Increase efficiency by disabling electric assist in steering

20521 Views 82 Replies 31 Participants Last post by IamIan, Jun 21, 2010

Guillermo

Discussion Starter · Jul 13, 2004

This is for the traditionalists and the hard-core milleage freaks.
By removing the fuse of the electric assist power steering you will conserve battery power that would otherwise be used every time you turn the wheel. It also gives you better feel of what is going on between the road and the tires at higher speeds.

This is a very simple, quick and easy mod you can do in 20 seconds just before you drive to work tomorrow to feel it for yourself.

Open the hood.
Look for 40A power steering fuse as shown on fuse box decal.
Remove the 40A power steering fuse and store in your cup holder.
Drive the car and feel the real effort it takes to drive without power steering. :shock:

It's not that bad really, it feels firm during normal driving.
I first tried it an auto-x and it felt like I was wrestling a bear when turning fast at low speeds. But at higher speeds I had a better feel what the tires where doing. On the highway I drove home and it feel firm but nice.
I'll try it on and off a few times and decide what I prefer after a few days.

Tell me what you think after you try it.

41 - 60 of 83 Posts

Willie Williford

· #41 · Aug 7, 2004

The "electric power system" works off of pressure sensors.

The more side pressure the more assist. (simple english)

When going in a straight line, it is dormant.

I don't think you will save any gas or electricity by disableing it.

It's a convience thing and a selling gimmick.
It is defnately a "work of art" though.

(MY OPINION)

b1shmu63

· #42 · Aug 8, 2004

You are right Willie. The current drain is small. I measure very little current unless you are driving like Guillermo.

I have to verify my meter readings before I can give you numbers.

Corey872

· #43 · Aug 8, 2004

Quite right...I have had mine disconnected for about a month now. Haven't really seen any change in mileage. But, my "unbiased" test subject (girlfriend) says it is more stable out on the highway. I concur.

I simply told her "an experiment to see if the battery stays charged more" She said, "doesn't seem to change the battery" then on her own, "but does handle better on the highway"

Corey

b1shmu63

· #44 · Aug 10, 2004

Yesterday my Insight went back on the road with the power steering mod. I put on 120 miles of rural highway and city traffic. The power steering switched on and off without drawing attention to itself. The car felt more solid on the highway. It still has a tendancy to wander in heavy cross winds, but it didn't feel as though I was constantly making minute corrections. It felt more linear , more "normal". For some folk it might make the difference between sticking with LRR tires or looking for a stickier replacement tire. Understand that I would have stuck with the Potenzas anyway, you get used to them, but I prefer it with the mod.

If I was doing it again I would only use one micro switch for 5th gear to simplify things. In fact if you could find a high current double throw micro swich you wouldn't need the relay.

dazey

· #45 · Oct 6, 2004

Not to burst everyone's bubble (I also like the way it handles without power steering) but disabling the EPS could have a negative affect on ABS performance.

I talked to the tech at my local dealer for about 2 hours the other day about Insights as he had just returned from Honda's latest training program on hybrids (unfortunately I couldn't get much out of him about the Accord hybrid other than they are now using fiber optic connections between the computers for faster response times). Anyways, he said that the EPS motor is used to find directional information about the tires. This, along with several other sensors and 3 of the onboard computers, tells the ABS how much pressure to put to each wheel. Disabling the EPS motor won't completely disable the ABS, but it most likely will only apply even pressure to all of the wheels.

Not that I'm ever planning on having to test the full effectiveness of my ABS, but anyone who has driven in Marin county commute traffic knows there are idiots out there who will make you test them. So for now my EPS light remains off and I can steer with 1 finger again.

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Guillermo

Discussion Starter · #46 · Oct 6, 2004

Knowing that I don't recommend disabling the EPS.
The ABS system is designed to allow you to brake and turn at the same time by reducing the braking force when the wheel is turned.

Disabling the EPS will not allow the advanced ABS computer algorithm to put priority on steering instead of braking so a collision will be more difficult to avoid.

Guillermo

Discussion Starter · #47 · Mar 26, 2005

Just a few days ago I read in the Insight Service Manual that when the electric power steering (EPS) motor starts overheating from turning the wheel quickly back and forth many times,
the EPS gradually reduces steering assist until it stops assisting to allow the motor to cool. This is something I have never noticed during an auto-x so it must take more then 1 minute to overheat.

There is no reason why the steering system would get damaged when EPS fuse is removed. But like explained above, with the EPS fuse removed the ABS is not as affective at allowing the car to brake and turn simultaneously.
But braking and turning simultaneously is very poor technique specially in an an emergency collision avoidance situation. But very people have the training and practice to do this well, unless they race on weekends :wink:

b1shmu63

· #48 · Mar 27, 2005

I had a circuit installed on my car to automatically disable the power steering when I was in 4th or 5th gear. I took it off. Mesurements of the current drain indicated that it would not save a measurable amount of gas. To my mind it did improve the feeling of the car at highway speed, but now that I have rmoved it I don't notice that it is gone.

Having had a near miss with a deer and with a truck, I really apreciate having the power steering.

