Hi folks,

I just want to share my current experience with my interittent stiff power steering issue which is very common on most Fiat Punto Mk2 cars.

I started to have the problem by now 3 years ago and I have been studying the symptoms for long. I have also came to a temporary, or perhaps long-term fix, if of course my fault is the same as the odd common fault.

So every now and then, the power steering warning light came on and the steering hard stiff almost unmanagable for parking of quick turns. However, when you turn the car off and again it goes for a while. I found out that I could extend the 'while' for days, weeks and sometimes a month or two if you change the level position (how up and down) of steering column. I also figured out (use at your own risk) that if you raise the steering column up and down a bit roughly/hard so that you knock 'gently' some internal parts, the next time ihe problem occur will take longer.

My mechanic told me that this would last for a maximum of 6months until the expensive faulty part needs replacement, but now 3 years have passed and the problem has not yet passed the threshold level to cash out the money for a replacement, since it occurs an average of once every week. A little dash on the steering and it is fixed.

I even started to believe that there is some loose contact or wiring problem, but this can be verified only when the steering column is open


Any comment similar experiences are welcomed

Thanks
Happy New Year

Forgot to say that I apparently, it happens when I turn the steering abruptly to the right...

Stephen505 said:

Forgot to say that I apparently, it happens when I turn the steering abruptly to the right...

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Hello , and welcome,
not sure your problem is the same as most PAS systems,

poor electrical supply (tired battery / charging circuit is #1 )

there are 3 different components that tend to fail in most electrically driven PAS systems - the punto's being similar,
if you have the fault codes read it will tell you which part / component is flagging up the errors,

yours sounds like a poor connection ..get the codes read to see which supply is in need of attention.

Charlie

as varescrazy says its probably the main power feed going into your steering ecu making bad contact
i changed an ecu only last week on a mk2 punto and saw first hand this would be a problem so i always pull on the leads once clipped in as this can be a common punto wiring problem throught the car

thanks for your post though

Autodata also mentions this fault,

must be common fault,.

Stephen505 said:

So every now and then, the power steering warning light came on and the steering hard stiff almost unmanagable for parking of quick turns. However, when you turn the car off and again it goes for a while.

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I had this issue for a year and a half, but mine would often go for months and months without problems. Fiat ran some tests and said I needed A new PAS column for £562. Quite a lot I'd notice the problem would start if I was turning full lock, so normally when trying to park or do a maneuver, just to make things difficult!

Just before xmas I was parking and the steering died, the usual trick of turning the engine on and off didn't work, so eventually I caved and paid out the £500 to fix it.

CeJay said:

I had this issue for a year and a half, but mine would often go for months and months without problems. Fiat ran some tests and said I needed A new PAS column for £562. Quite a lot I'd notice the problem would start if I was turning full lock, so normally when trying to park or do a maneuver, just to make things difficult!

Just before xmas I was parking and the steering died, the usual trick of turning the engine on and off didn't work, so eventually I caved and paid out the £500 to fix it.

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the first post says mk2 which is a 12 year old punto at least,if you paid £500 on one of these on the steering then frankly you need a check up

s and b said:

the first post says mk2 which is a 12 year old punto at least,if you paid £500 on one of these on the steering then frankly you need a check up

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Nah mine is mk2b, had the same issue though.

My logic says that it is a bad power connection which causes the problem to come and go depending road bumps and moisture. Is the plug shown here (oldhammer Post #5 ) the same plug discussed here for powering the steering column. I can easy check it up and service it (for example a dirty / corroded connection in the plug). Speaking about corroded connections (= a layer of white oxide) I've already found 3 of them all related with lights.

Thanks

sorry to hijack the thread but i have the same issue (ordered a battery as mine is not in a good way according to motor factors) but was wondering if people with this problem experience a significant decrease in MPG? Mine first occurred this saturday on the motorway and before it appeared i was getting 50-55mpg but suddenly on the way home and ever since it has decreased to around 34MPG

jonyid said:

sorry to hijack the thread but i have the same issue (ordered a battery as mine is not in a good way according to motor factors) but was wondering if people with this problem experience a significant decrease in MPG? Mine first occurred this saturday on the motorway and before it appeared i was getting 50-55mpg but suddenly on the way home and ever since it has decreased to around 34MPG

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Hi, and welcome,

any modern vehicle is VERY power-hungry,
if there is a charging issue / poor battery,
all the various sensors that set-up the engine for optimum performance / economy, will be struggling to keep things together,

have you gone for bosch S4 @ £40..!!

if it's still playing up,
best to post in Punto 2/B section..,

Charlie

Hi there,

I went for another battery costing me £30 (can't remember the brand) as I'm looking to sell soon.

So you think that once the new battery is in the gauges and calculations may correct themselves?

quite possible,

last time I had a battery fail ( few years ago) the car's running noticably improved with a new fully functional battery,

as I say , post in the Punto 2/b section if you need more help,

Charlie

I had this issue on the first drive on my mk2b going round a roundabout at the weekend