Good evening,

I have a 2005 Fiat Panda Active 1.1 with 73000 miles on the clock. I inherited the car from my mum after she upgraded and it has served me well over the past 3 years. We're approaching MOT time and the Electronic Power Steering warning light is lit up on the dash - it appears that this would be considered a 'major defect' according to the relevant .gov page. This light has appeared and disappeared briefly over the last few years (and beyond, if my mum is to be believed) but usually clears itself very quickly so I clocked it up to dodgy electronics. However for the last few weeks it has been on permanently. There doesn't seem to have been any changes with the power steering functioning, bar one time when simply restarting the engine rectified the problem.

From reading various threads on this forum, this isn't an unheard of problem and I would be best off getting some sort of OBD2 scanner to check and clear the codes, then see if it reappears. The Panda is my first car and I don't know very much about mechanics, although I am eager to learn as I think these skills will serve me well for the rest of my life. I don't have a lot of spare cash so would love to resolve this is the most economical way possible. Fixing the issue myself would unlikely to be viable at present, given my limited knowledge and skill set, but I'd like to be clearer about what the issue actually is. I would really appreciate any guidance you can offer with regards to:

• buying a scanning tool that will give me the ability to read and clear the codes
• passing my MOT this month - I am of course willing to spend as long as it takes to investigate and resolve the problem but I am concerned that I'll be without a car for some time while doing so if I cannot pass the MOT

I have come across a lot of recommendations for the Multi EU Scan software but am struggling to understand what equipment I need to buy or if the free version will even allow me access to the information/codes that are likely to be involved with this fault. I'm not sure if the learning curve here is too steep for me, given the time constraints of the looming MOT, and so would I better off paying £50 for a diagnostic check at the garage?

Other relevant info:

Bought new battery with 3 year guarantee in September 2018 ('Halfords HB202')
Recently replaced brake master cylinder due to fluid leak and corrosion

Thank you so much for your time and assistance.

samantula said:

Bought new battery with 3 year guarantee in September 2018 ('Halfords HB202').

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That's likely your problem.
That battery isn't up to running the electric power steering.

Had one of these on our later 1.2 Pop and the steering went wonky on that after a while.

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-iii/477194-1-2-factory-battery-specs.html

Goudrons said:

That's likely your problem.
That battery isn't up to running the electric power steering.

Had one of these on our later 1.2 Pop and the steering went wonky on that after a while.

Click to expand...

Oh wow, really? I kept reading everywhere that it was likely an issue with the battery but dismissed this as my battery is so new.

Would you advise I buy a new battery then or are there any further tests I can/should do first?

Thanks for the help!

www.multiecuscan.net is the best diagnostic tool for Fiats. You will need a set of OBD cables and a PC to run the software. The registered version will get into all parts of the car including ABS, airbags and steering.

samantula said:

Oh wow, really? I kept reading everywhere that it was likely an issue with the battery but dismissed this as my battery is so new.

Would you advise I buy a new battery then or are there any further tests I can/should do first?

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the standard battery should be at least 50 amps.
The PAS is electric and it very power hungry.

Our lad have been driving the 1.2 Pop and I only noticed a problem when I took it for an MOT, the steering tugged one side and the light flashed on a couple of times.

I checked the battery and it was the same weedy 40 amp Halfords HB202, I know as it was this as it's still sat outside the back door.
It look pretty suspect as it was tiny thing and I'm sure I'd never seen anything so small in a Panda before.


I swapped it out for a 53 amp job and it's been perfect ever since, though that's not saying your's has the same problem, but it sounds like it.

It's also worth checking the earth straps, I think there's two, one on the battery and one on the engine somewhere, these can rot out.

samantula said:

Bought new battery with 3 year guarantee in September 2018 ('Halfords HB202').

Click to expand...

It sounds like a classic dodgy battery to me. The electric power steering takes a huge lump of power, and this is the first thing to show a dying battery.

Although it’s fairly new, that doesn’t mean it’s ok.

It’s not a good battery either! Halfords batteries aren’t great, but it’s a low power and cranking charge one. I don’t think it’s up to spec in the first place. Only 40ah and 360cca according to the Halfords website.

Mine is 52ah and 520cca which is like a Ferrari in comparison!

Simple things to try:

Try charging it for 24hours and see if that helps - if it does, then it’s the battery.

Try attaching jump leads to a running car for a few minutes and then turn yours off and back on - see if the light goes out - if it does it’s the battery.

Try another battery if you have another car to borrow it from.

But basically I’d say you need a new better battery.

Tayna is the place to go. Excellent prices which will knock Halfords out of the park, and next day delivery.

Here’s the one I’ve put on 2 Pandas (1.2 4x4 versions)

https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/bosch/s5001/

Cheap batteries are fine just don't expect them to last for ever.

The alternator is a powerful thing - 980 watts. If the steering behaves when you hold the revs at 2000rpm that will also show the battery if weak.

A low cost voltmeter permanently wired into the electrical system will let you see the system voltage under load. Volts will drop when the system can't meet the current demand.

Thank you everyone for the advice. A quick update:

I took the car to a Halfords store and they replaced the battery for free with the only alternative they had down as suitable: Yuasa HSB202 Silver 12V Car Battery. This one is still only 45 Ah so not quite up to the standards recommended by you guys. The light remained on and they tried clearing the fault codes but it continued to re-appear immediately. I was impressed that they did this all for free, to be honest. I took the car for a long drive on the motorway but the light remained on.

I took the car to my usual garage, a Halfords Autocentre round the corner from my workplace. It failed the MOT (as expected - I only put it through because the light randomly turned off the day before, but it came back on again the next day). They told me that the fault code they got when running the diagnostics was for the sensors on the power steering. I didn't get a printout as they hadn't charged me for this. They said they couldn't help as they don't touch the power steering and told me to go to Fiat.

So I'll probably purchase the battery recommended by Palio above (thanks for the recommendation) and see if this rectifies the issue. If not, I'll find a local garage experienced with Fiats and see what they say.

Thanks again!

Hi samantula, I'm sorry to hear a new battery didn't help. My next course of action would be to:

1. Run a jump lead from battery negative terminal to engine block to test it's not the earth cable under the battery tray that's the culprit
2. Get a motor electrician to test the battery to make sure there's nothing draining the battery & that it's charging OK (could be alternator?)
3. Talk to Western Power Steering (details here). At worst they can offer an exchange unit at not too much expense.

Good luck

It sounds like you need an exchange steering motor or get yours repaired.