Steering Angle Sensor Replacement

[CapeX5]

Hello All, Have had the 3 yellow DSC, etc lights on all summer. Winter is coming and my scanner says my SAS is defunct! Have tried the calibration with no luck. Just thinking I need to do this before winter really hits. Have done lot's of research and unless I am misinterpreting info, it seems that I will need to go to Indy/dealer to have it calibrated once installed. Anyone confirm or deny this? Any tips on doing this job? On my list for near future projects. Thanks

[80stech]

If your scanner can access the angle calibration you should be good.

[mihai]

if you have to replace the steering angle sensor, the new one will need to be coded.
are you 100% that the sas is gone?
personally i calibrated mine using INPA and the issue got resolved(but i also had only the dsc light on).

[CapeX5]

Originally Posted by mihai

if you have to replace the steering angle sensor, the new one will need to be coded.
are you 100% that the sas is gone?
personally i calibrated mine using INPA and the issue got resolved(but i also had only the dsc light on).

Mihal, thanks for taking the time to reply. I am assuming it is bad because it will not calibrate with the steering lock to lock method, I did scan it with my Creator 310 and am getting a fault about slider adjustment(or something like that). I clear the fault and it does come back. And lastly, I do not have INPA. Have looked into it and I think since I am only familiar with MAC that I would struggle with installing it and using it. And, no one local to me that I know of has it. Would love to since I have 4 different models. I just can't stomach going to the dealer and having them stroke me for hundreds on a 16 yr old car that I think I can do most of the work on, other than the coding.

[mihai]

first, i think you would need to look in to why you have all 3 lights; grab a good scan software; not sure what your scanner is pulling for codes.

lock to lock is not calibrating

i suggest you order a cable for INPA (30-40$ on ebay); look for the software on the internet and download it; you might need to solder pins 7 and 8 to make it connect to the car;
the SAS is not that common to go out on these cars; so first i suggest to try some cheap things because if you go the sas route it might end up to be a bit expensive and might not be the issue to begin with.

[CapeX5]

Originally Posted by mihai

first, i think you would need to look in to why you have all 3 lights; grab a good scan software; not sure what your scanner is pulling for codes.

lock to lock is not calibrating

i suggest you order a cable for INPA (30-40$ on ebay); look for the software on the internet and download it; you might need to solder pins 7 and 8 to make it connect to the car;
the SAS is not that common to go out on these cars; so first i suggest to try some cheap things because if you go the sas route it might end up to be a bit expensive and might not be the issue to begin with.

Thanks for this. I am taking your advice and have reached out to 2 people that I know who are well versed in PC/Windows. I am also considering my ABS controller, even though I did have it repaired 2 years ago. May be worth taking it back off and having it checked again since it does have a lifetime warranty. Will update this thread once I make some progress.

[scourtaud23]

INPA & Co work perfectly on a Macbook.

- Buy the cable
- Go to a torrent site, download a Windows XP SP3
- Download Virtual Box and add on package (a little below the main software on the download page (google it)
- Download BMWEasyTools.zip (google it)
- Install virtual box
- Create a virtual machine in virtual box using the Windows Image as boot (to install it)
- Install the virtual box add on package (allows for drag and drop from the mac to the virtual machine
- Drag BMW Easy Tools to the VM
- Install it
- Install the cable drivers (Included in BMW Easy Tools)
- Reboot the VM
- Launch the VM
- Plug into the car
- Plug into the macbook
- Direct the usb connection to the VM (icons in the bottom bar of the window)
- Go to start > Control pannel > System > hardware > device manager > Serial adapters > Open the cable (> Settings > advanced > Com port : Com 1) (the part in brackets is fuzzy, I'm not connected to my car right now)
- While you're in the System window, go to automatic updates and disable them.
- Launch INPA and select E53 then find the steering angle sensor in the options and calibrate.

If it can't connect to the SAS, you need to jump pins 7&8 on the OBD cable. Open the plug, find them (usually numbered inside the black plastic plug on the plug side) and with a soldering iron or a clamp or anything that will jump them together, do it.

You can also try E53 > Select the shown item in the right list (IDENT....) and select ident so it lists existing modules.

Try inpa again, it should work.

I'm currently putting together a video that shows all of these steps but its not done since I'm doing how to set up all of these softwares.

[mihai]

another thing...the three lights might also indicate an issue with the transfer case actuator. this is a common thing on these cars...in most cases it's not the actuator that goes bad, but the plastic gear inside it; costs about 70-90$ on ebay, pretty easy to change and lots of youtube diy for this. sometimes it might present symptoms, sometimes it might not...so it's good to scan and see what codes you pull from the car

[Scott ZHP]

Originally Posted by mihai

another thing...the three lights might also indicate an issue with the transfer case actuator. this is a common thing on these cars...in most cases it's not the actuator that goes bad, but the plastic gear inside it; costs about 70-90$ on ebay, pretty easy to change and lots of youtube diy for this. sometimes it might present symptoms, sometimes it might not...so it's good to scan and see what codes you pull from the car

Yes on the later X drive models; however I believe he has the NV125 transfer case, no actuator in these.

[Bmwtvboy]

I take it you ruled out all issues pertaining to the ABS module/pump system and that you have thoroughly tested your all your sensors. I had my SAS changed and less than two years after the trifecta haunts my X. Good thing it spends summer in ME and winter in FL. I have much to learn and fix on this 01 - 3.0 , 235K miles. Good luck. BTW, you can do the install yourself, but you'll need to accept the hammer/chisel part that requires separating the steering shaft to remove the sensor.