Technical Power steering fault

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Technical Power steering fault

Frank B

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Mar 6, 2015
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The power assistance for the steering stops from time to time.If the engine is switched off and restarted all is well, Ideas ? Red light comes on


The car is a 55reg 1.2 petrol about 117,000 miles, I fear the time may be coming to replace it
 
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Weak battery gets my vote. Fit a cheap voltmeter and see what it's showing when the steering goes astray.

A new main earth lead (battery to engine and chassis) makes sense as they do corrode. Your car does have a high mileage so alternator brushes might be worn. Get the alternator tested.

Battery tests often come up showing ok when in reality the charge capacity is low. Make sure it's properly load tested.
 
Yep, its usually the battery, but I have just dealt with 2 pandas with dodgy main earth cables - oddly, both had just got new batteries!
(One owner almost certainly didn't need the new battery, but was Halfords-ed into it. The other looked like it hadn't had a penny spent on it in years, so probably did.)

So don't forget to check that cable too.
 
TBH even if it looks pretty much OK it may well be stuffed. On some you can tell by moving them a bit. They either feel notchy (broken bits of cable grating against each other inside the plastic covering) or produce green dust.

Easy to do on a 1.2.

Much more of a pain on a MultiJet.

Haven't done a 100HP one yet, but almost everything else under the bonnet on them seems to be somewhere between the hassle levels of a 1.2 and a MultiJet, so maybe only 2 skinned knuckles and some moderately bad language.
 
A jump start cable clipped to the engine block and battery negative will provide a sure connection that bypasses the original lead. If you can be sure it's solidly attached** you could leave it connected and see if the faults resolve.

** Not necessarily easy to do.
 
If the earth (under battery box) looks grungy it probably is. You can get new ones with crimped bolt eyelets for not much money at motor factors.
Just noticed how "grungy" Becky's is whilst checking her over the other day after the new clutch was installed. I feel a visit to the Factor's coming on.
 
Earth straps look ok and can often be resistance tested ok. Problems show when engine start load is applied. If it's the bare wire plaited type looking rough, assume it's part of the problem and replace.
 
Just noticed how "grungy" Becky's is whilst checking her over the other day after the new clutch was installed. I feel a visit to the Factor's coming on.



Make sure you get one with a good current capacity. I bought one listed as 'suitable for the 100hp' but it caused lots of issues and smoked on cranking. Turns out it was well under-rated.
 
Just bumping this thread to say I had a spate of power steering cutouts but it seems to have stopped since I cleaned and retightened the battery ground connections. (2010 1.2 eco)

The bolt where the main battery ground meets the engine braided earth strap (on the chassis leg below the battery) did not feel tight when I removed it. Not actually loose, but very little resistance when I started to unscrew it.

Anyway, no recurrence in the last couple of days, so fingers crossed.

I must say, the power steering failure is most alarming - it doesn't just cut assistance, it actively hinders any turning of the wheel (I once had it cut out in a mode that just stopped assistance so I've felt the difference). My wife has experienced this once and absolutely will not drive the car again until I'm certain the problem is fixed. She wasn't strong enough to turn the wheel with the power steering fighting against her. Fortunately this was just manoeuvring in a car park, but it could have been very nasty.
 
My wife's car was losing PAS in cold weather due to weak alternator. It would switch one after 1/2 mile of driving, but was never unuable. Steering was heavy (of course), but once rolling the car was fine to use. New alternator and all was well again.

If your steering really is fighting back, you might have a torque sensor problem.

The steering is sensitive to system volts so a cheap voltmeter blutacked to the dash will tell you if the volts are falling too low.
 
hi, i asked for advice on the same problem a while ago,;) re- my friends 1242 petrol panda.we fitted a brand new battery(,after checking alternator/wiring) no more problems since.:thumb. it seems the electric steering requires a lot of power :rolleyes: regards, steve (y)
 
My Panda eco 1.1 needed a new battery this Febuary after 9 years. Its power steering was not affected by the dying battery, but the dashboard clock was not keepin time at first, and then it would reset to mid night whenever engine started.

Fitted a new battery ordered from Amazon for 59£ inc. free delivery. It is a Bosch, and it cured the clock problem.
 
hi, i asked for advice on the same problem a while ago,;) re- my friends 1242 petrol panda.we fitted a brand new battery(,after checking alternator/wiring) no more problems since.:thumb. It seems the electric steering requires a lot of power :rolleyes:

Regards, steve (y)

Why else would a little car need an alternator that can make nearly 1KW of electrical power?
 
I experienced this for the first time myself yesterday and it can be slightly alarming.

I had just spent an hour trundling down the M1 on my way to London when coming off and round the the A406, suddenly the power steering went halfway around the roundabout.

Managed to pull over a few minutes later, turned it off and on again, and it's been fine ever since.

I assume the prolonged journey at an average of about 50 miles an hour through traffic and roadworks meant that I wasn't getting enough juice, I did however average 78 miles to the gallon which was a bonus.
 
At 50mph the battery should be charging just fine. The problem might be withing the steering or the battery or the alternator. You will only have any idea of what might be going on by fitting a voltmeter that you can see when driving. Watch the trends and go from there.
 
I experienced this for the first time myself yesterday and it can be slightly alarming.

I had just spent an hour trundling down the M1 on my way to London when coming off and round the the A406, suddenly the power steering went halfway around the roundabout.

Managed to pull over a few minutes later, turned it off and on again, and it's been fine ever since.

I assume the prolonged journey at an average of about 50 miles an hour through traffic and roadworks meant that I wasn't getting enough juice, I did however average 78 miles to the gallon which was a bonus.

mine use to do that. Fails when slowing down after coming of the motorway.

I had two problems. A slipping alternator belt and battery at is end of life.

Tightening the belt reduced the problem from a regular occurrence to once every 5 months or so. Once winter kicked in a battery was needed.

Been working fine for the last couple of years.
 
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