# Ford electric power steering Can bus inputs



## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

If it's like a Focus, I believe that the EPAS control unit gets a road speed indication (not engine speed) and a steering angle, both over CAN. I doubt any of the inputs would be engine-related or from engine-mounted sensors. As long as supply voltage is high enough (which only happens in an engine-driven vehicle when the engine is turning the alternator) I don't know why EPAS wouldn't power on without the engine running, although the ignition switch would need to be in the run mode.


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## Roadstercycle (Jun 26, 2019)

The only reason I think it does not power on without the engine running is because it could drain the battery very quickly if it where not running and charging.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Roadstercycle said:


> The only reason I think it does not power on without the engine running is because it could drain the battery very quickly if it where not running and charging.


Sure, but the same applies to lots of things that are powered from ignition-switched circuits. Just a minimum voltage around 12.8 volts would ensure that there was a charging system working.


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## Roadstercycle (Jun 26, 2019)

I have 13.8 volts with key on and my DC to DC converter charging. I believe I'm needing the correct Can Bus messages. Cortex racing has an inline can bus simulator that will turn the unit on with the correct can bus messages but it does not adjust for driving. It's the same in a parking lot as it is on the freeway. $400 price tag which may or may not be worth it. I was running the Boss 302 type setup with a standard rack and an electric pump and it works great but I hate the whining noise it makes. In a loud ICE car it would be fine but not in my Mustang.


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## Roadstercycle (Jun 26, 2019)

So I was able to make the rack turn on by sending can bus signals to it through CanHacker. So now I am going to setup up a teensey 4.0 to send can bus directly to the EPAS rack with a couple of push buttons to tell it how much help it gives. Meaning, tell it that I'm driving in parking lot conditions, race conditions or highway speeds. Sounds real easy, NOT! as I have no Arduino programming knowledge, but then again I had no idea how to sniff Can bus 3 days ago. Necessity is the mother of invention. So off to learn Arduino programming.


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## 266917 (May 4, 2020)

brian_ said:


> If it's like a Focus, I believe that the EPAS control unit gets a road speed indication (not engine speed) and a steering angle, both over CAN. I doubt any of the inputs would be engine-related or from engine-mounted sensors. As long as supply voltage is high enough (which only happens in an engine-driven vehicle when the engine is turning the alternator) I don't know why EPAS wouldn't power on without the engine running, although the ignition switch would need to be in the run mode.


I'm not familiar with EPAS, but for the Nissan/Infiniti computer, it reads road speed from the ABS encoder, if that helps.


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## 266917 (May 4, 2020)

Roadstercycle said:


> So I was able to make the rack turn on by sending can bus signals to it through CanHacker. So now I am going to setup up a teensey 4.0 to send can bus directly to the EPAS rack with a couple of push buttons to tell it how much help it gives. Meaning, tell it that I'm driving in parking lot conditions, race conditions or highway speeds. Sounds real easy, NOT! as I have no Arduino programming knowledge, but then again I had no idea how to sniff Can bus 3 days ago. Necessity is the mother of invention. So off to learn Arduino programming.


This is really cool, and I'm sure you've considered this already, but I feel like I have to say it: You'll want to be absolutely sure, when messing with steering stuff, before using it in real life. Even just having all your power assist go away is an exciting experience, because power racks aren't intended to make it easy to use unassisted.


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## Roadstercycle (Jun 26, 2019)

It may need the ABS signal too. The only thing that is confusing me is that it shuts off when sitting still after I inject the engine on message. Which means no ABS should be needed when sitting still. Anyway still playing with it. Found Cortex racing sells a little electronics board that makes it go into sport mode work for $399. So there is an answer but that's no fun, figuring this stuff out is the fun part.


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## cloudy (Oct 18, 2019)

Were you able to get this going at all? I am seeing angle frames on 0x080 - Are you able to share the start/assist CAN frames?


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## reiderM (Dec 30, 2020)

I know this is an old thread but I am currently trying to figure out the same thing on my 2010 escape. Power steering won't work unless it receives CAN messages, not even in a failsafe assist mode I've found. 

Any ideas? I have a thread up on the Ford Escape forum about it but nothing conclusive yet, except for possibly having to spoof both the camshaft and crankshaft sensor which is much easier said than done:








PCM pinout for 2010 Escape w/ 2.5L Duratec?


This is a typical waveform for camshaft/crankshaft.




www.escape-city.com


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