My suggestion is to leave the steering alone (based on my experience).

trunkout

· #49 · Mar 28, 2005

i will not put it back!

The road feel on the highway feels like a larger car....what more could you ask for???

As for accidents, what are you doing NEAR an accident in a 1800 lb car anyway?

PS....don't get in one.....no one can fix our car right.....4 different dealerships f'ed mine up for 8 months!!!!!

She is ok now....just some trauma.....makes her stronger....

dtlee

· #50 · Mar 9, 2008

I tried this all day today for about 120 miles and was pleasantly surprised. Felt a lot more like one of my German cars than a japanese car. The lack of feedback is my constant gripe with all things Japanese. It seems like this has solved the problem! I am just wondering if disabling the assist will be bad on drive components BEFORE the power steering unit. It seems like the components like steering wheel, shaft, universal joint near the brake lever ... would be all under more stress than designed for. Right now I'm keeping the EPS off... it feels too good to go back.

ikhoudvanu199

· #51 · Mar 9, 2008

im going to try this tomorrow...i had no power steering in my 91 honda civic and had no problems turning it...id like to see what kind of change this makes

Roger Crier

· #52 · Mar 9, 2008

So now we have got a redundant electric motor that gets spun up whenever you turn the steering, how about rigging it up as a generator for the 12 volt battery :lol:

Rog

ikhoudvanu199

· #53 · Mar 19, 2008

Holicow said:
Yeah, gotta be able to park that land yacht with one hand...

haha! with one hand, while using the other hand to talk on your cell phone, the other hand to break up the fighting kids in the back, and the other hand to use the on board computer to order pizza for later! :lol:

anyway...

i finally got around to removing the fuse...and also pumped my tires up to 44 psi...between the two, i saw an increase in my mileage throughout the day, even as it was getting colder...I also noticed my autostop kicking in when i thought it was too cold for it(coincidence? probably)

it handled alot like my old 91 civic dx...it didnt have power steering either, so im ok with the feel of it...and ya, feels much smoother on the highway

weslich

· #54 · Mar 20, 2008

I unplugged my EPS fuse this morning. Not all that hard to handle. Will post MPG results for the tank sometime next week.

shifty35

· #55 · Mar 20, 2008

Re:

dazey said:
Not to burst everyone's bubble (I also like the way it handles without power steering) but disabling the EPS could have a negative affect on ABS performance.

I talked to the tech at my local dealer for about 2 hours the other day about Insights as he had just returned from Honda's latest training program on hybrids (unfortunately I couldn't get much out of him about the Accord hybrid other than they are now using fiber optic connections between the computers for faster response times). Anyways, he said that the EPS motor is used to find directional information about the tires. This, along with several other sensors and 3 of the onboard computers, tells the ABS how much pressure to put to each wheel. Disabling the EPS motor won't completely disable the ABS, but it most likely will only apply even pressure to all of the wheels.

Not that I'm ever planning on having to test the full effectiveness of my ABS, but anyone who has driven in Marin county commute traffic knows there are idiots out there who will make you test them. So for now my EPS light remains off and I can steer with 1 finger again.

I had read this a couple weeks ago, and thought it was odd at first glance.

I dug through the Electrical Troubleshooting Manual and looked at all the schematics for the EPS and ABS systems.

They are not connected to each other in any way. The ABS system has no input from the ECM, EPS, or any other system that may have steering data.

The description of how the ABS system functions makes no reference to steering angle in calculating pressure.

Therefore, my conclusion is that this statement is bunk. Disabling EPS will have *no* effect on ABS whatsoever.

This is in the Insight at least - newer Honda Hybrids probably do something like this.

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budomove

· #56 · Mar 20, 2008

My last car was a 91 civic hatch, so I am pulling the eps fuse, b/c I love the feel of not having power steering....except when parallel parking.

joecvt

· #57 · Mar 20, 2008

Just make an EPS on / off switch....I have never pulled the fuse so I'm not sure if you have to restart the car or can it be enabled / disabled on the fly.

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

weslich

· #58 · Mar 20, 2008

Good point. I'll have to try pulling the fuse with the key on to be sure that an on-off switch would work properly. Let you know how that goes.

ikhoudvanu199

· #59 · Mar 21, 2008

i read through the rest of the thread...and turning the EPS on and off during driving has no problems....some of the other members made it so the EPS only turns off in 4th and 5th gears

so far i have seen a strange improvement in mpg...between pulling the plug, and pumping my tires back up to summer pressure(i lowered them in the winter for better traction in bad weather)...could just be the warmer weather though, so its hard to tell...now is a tough time to make any mods and try to calculate the results

weslich

· #60 · Mar 22, 2008

I've put about 450 miles on the car since the last fill-up and EPS fuse pull. MPG is at 91.6 which includes plenty of traffic and stops & starts. Could be a slight improvement, but the biggest difference I've noticed is the SOC stays very high. After a few healthy assists, the regens seem quicker and the SOC maxes out and stays there during highway cruising. Will update next week. Hope to post a personal mileage record soon while the weather down here remains mild enough to leave the a/c off.

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