ok so I have a 06 Cobalt SS/SC and my power steering started to go out last week. Heres what I've been able to figure out so far after reading past posts on this issue

-Power steering only goes out when driving straight and will come back on after turning the car off and then turning it back on
-There is a loud click coming from the PSCM right before it goes out
-All fuses are in tack
-The wire in the top left part of the fuse box has a good connection
-All connections look good and are getting full voltage
-Power steering does NOT go out when I wiggle any of the connections on the PSCM
-The battery and alternator are good

Here is one finding that stands out though: when I go to test the voltage of the red/black wire coming from the PSCM to the motor w/ a multimeter the PSCM does the click as soon as I touch it with the probe and then of course I lose power steering. This is the only way I can get the power steering to go out when I am parked.

The only thing I can conclude from this is that there is a bad ground. Any thoughts on this? Wiring diagrams would be greatly appreciated too.

 

i still havent figuered it out yet lol and im driving around with no power steering lol they said i blew some fues on the steering wheel and somewhere in the fuse box

 

I've been having the same issues...

Actually, my problems started in August - there was one day when we went on a long trip and the power steering failed (freaked us out!). Happened several more times that day.

Since then no problems, really ... until our trip to Thanksgiving. Failed once on the way there and three or four times on the way back.

I've been thinking it's heat-related, since it started happening when it was a pretty hot day in the summer and it happened again when we had the heat cranked (cold outside). I bought a cheapo inside/outside digital thermometer and taped the "outside" sensor to the PSCM over Thanksgiving; on the drive back when it failed I noticed the PSCM temp was well over 90 degrees. Since then it hasn't failed and the temp hasn't quite gotten that high. I have noticed that it seems to have an easy time heating up and a hard time cooling down; poor thermal design might help it over heat easily.

A long time ago I found a wiring diagram somewhere on the interwebs and printed it out. I can't remember where I found it so I can't send you a link, but you might find it if you search around. I could scan it in for you but it will probably be unreadable - it's really bad quality....

Here are the connections, though:

C1 (BK)
1: RD/BK Battery Positive Voltage
2: BK Ground

C2 (GY)
1: TN/BK Class 2 Serial Data
2: TN Class 2 Serial Data
4: BN/WH Class 2 Serial Data
5: BN Class 2 Serial Data
6: PK Ignition 1 Voltage

C3 (BK)
+: RD Right Assist Motor Control
-: BK Left Assist Motor Control

There are four other unlabeled wires going to the steering shaft torque sensor.

It's interesting that you can get it to fail when you probe the motor voltage. Was one probe on ground while the other was on the wire to the motor? Maybe try with one probe on each of the motor wires. The wiring diagram suggests that one wire should always be grounded while the other is connected to power.

I'll try to get my multimeter in my car soon... see if I can replicate the same things you're seeing.

 

Add my name to the list of power steering issues.

Just happened today while I was driving a winding road... power steering came up on the DIC after a sharp turn, and no steering. Pulled over, looked at things, and didn't see anything wrong. Start the car over, and everything seems ok.

Winding road to where I live, make the turn into the complex at the end of it and power steering on the DIC again. Turned the car off and on, and everything is seemingly ok. Searched the forums here, and went back out to check all the fuses and wires into the fuse box. Some seemed loose, so I pushed them all back in. When I say loose, they wiggled a bit, and said wiggle was gone after being pushed in.

I'll take the car for a test run tonight, and see if I can get the issue to occur again. Anyone able to tell if it'll be covered under warranty if it's an 07 SS/SC with only 28k miles? Because if I get power steering on the DIC again, it's going in Monday.

j

 

I've been getting power steering codes on my Redline. You guys getting the same codes? I get a axle like click when the car is sitting still, turned on and I spin the wheel left to right....Any ideas?

C0896- System High/Low Voltage EBCM,PSCM
C0899- Device Voltage Low PSCM

 

Well, at this point I can pretty much rule out overheating. Today was pretty bad as it started failing only a few minutes after starting the car. Temps were normal, PSCM felt cool to the touch, and of course it's snowing outside ...

