XSeries-forum

Hi all.

Fairly common issue from what I've read but the 4x4 light has been up on my dash a while with no other symptioms... Used INPA to invesitgate and turns out the steering angle sensor is the culprit as the readings are either 0 or when it does operate as I turn the wheel the values stop at a certain point and then shoot up to 1400! degrees. The wheel speed sensors and the yaw sensor all seem to be reporting back correctly so I'm sure the steering angle sensor is finito. [For anybody still trying to pin down their bad sensor, looking at the real time 'analogue' values in the steering section of INPA is a good way to check which sensor is causing the issue for sure - it took me a while to figure this out]

I'm looking at a second hand part as a new one is around £250.  To make it worse getting it coded in the stealers is £240 and £160 in a specialist  :'( so I'm looking at coding it myself using NCS expert. The really bad news is the car needs it's MOT asap.

My question is can anybody help with this please or direct me to a place where this has been outlined before?

I have found a couple of videos on NCS expert so have a vague idea of setup but I am a complete amateur so a walkthrough for the steering angle sensor coding would be VERY much appreciated.

Update...

The part I ordered was a used SAS from an e53 like mine and the vast majority of numbers on the part itself where identical to mine, as was the long part number (obv).

FITTING:
Fitting wasnt too much trouble as the part slides on easily... then I used a hammer to gently knock the bottom of the steering rod back onto the top section, rotating the shaft 180degrees regularly to ensure even movement. NOTE: Before separating the shaft in the first place set the wheels straight and mark the top/bottom sections so you know where to line it up when you come to put it back together. (Of course i didnt do this so had to faff around finding dead centre when fixing it all back together).

CODING / CALIBRATING:
I had some hefty quotes for this as mentioned earlier... and a garage said they would need it in for the full day  :blink: . However with a little help from a very kind and knowledgable member of this forum (R515) i managed to getbit done within 10 minutes using only INPA. I hooked it up and looked through the cdx8 (???) And the 'steering angle sensor' modules and read the error codes / deleted them AND went to a section in there that said CODING. I clicked it and lines of code came along the screen and then I clicked file and saved the document. I have no idea why or where it is now. Then i went to calibrate and set the wheel dead centre and BOOM the 4x4 light was gone and it seems to have stayed gone after several small drives with engine on/off/on/off etc. R515 was of the opinion that a part from the same model of vehicle should be coded to operate on that type of vehicle which sounds very plausible and makes sense for my situation as from everything i read online INPA wont code but will only read.

Either way i'm out of the s#!t and thought I should pass this knowledge on for future searchers. Doing this job cost me £50 for a used part (i looked for one with alkost identcal numbers all over it to the one i took off)... comparednto £250 for a new part and at least £160 to have it 'coded' to the car, which it now seems like it didnt even need. (Not to mention how much fitting would have been at a garage!) Given that I already had a copy of INPA, but a very doable job if you want to save a LOT of money.

*Due to having a young family now i'm not as active on the forums as I once was but i'm sure there are far more knowledgeable members on here who can answer any questions if I dont see it for a while!!

Well done for having a go and getting it sorted 

Well done. Need the same doing on mine. Will pm you

Excellent work well done.

Thanks very much people... dont think i could afford to own this car if i didnt get things sorted at home. Reckon i've saved £800 in labour/garage fees last couple of months (i did have sine plain sailing before this though i have to say)

Hi

Well done on getting it sorted and the useful write up.

Hi Admin
is it worth making this a useful stickyfor other members to refer to.

Thank you

Graeme

top man for sorting that i am thinking i could be suffering the same problem , i am interested to no what your using for diagnostics as i feel i may need to invest in some thing myself now , have looked at various options on ebay but not sure what i am looking for ..

[quote="dazzasgotav8"]
top man for sorting that i am thinking i could be suffering the same problem , i am interested to no what your using for diagnostics as i feel i may need to invest in some thing myself now , have looked at various options on ebay but not sure what i am looking for ..
[/quote]
INPA he say's in his post.

Yeah INPA is pretty amazing on these and I got a set from 'bmtechnic' with INPA, TIS' NCSexpert etc but that was years ago... it's been a real godsend though so look them up see if they're still going.

I actually decided the yaw sensor was to blame from some reseatch online before i realised i could monitor the real time values in INPA and look at what the wheel speed sensors and the SAS and the yaw sensor were reading as i was driving/moving the wheel. It became obvious really quickly it was the SAS that wasnt reading correctly.

HTH

INPA he say's in his post.

i no he said that but i am unfamiliar with inpa for all i no it could of been anything he was using to read the codes , i am just a newbie looking for some help in choosing a bit of kit to help me out why spend money at the dealers if i can use that money to buy my own kit

Hi, Inpa is a program for your laptop, you can buy the software discs and serial cable lead from EBay
I havnt personally used it , but it can do more than most other diognostics , in the right hands
It's not overly expensive either.
There's a few members on here use it to great affect, sure someone will be able to advise further with first hand experience.

thank you for that i just need a pointer to a good seller and i will purchase said software , will need to dig me laptop out the loft and hope it still works ....

This is not the lowest priced but a good company.

https://www.bcables.com/#xl_anchor_facts

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-USB-OBD- ... SwpoJXDsYZ

[quote="Alan Gunn"]
This is not the lowest priced but a good company.

https://www.bcables.com/#xl_anchor_facts

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-USB-OBD- ... SwpoJXDsYZ
[/quote]

Many thanks for that Alan i will purchase that and see how it goes hopefully i will get to the bottom of my issues