Hi to all. I wonder if anyone can advise a non mechanically minded female with a dreaded power assisted steering question? I have a Punto Dynamic Speedgear 16V (2003) which had an occasional fault with the PAS light appearing and steering becoming heavy on tight left turns. This is now happening in normal driving and the steering wheel is often shuddering/vibrating when idle/sitting in traffic. At other times it drives perfectly but the more breaking/stops I have to make on route, inevitably the shuddering occurs and the light then appears shortly afterwards. I believe the steering column is to blame but could the shaking be due to mounts, etc? I do not want to part with my dear old car and have it booked in with my mechanic next week. If the steering column is to blame would I be better sourcing coded parts myself or contacting one of the firms offering 'self calibrating remanufactured units with a lifetime guarantee'? Having done a parts search I was offered a compatible steering column and ECU for £70. I am anxious not to waste money and still not have resolved the problem. Any advice on this would be most appreciated!

Welcome to the forum

How's your battery? The PAS system uses a lot of power (being electrical, rather then hydraulic) and so requires a healthy battery to operate properly. When I bought my Sporting last year it used to throw up all sorts of error codes until I replaced the battery so it's definitely worth looking at.

I tried that - having read other posts in the forum I bought a good quality one last weekend hoping that might solve the problem - alas it didn't! Thanks for the reply.

How is the gearbox oil level/quality?

D

I'm ashamed to say I have no idea. I will get my mechanic to check the gearbox oil level/quality. The car is serviced regularly though so I would have thought it would be okay? Thanks for the reply.

I doubt that any mechanic working in a garage checks gearbox oil levels these days.

D

rallycinq said:

How is the gearbox oil level/quality?

D

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I don't see what bearing that has on electric power steering?

Out of interest, why would that affect PAS?

Edit: Jinx, brickfoot

Eklipze3k said:

Out of interest, why would that affect PAS?

Edit: Jinx, brickfoot

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The EPS uses a signal from the speedo drive to determine the level of assistance. No signal from the speedo drive would cause it to disable.

If the gearbox oil level drops the diff can drop taking it away from the sensor.

D

rallycinq said:

The EPS uses a signal from the speedo drive to determine the level of assistance. No signal from the speedo drive would cause it to disable.

If the gearbox oil level drops the diff can drop taking it away from the sensor.

D

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Makes sense. The speedo should then show fluctuations in this case then shouldn't it? That could be the indication it's the oil level?

Can anyone offer any suggestions on the obtaining a new steering column side of things? Some firms offer to supply a replacement column from stock, others offer to rebuild your own unit. Would it be sensible to obtain a 'self-calibrating' remanufactured/repaired unit with guarantee rather than source coded parts myself and have the mechanic fit them? I am grateful for your help so far with this!

Hi Lassie,

as said earlier, the power assisted steering is working with electricity and draw a HUGE current when turning the wheels. You get a new battery installed, that's good but maybe wasn't necessary. You said that it happen more when you make a lot of stop and go; that make me feel the battery has no time for recharging properly, so its voltage drops a bit AND its capacity to instantly deliver large current may be weaken aswell. PLUS, you may have earthing issues on your car, there is a sticky I think about this specific issue.

So in short, before spending more money on a new or refurbished steering column, have the electrical system checked.
If everything's ok, you could consider installing a LARGER battery, adapted to your driving habits...

Regards, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix or understand your issue, hit the thanks icon @ Bottom right, it's free and make us happy...

Bernievarian said:

Hi Lassie,

as said earlier, the power assisted steering is working with electricity and draw a HUGE current when turning the wheels. You get a new battery installed, that's good but maybe wasn't necessary. You said that it happen more when you make a lot of stop and go; that make me feel the battery has no time for recharging properly, so its voltage drops a bit AND its capacity to instantly deliver large current may be weaken aswell. PLUS, you may have earthing issues on your car, there is a sticky I think about this specific issue.

So in short, before spending more money on a new or refurbished steering column, have the electrical system checked.
If everything's ok, you could consider installing a LARGER battery, adapted to your driving habits...

Regards, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix or understand your issue, hit the thanks icon @ Bottom right, it's free and make us happy...

Click to expand...

In this case a larger battery won't help. If the battery was already replaced for one of the required spec, then it should be quite capable of providing the power the EPAS needs. Fitting a larger battery is only masking an issue that will continue to get worse.

I agree however, the electrics should be checked, and preferably connected up for a diagnostic to show any fault codes relating to the EPAS. From there, the issue should be more apparent, and a better approach to fixing the issue rather than throwing parts at it first.

Thanks Bernie - that's all really useful and I'll bear it in mind. Would I need to take it to a proper Fiat dealership for diagnostic check of the electrics? I imagine that won't be cheap!

Thanks Brickfoot - an electrical test does sound like a good starting point.


From all I have read Punto steering problems are very common in this age car and the symptoms are as you'd expect. I just need to work out the best way to source the parts to repair/replace if it comes to that.


I'm really chuffed people have taken the trouble to reply to me today - what a nice group you are!

Most independent garages will have an Examiner clone.

D