Ford E-450 "Drive by wire" ???
I found this post and it caught me by surprise. What is this referring to? "I owned a new 2004 E-350 that had the wander problem. Steering was like a video game with no road feel or feedback. That...
Forum Discussion
A couple of things come to mind...yes, drive-by-wire is commonly referred to when there is no throttle cable, but an electric motor drives the throttle plate at the intake. The accelerator pedal is just another input to the PCM and uses a TPS (throttle position sensor).
However this can also affect steering, since most power steering systems are variable boost, where boost is increased at low speeds to reduce steering effort when parking, and reduced at high speeds to increase control and road feel.
If the PCM was not properly reducing steering boost at high speeds, overboosted steering will produce a vehicle that is hard to control and wanders a lot, since steering input is magnified at higher speeds. This is likely what the Ford engineer was referring to.
The newest thing now is electric power steering. So instead of a steering linkage and hydraulic boost system, the steering rack uses and electric motor controlled by the steering wheel. Saves weight because you don't need a steering linkage through the firewall, no PS pump and associated plumbing, and no HP drain on the engine driving a PS pump. Brings new meaning to drive-by-wire....but they didn't have that in 2004.
However this can also affect steering, since most power steering systems are variable boost, where boost is increased at low speeds to reduce steering effort when parking, and reduced at high speeds to increase control and road feel.
If the PCM was not properly reducing steering boost at high speeds, overboosted steering will produce a vehicle that is hard to control and wanders a lot, since steering input is magnified at higher speeds. This is likely what the Ford engineer was referring to.
The newest thing now is electric power steering. So instead of a steering linkage and hydraulic boost system, the steering rack uses and electric motor controlled by the steering wheel. Saves weight because you don't need a steering linkage through the firewall, no PS pump and associated plumbing, and no HP drain on the engine driving a PS pump. Brings new meaning to drive-by-wire....but they didn't have that in 2004.
