摘要 |
A method of monitoring the condition of a steering system comprises the steps of repeatedly measuring the angular position of a steering wheel, identifying from the measurements of steering wheel position a first moment in time at which the steering wheel comes to rest in an off centre position following movement in a first direction away from a straight ahead position,measuring the torque applied to the steering system at that first moment in time,identifying from the measurements of steering wheel position a second moment in time at which the steering wheel first starts to moves away from the off centre position in the opposite direction to the first direction, measuring the torque applied to the steering system at that second moment in time,calculating the difference between the measured torques at the first moment of time and second moment of time to provide a static friction value and comparing the calculated static friction value with a target static friction value to provide an indication of the condition of the steering system. |