Getting U0126 Code

mphilleo

Member
A few weeks back, I had my 2012 JKU brought in for an alignment. The tech there was recommended by the local 4x4 shop as "the guy" for this type of thing, especially for a lifted Jeep with a fully adjustable suspension like I have. Long story short, the alignment was performed and although the Jeep tracked pretty straight as it's reasonably able, the steering wheel was always about 3-7° to the left to drive straight. I was wondering if they had centered the steering wheel at all.

Since I have JScan and a Bluetooth OBDII reader, I was able to check ABS codes and even the angle of the steering angle sensor. With the wheel slightly CCW, I'm guessing about 1.5-3°, it showed 0° on the live readout module. When I re-centered the steering wheel myself, the module read -3° or so. And on the road, the steering wheel looked more centered, even requiring less CCW input to still ride straight. A couple days ago, though, I got a U0126 code for lost communication with the steering angle sensor. I cleared the code and drove with it in that -3° position for a day or so more and it never came back as a pending code.

I set up an appointment for the original shop to look at the Jeep again to confirm if the SAS was working properly and to ensure the wheel was centered (I put the drag link back to the original position it left the shop with). After getting it back, they said the SAS checked out fine, the alignment looked good, and the steering wheel is centered. After driving it home, it was driving the same way as when I first brought it home, heavily biased toward that 11ish o'clock position, pretty much back at square one. I'm confused why the steering wheel would be so far off when showing 0° on the SAS and the shop is corroborating this. I had new steering linkages installed less than a year ago and nothing looks damaged, but I'm at my wit's end trying to figure this out. My only thought at this point is to simply place the steering back where I preferred it and attempt the recalibration procedure for the SAS.

A few weeks ago, I had taken the Jeep back to these guys to get the steering wheel centered. It tracks fine, the steering wheel orientation is fine, but I'm still tripping the ESP light almost every 10-14 days. The shop said that the clockspring seemed to check out fine, so they think it's probably something with the wiring related to that system. According to the Chrysler FSM I downloaded, that's a possibility, but seems a bit unlikely. I'm not sure what to do when the alignment, wheel position are in agreement but the system is not.

Most posts I see are about an alignment being performed but the steering wheel not being centered. If the ESP system is so sensitive to being off, how is an alignment supposed to be performed with the steering wheel being centered? Presumably, you'd just be fighting ESP errors the whole time.
 
check your vin for clock spring recall.
if it's still under the recall, get the clock spring replaced at the dealership.
 
check your vin for clock spring recall.
if it's still under the recall, get the clock spring replaced at the dealership.
Thanks for the suggestion. I called the dealer and although my VIN isn't listed under the recall, it is within the extended 15 year, no mileage warranty. So I've got a few years to decide if it need to be replaced. :unsure:
 
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