hi guys, hope you are all well. My problem is this; on my 98 marea 1.8 elx the horn developed a problem of staying on all the time so i took the fuse out and took it to fiat in hayes middlesex, they said i needed a new steering wheel unity and wanted to charge me 580 quid for it!! i made my excuses and left- well, that was two weeks ago and my power steering suddenly failed today as i was turning a corner- almost didnt make the turn, all the dash lights came on and then as quickly as it came it went back to normal. I had a full service (not fiat) shortly before the horn problem and the levels are fine. My question is this- could they have buggered something to do with my steering when they took my wheel off? or is it unconected? Many many thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this. Ive had loads of trouble with the fiat in hayes btw

Best wishes to all

Neil

Hi Neil and welcome to the forum .

I'll have a better look at this tomorrow but initial thoughts are that they are not directly connected. Its possible that you have a wiring problem that is putting an earth onto the ECU or dash warning circuit somewhere, (poss the horn wire?).

In the mean time i'll bump this up to the Brava/o section as we get more hits there.

Dave

Sounds like the engine stalled chap. Notice that all the dash lights came on and the steering got heavy - exactly what happens if the engine dies when driving along.

It sounds like it could be a loose connection in the ignition system somewhere - barrel?

Hi Dave, many thanks indeed for that, im at my wits end! Great forum btw, as for the engine stalling ozric-the engine stayed going it didnt cut out at all just the lights came on and went out its wierd. Anyway many thanks again to both of you, ill keep my fingers crossed that one of you clever chaps can think of what it could be.

Best wishes

Neil

Oh yes, i forgot to mention they did the cam belt as well, and i now believe this is near the steering pump........

I've got the bonnet up at the moment doing a big coolant system clean so i'll look at that as well. I think the steering sensor is in that area as well.

Oh and the horn problem, have you checked the horn relay (E2) behind the fuse box?

One other thought, if they disconnected a steering pump hose when doing the cam belt the system may need bleeding.

With the engine running go from full lock to full lock several times keeping an eye on the fluid levels.

Thats great polecat thankyou for that-ill check the relay. And ill look into the levels, whatever the upshot is theyre having the car back first thing, it was perfect before and now.... ill let you know how i get on. A thousand thanx for being so nice mate

Best wishes

Neil

Hi Polecat and ozrics just wanted to say thanks for your advice i took it back to the garage armed with the info you gave me and they sorted it out so a BIG thanks for your time and efforts, i really apprieciate it guys

Best wishes