Hi all,

I am living in Georgia, near Atlanta, and trying to get my Durango to pass the emissions test here. One of the codes that was triggering my check engine light was P0551, the power steering pressure switch. First off, and least importantly, I just changed that out a little over a year ago, and I was wondering if there is something that can make these go bad other than bad luck?

Secondly, and most important, I changed the sensor and the check engine light came off just a few miles of driving it, but when I check the codes via the ignition on,off,on,off,on again method, I still am coming up with the ps switch (p0551) so I am wondering by someone who really knows, not just a guess, Will this eventually stop coming up as I put more miles on the car, or start it a certain amount of times etc...? Or is there maybe still a minor problem, but not major enough to trip the engine light? I have to get the car re-inspected on Monday, so I do not want to take the battery out and clear all of the codes and data, if there is not enough data when I take it in for the emissions test it will just read (not ready) because it has to go through a drive cycle to have enough info to pass the test. Honestly IDK if the ps switch alone would have caused me to fail the test, the man I dealt with was the GM of the store, but did not seem to know much about the test and if it would have passed or failed. Just another pencil pusher who had no clue as to the nature or specifics of the business he was running....

Thanks for the help!,
Larry

 

in order to clear stored codes you need a certain number of cold start cycles or certain amount of miles to clear, it varies based on the code, but can be anywhere from 50-500 miles and up to 10 full cycles (most people will only complete one cycle a day)

 

Thanks sharpshooter, do you know if I can buy an obdII scanner and clear JUST the P0551 code for the power steering switch, but still keep the rest of the data from drive cycle? I know you can use one to clear codes with but am not sure if its an "all or nothing" type of deal.

 

to my knowledge OBDII readers only clear the codes, and dont reset the sensor history, there is a relearn period after removing the battery, there doesnt seem to be one after clearing the codes w/ a scanner IME

 

If you didn't clean out the PS switch plug harness then it most likely has PS fluid leaked into it and caused the old switch to ground out and go bad. Not to mention electrical switches are known to be bad or go bad. Replace it again and clean the harness before plugging it in.

Not the first one I've seen go out for this.