1990 MR2 POWERSTEERING PROBLEM

[MR2BOY23]

Ever since I've had my mr2, the p/s light on the dash has been on. It feels like its working but not fully ( I dont know if thats possible ). Any common problems with mr2 powersteering that anyone has had previous experiences with ? I had a look through the net but nothing conclusive yet, any help would be very nice

[B1NZ]

have you checked the fluid level?

[MR2BOY23]

LOL fluids fine

[Al]

The power steering pump in the front has 4 bushings around it. They can wear out, they can be cleaned but if the problem continues you need a new pump.

If the light came on every now and again, the contacts can get 'dirty', you can remedy this by turning the ignition key ON and OFF about 25 times without starting the car.

[Akane]

One of the other common problems is that a sticky relay on the older MR2's, I had it a few times on mine, you turn it off and back to on ignition to cycle thru the contacts, it might come right.

[solitaire]

might sound stupid but i put an aftermarket steering wheel on which killed mine, i took of the sensor on the steering wheel that the ecu uses to figure out how far the wheel is being turned

soon as i wired the sensor back up it was fine

[MR2BOY23]

One of the other common problems is that a sticky relay on the older MR2's, I had it a few times on mine, you turn it off and back to on ignition to cycle thru the contacts, it might come right.

Yeah saw that on another forum a while back. So I gave it a go but no luck

[MR2BOY23]

might sound stupid but i put an aftermarket steering wheel on which killed mine, i took of the sensor on the steering wheel that the ecu uses to figure out how far the wheel is being turned

soon as i wired the sensor back up it was fine

Hmm I have an aftermarket steering wheel on mine, that might be the problem. Where abouts is this sensor located? I'll take a look at it.

[solitaire]

its the little metal disk at the base of your boss kit, the end of the ring closest to the floor if that makes sense, there will be a small plastic bracket that kinda "reads" the disk.

[kim0663]

wow i always thought they would be for the rotating fog lights !

Maybe it serves multiple purposes

I also recommend Akane's post.

But you should have a quite few beers prior, piss yourself off with something and get really angry and then grab the key and stick it in the ignition

turn it from ACC to ON (DO NOT GO TO START) and ON to ACC forwards and backwards like a 100 times REALLY fast.

So you'll need to be angry to achieve it and a bit drunk, otherwise you'll start wondering what if this breaks my ignition etc etc and that will stop you from giving the car hell.

by doing the above, you'd bloody work the ass off the relay and sort of clean the contacts... temporarily

[solitaire]

wow i always thought they would be for the rotating fog lights !

I thought the same thing - but i reconnected it in desparation and the power steering started working again as well

[Boosted_162]

If the light came on every now and again, the contacts can get 'dirty', you can remedy this by turning the ignition key ON and OFF about 25 times without starting the car.

This happened in my GTS. I did the ignition thing like 10 times, and hasnt happened again since (yeah yeah, its been off the road most the time )

[tex]

The relay gets sticky. Located in the left hand (passenger) strut tower under the plastic covers. Round relay with big wires going to it. The key oon/off trick seems to fix some ppls problems. If you got aftermarket wheel you will always have issues.PS in SW20 is speed relative, so the faster you go the heavier the steering. On the boss there should be a ring that spins liek clock spring for air bag. Some ppl have removed these cos thier aftermarket boss kits dont have the hole in them. Otherwise just worn brushes on the pump unit. You can unscrew them from the side of the pump body and easy maintence.