Still have not yet tested it with the multimeter. Hopefully will get to soon. Also would like to see if there are any codes on the BCM eventually. Not sure what else to do except take it to the dealer

Any other ideas?

 

Update: tested with multimeter. I could not get it to click off when parked, testing both the red/black wire (which goes to battery power) and the red or black wires that go to the motor. fire73087 -- where exactly did you put your multimeter leads in order to get it to click off?

In addition, I put my two multimeter leads across the two motor wires and could watch the voltage go positive and negative as you turned the wheel right and left. Had my wife drive around the block while I watched the meter -- the two times it shut off the meter voltage was pretty close to zero.

We've noticed that as long as you keep turning the wheel, it doesn't shut off. Just don't ever drive straight

 

GM Roadside picked mine up Monday, the dealer got the new steering column this morning, and it should be all fixed with tires rotated/balanced, Nitrofill recharged, and oil changed by tomorrow. Steering under warranty. Wootness.

To answer about the clicking, only when it kicked off. My issue is with a suspension squeak that is eluding me before the EPS died on me.

j

 

this happened to me and eventually turning the car on/off didnt fix it anymore... thank god i have 60k mile warranty... the dealer fixed it, had i not had warrenty it was going to cost $1000 plus labor... the power steering motor is attached to the shaft under the dash and they had to replace the whole thing from what i was told... the parts manager is in our car club so im pretty sure he wouldnt lie to me about it...

 

Mine started doing the same thing last week. It's really starting to get annoying. short distances isn't much of a problem. It's when i drive more than 15 min it starts to go out . And then after that it goes out sooner and sooner...so i'm guessing the longer i drive the more frequent it goes out. And $1000 to fix the problem?!? My car is no longer under warranty...that is going to be a huge problem I don't even have 1k in the bank... Anyone have any idea how to fix without spending so much money?

 

A couple of things here.

First, when you are using a voltmeter to check circuits, you have to disconnect the harness from the part. Otherwise you have not isolated the circuit, and you will have no real idea what you are testing.

Second, the electric power steering in our cars is controlled by the ECM, which is a little weird, but that's the way it is. However, I don't think this problem has anything to do with that.

By the report you give, it sounds like a genuine motor failure. The circuit is tripping, either due to overheat or short, and the motor is in turn turning off. If you still have a warranty, get it to the shop quick.

 

Update on my situation -- finally took it to the dealership, and they covered it under a "goodwill warranty", even though I've got an 05 with 37k. Paid a $100 deductible. They also fixed the control arm bushings that were shot and did an alignment. They wanted $300 for a brake job which I declined

Funny thing, though, the new steering column that they installed has the "clunking" problem that you'll see mentioned here... they noticed it as soon as they installed it and ordered (actually backordered) a replacement that they will install for free

My suggestion is to try taking it to the dealership, and treat them nice. They might just take care of it for you. If not, call GM customer care and complain about the cost -- I've heard of people getting GM to pay for it as well. If you don't want to deal with the dealership, just buy a steering column off of eBay or something similar. It'll run you anywhere from less than $100 to $400 brand new. It's not a difficult job to replace yourself. I think it's usually just a motor failure; but you can't just buy the motor, you have to get the entire column.

 

There might not be anything wrong with the motor other than the over temp device in the motor being faulty.
To find out for sure you would have to know if it(over temp devise) completes the cicut or opens the circut when it thinks it sees the motor getting to hot .
Then with a wiring diagram you could find the cicut that needs to be opened or closed to fool the ecm.

 

Hey guys i just thought i would add to this thread. My car is also having the power steering problem and it seems to be totaly random. Last week we took a trip of 100+ miles and it didnt go off once, but sometimes it wont even make it to the end of the block without going off. I bought a used column from ebay for $100 and it just got here today. I plan on changing it out in the next day or 2 and i will try to get a couple of pics of the process.

Ed

 

Im having this problem. Dealership is replacing the column. Im also having the thermostat replaced because its stuck open. 1400 out the door.

