still not working.

[nzm033]

hey guys

i was filling up at my local servo and when i went to turn my car on to leave, the HICAS light came on and my steering was very heavy. I looked thru this thread and there could be heaps of areas where the porblem lies.

My power steering fluid has been leaking but very very little. The belts on the car appear fine and I am not very mechanically minded.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it or know someone in sydney who can?

[k speed]

I had this same problem. As one of the previous posters mentioned it only seems to happen during summer, since it has been cold lately I haven't noticed the problem at all. I have purchased a spare s1 hicas unit that I will install if the problem crops up again. If that doesn't clear it up I guess I'll try the speed sensor or one of the other solutions involving the plugs.

I was going to get a HICAS lock bar but the consensus on the forums is that this won't work.

[awsam]

I had this same problem. As one of the previous posters mentioned it only seems to happen during summer, since it has been cold lately I haven't noticed the problem at all. I have purchased a spare s1 hicas unit that I will install if the problem crops up again. If that doesn't clear it up I guess I'll try the speed sensor or one of the other solutions involving the plugs.

I was going to get a HICAS lock bar but the consensus on the forums is that this won't work.

As it's warmed up slightly in Adelaide lately I've now noticed my HICAS issue happening again. Car heats up, turn off then on again.. hicas light and no power steering. I spoke to Synergy Motorsports about a lockbar and after quoting me about $350 inc Bar, I decided to just rip the HICAS fuse out and take it for a test drive.

So I drove my car around for a while today, turned off then back on. No power steering. Turned it off, pulled the fuse. Started the car and went for a short drive and found my power steering was fine. Got home, turned the car off. Put the fuse BACK in, started again and went for a drive... no power steering.

An extra note. Synergy have a Nissan ecu scanner and they tried to get a error code off my hicas but there was no communication. They put another working hicas in and again no communication. Im not sure if they replaced the ECU or the hicas unit in the boot (that silver box next to the fuse box is the hicas amirite?) or if they even got the hicas light on the second time. I musn't have explained my issue clearly as they seemed a little confused at what my problem was when they put the test hicas in. I'm told this could be because of an aftermarket ECU, i honestly haven't looked.