Capped Plug on Front left fender above wheel? (solution found, its the servotronic)
 

Anyone have any idea what option this plug attaches itself to?
I have looked at the Coolant tank and the level sensor does not plug into it. :( plus all indications from the High OBC retrofit indicate that the coolant level plug comes in from the other side!
So, is this a plug for the Tire Pressure monitoring antenna? or something else!?
Just curious, because if there are prewired options, i would like to have them! :)
The photo was of a wrecked one, with the engine and other bits removed.
I was standing about where the rad would have been, looking towards the driver side. I have found the same plug in 4.4l and 3.0l engine models. (not sure about the 4.6 or 4.8 ones)
anyone have an idea??

thanx!
:cool:

PDC Sensors?

nope! mine has the pdc sensors installed (just did them!!) and while the plug is a two pin plug, it doesn not fit! similar size, but there are grooves in the end that do not allow a PDC sensor to fit in! (or a temp level or temp sensor for that matter! :)
Guess i will stroll out to the Dealership and see if they have any insight!
:cool:

if wires are WS (white? weiss) and GN (green?), then it could be RDC if the car was made before 09/2003...

On my right hand drive diesel, the plug is used. It disappears in behind that load bearing member.

This is the Servotronic connector. Used on cars equipped with variable assist power steering option. It connects to the electric valve mounted on the steering rack. It looks like most e53 came pre-wired for this option from the factory.


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Thanks
 

Well, that is correct! it does appear to be the Servotronic plug for my X5 Steering, next question. Does the servotronic make that much difference in steering ???? I ask because I may have to change out my steering rack, its VERY noisy and leaks a slight bit.
What sort of benefit does servotronic offer over non? (Im gearing my question towards those with multiple X5's who may have experienced both types of steering!) Im happy with how it handles but if I can make steering easier for my wife, I would be a happy man! :)
Also, wondering about coding, (the GMIII I presume!) anyone ever make the switch from 'regular' to servotronic??
thanx again for all the help! :cool:

It certainly makes it more expensive. We saw a few 6'ers come in with servotronic failures and they were fairly expensive to repair.

My understanding is that servotronic is just a variable steering system that tightens up steering at speed and loosens it during parking/low speed conditions.

Thanx Crystalworks, do you think (given I can get either steering rack for the same cost) would it be worth installing?? My X5 is pretty tight at the moment. I redid all the suspension a while back, its rock solid steering wise. the steering rack is leaking from the inboard seals, ever so slightly. and its fairly noisy ( it doesn't seem to be the pump) but I have to investigate a bit further.

The difference in steering feel is night and day with servotronic! This is by experience. My 2003 3.0 steering was reasonably tight with stock 235/65/17 wheels, but after I upgraded to 255/55/18 it got uncomfortably heavy and my wife (No comments about gym please;)) was not able to drive it. Period!
Around same time I was looking to get her 2005 4.4. She liked the car, but heavy steering was a showstopper. Being a good husband, I promised to address this “simple” issue and I did it with swapping steering rack with the one with servotronic. Before I dive into the technical details – the end result is very light steering at the low speeds. I liked it too, so I converted my 3.0 as well.
Now some technical details:
I got remanufactured Cardone racks from “Partsgeek.com” (they do not include servotronic valve itself). I just checked their website and they no longer have them, but you can find it from other sellers for under $400. I think it is Cardone part # 26-2818. I can confirm this if needed. The servotronic valve itself is $170 from partsgeek.
The installation is straight forward, just little tedious – you need to drop sub frame and slide steering rack to the side.
I did quick coding with NCS Expert on GM3 module to enable option 216.
As of today, I put over 40k miles on 2003 3.0 and over 12k on 2005 4.4. Both work great!