u/DaddyDarby_

North Carolina, USA

Hey everyone,
I’m dealing with a hard-faulted Electric Power Steering (EPS) rack on my 2016 Ford Explorer (3.5L Ti-VCT) and I’m trying to figure out if this module is salvageable or if I'm completely dead in the water. The rack itself is an OEM factory unit (Part prefix: FB53-3D070, stamped T210R).

The rack looks pristine on the outside—no physical damage, no heavy oxidation, and the boots are completely bone-dry and intact. However, the steering is completely bricked.

The Codes (Pulled via FORScan):
⁠U3000:96-C8⁠ - Control Module: Component Internal Failure
⁠U3000:49-48⁠ - Control Module: Internal Electronic Failure (Freeze frame on this one shows a completely impossible steering wheel angle pinning at 2496.70°)
Live Data Telemetry (Engine Running / Idling):
⁠MOD_SUP_V⁠: 14.10V (Alternator is charging perfectly)
⁠PSCM_INT_TEMP⁠: 102°F
⁠EPAS_MOTOR_CUR⁠: -19.60 Amps

The big red flag: The car is sitting idling in park, nobody is touching the steering wheel, and the motor current is stuck drawing a massive -19.60 Amps. It seems like the corrupted steering angle sensor caused the module to panic, think the wheel was spinning violently, dump max current to counter it, and lock itself down into a permanent safety loop.

What I’ve Done/Tried Thus Far:

1. Checked fuses and verified clean 14V power supply to the rack.
2. Inspected the external harness, thermal shielding, and connectors—everything is secure and clean.
3. Attempted a module reboot/reset procedure via FORScan, but it spits back: ⁠Service procedure is not supported⁠. The module is completely ignoring external diagnostic commands right now.
4. I’ve cleared the DTCs and they come right back.
5. I also had the battery die when first trying to diagnose the car when I was hooked up to the OBDII port and I couldn’t get the battery to charge. I replaced it with a new battery and reset the BCM.

My Question:
I was looking into buying the $120 2-day Ford FJDS factory software license to force a Programmable Module Installation (PMI) reflash, but because the module is throwing hard internal hardware codes (⁠:96⁠ and ⁠:49⁠) and drawing heavy current, I'm worried the bootloader will just reject the flash.
Has anyone successfully flushed out a ⁠U3000⁠ hard lockout like this with factory software, or is that -19.6A stationary current draw a definitive sign that a power MOSFET transistor or the internal sensor array is physically fried on the circuit board? I really want to fix the unit currently on the vehicle if possible.

Appreciate any insight from Ford techs or electronic repair gurus!

Craftsman Riding Mower 917.252520