 

Boourns! This sucks. My car just started with this problem as well. 76,000kms. 20,000 Personal Kms. Reading some of the treads, might be worth my while to find the parts via internet, knowing some Mechanics, Family twined, Might be able to get this done cheaper than what the dealer is going to ask for it.

 

So talking with the g/f's sister's boyfriend who's a licenced mechanic, Asking me for symptoms of what else my car is doing. Explaing that the EPS branches to so many different aspects in the front end of the balts, all branching to the the power steering faliure problems that sooo many people are having. Explaining that Anything that has to do with the control of the car will effect power steering, like the traction control(slipping on ice) ABS(same thing) and wheel bearings. In the cobalts and any newer electronic driven car, if anything is faulty, like wheel bearings or your abs or traction control, it will trigger your EPS to shut down until you restart your vehicle which then it resets. So we have almost concluded in my case, that I was soo worried that I was going to have to replace my whole Steering column, come to find out that when a wheel bearing starts going bad, your vehicle only has to be going 5km/h before your electronic system detects that you have somethign wrong and will trigger your EPS to shut down. To make a long story short, be sure that when you car is at the dealer, that they are checking these things, instead of making you dish you the 600+ dollars for the column plus labour when it could be something alot simpler like I found out.

 

I replaced the power steering unit at the base of the column and the power steering works great again. I wrote a quick how to and posted it! Good luck!

 

ANy update on this?

 

So get this. Im driving to get a oil change and all the sudden POWER STEERING pops up on my DIC. I say ok no big deal ill get them to check it out. Well all the sudden my steering wheel gets tough to turn. As if i had to power steering. So i get to GM in Villa Rica and they say.They said it pulls a CO1476 code i believe (dont quote the code). and that it says to check the wiring harness and if its not that MY POWER STEERING MOTOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. AFTER 40,000 miles. Not only thats. Its a internal motor. Quoted $850. Thats bull crap. SO i tell them im gonna try and tough it out until i get ore opinions and they say it will eventually lock up. Well on my way home....... IT GOES OFF!!! No more tough turns im good to go. OK go somewhere today..... IT COMES BACK ON...... OK Well the only conclusion i can come to is theres a wiring problem somewhere.

bc if it was a internal problem.... It would be constant and not on and off.

$850 lol wow. and its only 4,000 miles over my warrantyThought i would post my story in here as well so we can accumulate the stories. Its crazy that GM knows there is a problem but wont recall it

 

my ps went out but i had a bad alt. so they replaced it and i havnt had problems since

 

Not actually true. You could have a bad motor and it could still be an intermittent problem. From you description I couldn't tell if you actually let them look at the wiring to determine if that was the problem. The reason for the large expense is due to the column design. You don't just replace the power steering motor. You replace the entire column.

 

my wheel bearing were bad changed them but my power steering still turn off on me and i disconnected the battery for like 5 to 10 mins and no luck so you guys think i need a new power steering motor?....

 

My Power Steering went out on me this week after a handbrake stand. the front wheels eventualy dragged the rear ones, i guess flatting out a bit of the tires....noticed a bumpy feeling right away, but the P/S failure got noticed by my girlfriend a couple days later. Wheel bearing being an option, brought it to a friends garage the next day and decided not to talk about anything. we went for a test drive and he outrulled the bearings and said it seemed tire related. Stoped and looked but tires seem ok. Told me to change to summer tires and if the problem persisted to get back to him. The Burnout didnt seem this awfull, considering it was the car's first, (200 000k prelude did it all the same, same for 300 000k celicas........ ). I've already got the "updated" steering column installed at 40000k,Im currently at 60000km. It's a 5speed 2007 lt, i get no P/s on the Dic. I read somewhere that suspension problems trow codes that disable P/S ?. you think its all related ?

guess i didn't read that very far =)

 

can anybody describe to me how does it feel??? when i drive and i turn slightly the steering wont come back to neutral i have to force it back to neutral. it will stay in a turning position is that power steering failure?