Technical Fiat Punto 1.2 2001 (y Reg) Power Steering?? Help Please!

[tazz786]

Right i have got a fiat punto Y Reg. A couple of days ago when i turned the car on the picture of a steering wheel light was still on and the power steering wasn't working. I decided to just turn the car off and try again after a couple of minutes. After it then worked. Now it has done it again but won't go off. The picture is of a red steering wheel. I have tried searching for the problem and even looked for somewhere to put power steering fluid but i have found out these cars have electric power steering. Can anyone help me?? Does anyone know why this would just start or what i can do?

Thanks alot!!

 

[missey]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

There's lots of information on the here about the problems you are having and if you look at the top of the punto sections you will find stickies regarding this....also if you run a search for mk2 steering you will find more info.

Unfortunately, it is not an uncommon problem on the model and year that you have.
Please have a look about the site, as you will find more information than i can give you in a single post.

But also, please dont ignore the problem, it may not do it again for a while, so is easy to ignore. virmin done this with his mk2 and ended up on the wrong side of the road heading towards oncoming traffic.

You need to get your punto into Fiat as soon as possible they can run a diagnostic and give you the fault code (yes this is chargeable)...they can then advise you, also only Fiat can sort it for you.
Unfortunatley you may find yourself with a bit of a repair bill.

Good luck

 

[tazz786]

Thank you for that mate. But do you know if theres any cheep way of fixing this problem or anything little you can do because you see im only young and won't be able to afford it so i would need to buy another car.

thanks alot

 

[missey]

I'm really sorry, but no...if it is the sensor problems...virmins repair bill was about £400....it goes upwards from there, depending on the problem.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

But saying that, I am not a mechanic, so dont go rushing out and selling your pride and joy on my account.
Probably the best thing you could do if money is a problem, is to ring round your local garages and ask if they could run a diagnostic on it for you...at least you would know and will be cheaper than going to fiat to run the tests.

And stick around here too, as there are fiat techs on the forum who can help you more

 

[tazz786]

ok mate thanks alot for everything!

so is there any expert out there that knows if this could be something small and stupid that could be easily fixed?

thanks 2 everyone!!

 

[Punto.Power]

Sorry, but no one will be able to help with the fault on the forum, only the machine can do this at the dealers, click this.. https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-guides/70703-punto-steering-column.html

 

[tazz786]

hiya. ive took the car to my uncle's garage and he thinks he can fit it in i just need to buy the part. How much would they be either new or second hand??

thanks

 

[faster4_tec]

any monkey can fit one (i've removed one) but it has to be calibrated otherwise you *may* die. no joke.


yes its a common feature on mk2's for this to happen, and you won't be able to sell it like that. its dangerous

 

[tazz786]

ok thanks mate. what does calibrated mean btw? sorry if thats a stupid question but i really dont have i clue about this matter.

Thanks alot

 

[T14086]

Steering will be all over the place & unresponsive if the system is not calibrated & torque sensors are not calibrated(set up).

 

[tazz786]

ok if i was to buy the part and have it fitted in how much would it cost for someone to do all that??

 

[Virmin]

The part cost me about £280, diagnostic check £38, the rest on labour.

Total £480... as T14086 said... FIAT have to do it, he knows he's a FIAT tech!!!!!

But also, please dont ignore the problem, it may not do it again for a while, so is easy to ignore. virmin done this with his mk2 and ended up on the wrong side of the road heading towards oncoming traffic.

 

[Chapperz18]

Hi there

I no this forum is a few years old now! But incase anyone reads through looking for an answer. I've had the little red light come on and off in my fiat punto 2002 for the last year, the quick fix for me was to just restart the car. However in the last week the little red light came one and this time won't switch off! It's such a simple problem to fix, all you need to do is change the electric steering pump (located directly underneith the steering wheel, about where your knee's sit when your driving!) There are 3 bolts that holt it on, and 2 cables that plug into the ECU. I went down to my local scrapyard matched up another one (ensuring the 4 digit number on the ECU and model number on the actual motor are the same) The replacment pump I bought from the scrapyard cost me £70. I then fitted it onto mine, must have taken me 30 mins at the max. And now its working perfectly, my car knowledge is fairly basic, but its a fairly logical fix. And will save you alot of money!!!! Oh and in reference to the above posts, the fiat puntos with the electric steering motors don't have any power steering fluid, its all managed by the electric pump

Josh

 

[Ziggy122]

Hi there

I no this forum is a few years old now! But incase anyone reads through looking for an answer. I've had the little red light come on and off in my fiat punto 2002 for the last year, the quick fix for me was to just restart the car. However in the last week the little red light came one and this time won't switch off! It's such a simple problem to fix, all you need to do is change the electric steering pump (located directly underneith the steering wheel, about where your knee's sit when your driving!) There are 3 bolts that holt it on, and 2 cables that plug into the ECU. I went down to my local scrapyard matched up another one (ensuring the 4 digit number on the ECU and model number on the actual motor are the same) The replacment pump I bought from the scrapyard cost me £70. I then fitted it onto mine, must have taken me 30 mins at the max. And now its working perfectly, my car knowledge is fairly basic, but its a fairly logical fix. And will save you alot of money!!!! Oh and in reference to the above posts, the fiat puntos with the electric steering motors don't have any power steering fluid, its all managed by the electric pump

Josh

Electric Pump = Something that uses electricity to Pump a Fluid

Punto's DONT have a Pump, its a motor

Anyway - There is many reasons why the EPS stops working
Battery Too weak
Torque Sensor Failure
Speedo Sensor Failure (Non abs models)
condensation Fowling
Motor Failure
basic Electric Faults (Fuse/relay)
Dry Solder - Motor Failure

Most times - the battery is to blame, the ocasional Light on and powersteering stops / works half the time

Motor Failure is more common in Pre 2003 models, where the motor uses a relay
set. Yes Changing the motor can be a possible cure - and by the looks of it you were lucky to hit the nail on the head

If the battery is Old and Weak - That can also be easy to eliminate without diagnostic

But motor/Speedo/Torque sensor etc all have to be Fault coded to find out what is actually wrong

Hence Why we see alot of these threads people want us to hit the nail on the head first time, its just not possible

Diagnostic all the way

ziggy