Steering Lock up on Highway during cold weather

[roaniecowpony]

So after I got the truck back from the dealer with no fix I figured it out on my own. So wranglers have Electro-Hydraulic power steering, meaning they have a similar power steering setup as any older vehicle consisting of a pump and a power steering rack(in our case we have a steering gear box). Only difference is that the wrangler’s pump is electric, not belt-driven like older cars. The issue with this is since the pump is one big electric motor, it’s extremely difficult to turn this pump by hand because your using your own strength to spin the steering wheel combined with the electric motor. If this was an older car with a belt driven pump, this would be no big deal on highway speeds If your pump broke because your just spinning a very small pump with no drag. Now that the explanation is out of the way I’ll tell you what was wrong in my case, I have one mod done to my wrangler which is an aftermarket audio system installed by me(I’ve done this for years and on a regular basis CORRECTLY AND SAFELY). This puts a tremendous amount of load on the vehicle’s electrical system if you have power hungry equipment such as an amplifier over 2000 watts RMS (in my case I’m pushing closer to 5000 watts at full volume), an insane amount of led lights, etc. The wrangler even though equipped with a more than capable 220 amp alternator and a AGM battery cannot keep up with this dynamic load combined with the pump because our trucks are equipped with a nightmare fuel saving measure known as a “Smart Charging Alternator “ which uses the IBS Sensor on the battery to only charge your battery when necessary or when you are braking. The power steering pump can pull upwards of 170 amps alone and a dynamic load of my amplifiers with the vehicles other systems were way too much for the vehicle to handle. This wouldn’t be in issue in an older vehicle such as a Wrangler Jk as these trucks will shoot 14volts to the battery regardless (plus they have a belt driven pump), but since we sometimes only get supplied as low as 12.3volts from our alternator while coasting, this means the alternator is basically not producing any extra available current to run any aftermarket loads. The Wrangler decides that since the voltage dropped significantly during its coasting period, that something is wrong and will trigger a failsafe of disabling the pump to prevent stalling. The fix, now that I’m done boring you here’s how I fixed my issue, I added a lithium battery in-line with my amplifiers to take the brunt of the load during dynamic loads. I also upgraded my alternator to a 450amp to have my batteries recover quicker when the vehicle is actually allowing the battery to charge. If your wrangler has a stock electric system with no upgrades such as amplifiers,winches,lights,etc, have your batteries tested outside of the vehicle. The only thing that can cause this issue is a faulty alternator or faulty batteries. Good luck and please let me know if you fix your issue!

Great explanation of your jeep's problem. It may give a clue to those that are experiencing this gremlin even without electrical modifications.

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[ducatijosh]

I just had this happen on my 2022 Gladiator Rubicon. Exactly the same issue. Wheel got super stiff and then unlocked as I slowed down to about 30mph. The only electrical mod at all I have is American Adventure Labs front fender light / turn signals.

It was about 25 degrees out. I noticed that my battery voltage had hit 15+ amps a couple times on the freeway this morning just before it happened. Battery issue? I didn’t get any messages or check engine lights but I have two codes.

U0002-00
U0011-00

Both of which are can bus related. The green block behind the glove box I believe.

What’s the explanation for it being temperature related in your case?

 

[Bob Burd]

I had my power steering go out several times a few years ago. It was related to faults from the sway bar disconnect. Both systems are connected on the CANBUS along with a host of others. Bad wiring or bad module can cause such problems. They can be hard to diagnose and fix.

 

[Alall002]

I just had this happen on my 2022 Gladiator Rubicon. Exactly the same issue. Wheel got super stiff and then unlocked as I slowed down to about 30mph. The only electrical mod at all I have is American Adventure Labs front fender light / turn signals.

It was about 25 degrees out. I noticed that my battery voltage had hit 15+ amps a couple times on the freeway this morning just before it happened. Battery issue? I didn’t get any messages or check engine lights but I have two codes.

U0002-00
U0011-00

Both of which are can bus related. The green block behind the glove box I believe.

What’s the explanation for it being temperature related in your case?

Cold weather drains your batteries and more than likely your batteries are on their way out if your seeing your voltage as high as 15v meaning your alternator is working overtime to try and get them back to a stable state. Those communication codes your getting in your canbus system are related to those modules turning off since there isn’t enough power to keep everything on. I recommend pulling out both your batteries and having them tested at a local auto parts store to verify.

 

[Alall002]

I had my power steering go out several times a few years ago. It was related to faults from the sway bar disconnect. Both systems are connected on the CANBUS along with a host of others. Bad wiring or bad module can cause such problems. They can be hard to diagnose and fix.

Yeah I’ve seen countless posts about anyone that has a rubicon having issues with their canbus system but most complaints are on the 2018-2020 model years, what year is yours?

 

[ducatijosh]

Yeah I’ve seen countless posts about anyone that has a rubicon having issues with their canbus system but most complaints are on the 2018-2020 model years, what year is yours?

Mines a 2022 Rubicon Gladiator. I assume I would see sway bar disconnect codes as well though right? I think that issue was the wiring harness for it rubbing on the bottom of the radiator and splitting open, then shorting out the canbus.

 

[Bob Burd]

Mine is a 2018. I got sway bar messages, but it wasn't the wire under the radiator. Didn't find the cause, so I run without the disconnect.
I haven't heard of any changes to the CANBUS that would preclude 2020+ models having the same problems.

 

[William16]

I have a 2018 jl and they are doing a buybuck because they cant figure it out. I am in California so it is not cold related.

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