[Tubsie]

So further to my original posts the steering is better but not perfect, the remote central locking and the drivers window are frustrating but not insurmountable. I also fitted a new battery box as the original one didn't have any battery restraint so it's all been fairly good thus far.
I did use use the Mongoose and SDD to check out any fault codes and whilst there are no apparent codes it appears not to be communicating with 3 modules and I can only remember 2 of them till i plug it back in at the weekend, but the 2 I do remember are unsuprisingly the DDM, and the FEM which incidently could be the issue with the steering. from the 2004 Tech guide.

As I haven't played with the SDD any further than reading codes, I dont actually know how to do anything else with it yet but I am reading the IDS SDD training manual to see the next steps.

Wish me luck 😜 😜 😜

 

[Tubsie]

I can only share my real world experiences with you. The remotes for the car eventually stopped operating the doorlocks. The remotes transmitted ok as I checked them with a Sealy RF tester. The next step was a 2nd hand DDM which I installed. I knew it was going to work as the doors unlocked but the alarm was triggered as it needed to be programmed to the car. A quick trip to my Indy with the door card off, swapped it over on his forecourt and he programmed it into the car. Job done.

My other real world experience was the heavy steering. I had other electrical problems so started to tackle the earth studs behind the headlamps. Halfway through the job I had to move the car with the earths disconnected. Car started ok but the steering was VERY heavy. All came good when the earths were reconnected thus demonstrating a direct link between the effectiveness of the front earth studs and the power steering. I had a quick look back through your threads but can't see that these have been remade. Bear in mind they may look ok but they disintegrate from the inside. A quick tweak with a spanner usually reveals how good they are.

Yes it's likely to be my next port of call sorting out the earth studs but thanks for the heads up, it would seem that most electrical gremlims stem from the poor earthing