A video popped up on Reddit’s /r/justrolledintotheshop showing what appears to be a Hyundai steering wheel possessed by something from the underworld.
Steering wheels work by you physically turning the wheel with your own hands which then directs signals, hydraulic fluid, or a series of linkages that will turn the wheel in the direction you want it too. But what if the steering wheel suddenly starts turning wildly on its own? According to Reddit user Fraudd on a video he posted up on “Just Rolled Into The Shop” earlier yesterday (Dec. 19, 2017) this Hyundai steering wheel does indeed turn on its own, madly I might add, but there’s a perfectly good reason for this aberration of automotive logic. Check out the post and the video for yourself below.
I couldn’t stop laughing…hope the video works
byu/Fraudd inJustrolledintotheshop
Whereas traditional cars have bog standard hydraulic power steering which directs hydraulic fluid to a pump driven by the engine which then sends that pressurized fluid to a steering gear, some newer cars have electric power steering. Instead of a power steering belt powering the pump, an electric motor does it instead. There is, however, still a physical connection between the steering wheel all the way to the wheels.
In this particular case, the original poster does mention that an accident caused the intermediate shaft, the shaft between the steering wheel and the steering gearbox, to break. Without a connection to the gearbox, even without the engine on, the battery still supplies power to the electric motor powering electronic steering. Presumably, a sensor which detects a moving intermediate shaft is now sending a signal to the electric steering’s motor to power it up in an infinite loop thanks to nothing stopping the steering shaft from turning.
What results is what you see in the video, a steering wheel spinning wildly when the key is turned on. It certainly doesn’t hurt the hilarity of it all that once you switch off the key, the entire rotating ensemble also stops, practically immediately.
Like others have mentioned in the comments, this gives a new meaning to, “Jesus take the wheel.”
