Hi

Last Spring I bought a brand new battery for my 2004 Fiat Punto Mk2. I still encounter problems and if the car has not been started in a week (last time just 4 days) I find the battery is dead. The shop I got the new battery from said I may have a drain on the battery.
This weekend I had my car jump started and fully charged the battery with a 2hr drive. I noticed after an hour the red steering wheel light come on the dashboard. This happened shorly after switching on my city driving after just coming off the motorway onto a winding A road.
I Tested the battery the following morning, full charge. Left the car 2-3 days and tested it again, no change, full charge. Set off to drive back (another 2hrs) and I only made it to the next village before the steering wheel light came on again and remained on for the whole journey having turned the city driving off again when I approached the motorway.

I drove to work this morning only 15min journey and nothing showed up. I feel no change in my steering at all.

Sorry for the long winded story, but I just wanted to give a clear scenario of where I am.

Could these 2 issues be connected? Could I have a serious problem with my electrics and how much would that cost?

I bought the car second hand from a dealer 4 years ago and have never had enough funds to get a service. (I know it's awful). I was planning on getting a full service done in the new year, but I am worried this will cost £500+

Having already spend a tidy sum on a recent MOT I can't really afford another garage bill. Is it worth fixing or should I cut my loses and sell my car cheaply to a company?

It would be a shame if it had to come to that after just dropping cash on her recently, and I would be super grateful if anyone could offer some advice!

Thanks

Hi and WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Do you have an aftermarket stereo fitted? These are a very common cause of battery drain if they are not wired correctly.

Your 3 issues COULD potentially be linked. Ie the battery drain has killed off your battery (repeated flattening of the battery damages it) which is making it weaker and weaker and in turn the electric power steering does not like a weak battery or voltage deviations.

For starters, have a read of these guides

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-ii/342594-help-my-power-steering-light-start-here.html

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-mk2...alternator-parasitic-drain-testing-guide.html

Alan

6ec4 said:

This weekend I had my car jump started and fully charged the battery with a 2hr drive.

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No, this is a misconception, driving the car, will not fully recharge it, it'll only apply a surface charge, to fully recharge it ideally it'll need a deep pulse charge applied to it

6ec4 said:

I noticed after an hour the red steering wheel light come on the dashboard.

Click to expand...

This is most probably because the battery isn't fully charged.

In Aldi at the moment for about £14-£15 they're very good pulse chargers in stock for sale, I'd get down there and wack one of these on your battery

As to why its draining, as has been mentioned, have you got fitted an aftermarket head unit etc

In addition to what's said above, these little italian cars do get temperamental when left for a few days,'4 days is enough for the car to drain the battery significantly enough to start causing problems, no faults that's just how they are.

Put it on a proper battery charger for a few hours and you'll find things work a lot better,

And if you're leaving the car for days on end on any regular bases its probably worth disconnecting the battery earth (grande puntos have a quick release terminal)

AndyRKett said:

In addition to what's said above, these little italian cars do get temperamental when left for a few days,'4 days is enough for the car to drain the battery significantly enough to start causing problems, no faults that's just how they are.

Put it on a proper battery charger for a few hours and you'll find things work a lot better,

And if you're leaving the car for days on end on any regular bases its probably worth disconnecting the battery earth (grande puntos have a quick release terminal)

Click to expand...

Maybe worth a trickle charger?

My worry would be that you could be charging a frozen battery when winter hits us hard

Ziggy

Get a solar maintainer, about £20 from Maplin and will save you all this issue if you connect it every time you plan on leaving it unused for more than a day or two.

If you've never had it serviced in 4 years, are you at least doing some basic checks yourself, e.g. fluids?

atom0007 said:

If you've never had it serviced in 4 years, are you at least doing some basic checks yourself, e.g. fluids?

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OMG didn't notice this before!!!!

Not serviced in 4 years !! please tell me you've at least changed the oil and filters??

if its gone 4 years without an oil change at the very least, then i dread to think what state the engine is currently in, this represents pretty serious abuse.

OMG I missed this also. You cannot run a vehicle on that tight a budget, it's a False economy and in some instances can be dangerous!

As others have said get a full major service completed ASAP!

6ec4 said:

Hi




I bought the car second hand from a dealer 4 years ago and have never had enough funds to get a service. (I know it's awful).

It would be a shame if it had to come to that after just dropping cash on her recently, and I would be super grateful if anyone could offer some advice!

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi, and welcome to FF,

where are you based..?,
a basic oil + filter service should be £50 - or £20 if you do it yourself ( 30 minute job),

as others have said 4 years is a LONG time,
( if you'd bought privately, the @£1K you'd have saved would pay for A LOT of servicing),
Charlie - Oxford

don't fix what isn't broken? they usually just sell it and have the next owner deal with it and then new owner can say

OMG piece of **** punto, breaking down every week

Hi Friends,

I have changed my punto head unit to Pioneer DVD, after installation. My car battery drained after 4 days!
i checked with fiat service station found that battery is leaking because of the new head unit.

Please clarify me how to over come this issue.

My Yellow and red wire is connected together

Hi, and welcome,

use the GUIDEs section for more info on correct installation

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-mk2-2b-guides/

Charlie

and to check for drain look here

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-mk2...alternator-parasitic-drain-testing-guide.html

Urgh.... another punto stereo fitted with red and yellow wires together....

A bodg job fitter....

The stereo is been told to stay on all the time with no change
Rewire constant to constant
Piggyback fuse the cigarette socket for the siwtched feed it needs


Ziggy


Ziggy

Friend should i have to connect
Yellow to Yellow
Red to where?

you could wire red to ignition red so it will turn on and off with key

Probably not the battery. If the new battery is going flat over the course of 4 days when not used it could be an alternator problem. My power steering cannot operate on a fully charged battery with the alternator disconnected. If the car will start and the battery is not very good and the alternator works the alternator should be sufficient while driving unless the rear window heater is on and many other current draining devices are being used

Either way the source of the drain on the battery when not used needs to be found.

Edit: Oh i am answering a thread from last november