General Help with my 500 please

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General Help with my 500 please

1. The low oil pressure warning has Come up twice now. Its only does its not moved for about a week then goes off. Oil level is perfect and doesn't look bad.

Pretty common, ignore it until the light stays on.

2. Power steering has stopped working twice now. Turn it off and on and it's fine again

Pretty common, ignore it forever.
 
Oil pressure has to be properly tanked to light up the light... my old Alfa 155 had a gauge so it was interesting to see what it did.. and that showed around 2.2 bar, from memory, on startup.. and the pressure dropped to around 1.8 when hot. Lowest I saw was 1.6 when it was properly hot (i.e. 120C on the oil temperature, down the autostrada in Italy during August). The manual said if the pressure was less than 1.2 bar then it was too low. I'd guess the pressure light would come on around 1.1 bar.

I've only ever had an oil pressure light come up once, ever. That turned out to be the oil pressure sensor.




Ralf S.
 
Happy days 😂 going to oil flush it and give it service and fit new pressure sensor while I'm at it. So far I've done timing belt Walter pump, earth strap, brake light switch, boot loom, cam and crank sensor. But the wife loves it so here we go 😂
 
It's very rare for an oil pump to wear to that point
I'd agree, but there are plenty of other engine parts that can wear and give rise to low oil pressure.

It's unusual on a 1.2 FIRE, but it has occasionally happened. And unless the owner has had the car from new, it's always possible the engine has been abused at some point in those 114,000 miles.
 
Happy days 😂 going to oil flush it and give it service and fit new pressure sensor while I'm at it. So far I've done timing belt Walter pump, earth strap, brake light switch, boot loom, cam and crank sensor. But the wife loves it so here we go 😂

I don't see any chassis stuff. Still.. summer is coming. 😂


Ralf S.
 
Happy days 😂 going to oil flush it and give it service and fit new pressure sensor while I'm at it. So far I've done timing belt Walter pump, earth strap, brake light switch, boot loom, cam and crank sensor. But the wife loves it so here we go 😂
As long as they weren't mistreated the original clutch and gearbox have at least 160,000 miles in them and the engine more. Its everything else that's the problem, so as long as you're willing to put in the labour to get things fixed you have many years/miles left in the car.
 
Hello I was just wondering if anyone can advice me on two problems I have...

1. The low oil pressure warning has Come up twice now. Its only does its not moved for about a week then goes off. Oil level is perfect and doesn't look bad.

2. Power steering has stopped working twice now. Turn it off and on and it's fine again

Any help will be appreciated. My wife's a student midwife so she needs this car
I had a similar power steer problem on my Panda TwinAir. It took ages to find, but the power steer used to cut out with no warning. I diagnosed the problem by recording all sensor outputs (to EODC) simultaneously. I found that the charging voltage wasn’t stable and the power steer cut out when voltage was excessive, around 30 volts. The power steer was functioning perfectly when it was switched off by its control module.
The cause of the excessive voltage was a fault in the negative battery terminal (the type with the black plastic gizmo and 2 sensor wires) and a replacement was a found on eBay for £12.
If you can record charging voltage, then it’s worth a look. Your oil pressure warning lamp might be voltage sensitive too.
 
I found that the charging voltage wasn’t stable and the power steer cut out when voltage was excessive, around 30 volts.
If it was 30v then it would have fried just about every part of the car electrics.
 
This might be an insulting question, but do you know how to check the oil properly?

If the oil level is good, filter new, and it stil happens, then I'd change the pressusre sensor.
If it's not that then you'll be looking at the oil pump which a different level of pain.
No its certainly not. I have posted on here about the TA dip stick. (as have many others) It really does not work to the extent I have made a steel one. I tried the suggested alternative methods of checking and while better I was still not happy with the reading. I have NEVER seen an accurate level on the cars own dip stick. Oil does not adhere to it and the level can be dangerously misleading.

I still think intermittent oil pressure is more likely to be an electronic / electrical issue than a mechanical one. My only intermittent oil light problem ever was only interlittent for 160 miles after which is became permanent. A pipe union undone. Check evrything around the oil filter and oil pressure sensor is done up firmly. Check carefully around the plastic oil filter housing and replace the O ring if in doubt. Look for cracks defects and leaks Add a separate earth connection to the pressure sensor / switch.. Unscrew it a fraction and slip a thin wire undernrath and tighten it back up. Fix the other end of the wire to bdywork or engine as a backup earth, If the problem persists consider oil pump pick up problems or the pump. Has anything dropped into the engine at any time. Debris like large paint flecks can move about causing issues. Had this with a Cirtoen hydaulic system causing suspension, brakes and steering havoc. Different but just possibly relevant.
 
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I had a similar power steer problem on my Panda TwinAir. It took ages to find, but the power steer used to cut out with no warning. I diagnosed the problem by recording all sensor outputs (to EODC) simultaneously. I found that the charging voltage wasn’t stable and the power steer cut out when voltage was excessive, around 30 volts. The power steer was functioning perfectly when it was switched off by its control module.
The cause of the excessive voltage was a fault in the negative battery terminal (the type with the black plastic gizmo and 2 sensor wires) and a replacement was a found on eBay for £12.
If you can record charging voltage, then it’s worth a look. Your oil pressure warning lamp might be voltage sensitive too.
Hello do you have a link for it please? The voltage is all over the place on mine I wouldn't if that was anything to do with the block on the terminal which I believe it start stop solenoid or control box?
 
If it was 30v then it would have fried just about every part of the car electrics.

Nope the battery acts as a capacitor and holds the voltage at around 17V. In fact alternators often fail to regulate voltage output, but the result is excessive current being supplied, and hence a fried battery, oh, and the occasional bulb blown.

So IMO, you can assume ECUs have a reasonable amount of protection built in, or else there'd be a lot of fried ECU threads in the forums.
 
For just a few quid id change the main earth strap and smart battery sensor and see what happens?
It might be worth a peak at the good ol hatch wiring as well(just in case!).
 
I've done the earth strap and boot wiring. My friend is breaking a 500 so I'm gonna see if he has the battery sensor
 
Nope the battery acts as a capacitor and holds the voltage at around 17V. In fact alternators often fail to regulate voltage output, but the result is excessive current being supplied, and hence a fried battery, oh, and the occasional bulb blown.

So IMO, you can assume ECUs have a reasonable amount of protection built in, or else there'd be a lot of fried ECU threads in the forums.
That's really not how electrics work. I'd guarantee if you had an alternator putting out 30v the battery would boil away, it would not hold the voltage to 17v
 
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