Two weeks ago while driving into a new supermarket my "DUALDRIVE" ELECTRIC POWER STEERING FAILURE warning light came on OMG!

In a panic i get the owners handbook out have a check to see what the problem could be (while the Mrs goes shopping).

The handbook says "If the warning light stays on you will not have steering assistance and the effort on the steering wheel will be increased, steering is however possible. Contact Fiat Dealership"!

So i turn off the engine, wait a few mins. Restart the engine, and the warning light is off (thank you). So off to the shops i go (only to stop the Mrs spending all the cash).

Shopping done, back to the car, start the car (fingers crossed)! Yes the light is still off.
Just exiting the supermarket carpark and on comes the warning light again :bang:
But the steering is still fine! Drove the car the 3 miles home with no probs!

Over the next week the warning light stays off! Must be a loose conection.

Back to the supermarket again the next week, and the same problem again! light on as i enter! Off when i start the engine! On again as i exit the carpark!

I now think i know what is going on.

Over the next few days i test my theory!
As i enter light on, same as i exit!

I am now 100% sure what is the cause!
The store has the wheel locking system on their trollys (take the trolly past a certin point and one of the wheels lock) to stop them being removed to far from the store.
Whatever triggers this locking system on the wheel, is activating the waring light on my dashboard!

Who would have though!!!!!!!!

Its more likely your battery is dieing or has a reduced out put for some reason, as you turn into the supermarket the steering is useing a lot of power, mite be a very sharp turn and up hill slightly, i cant see it being any thing to do with the trolly lock system.

Yes a weak battery and due to that the alternator can't have enough umph to power the car and the steering

How old is the car - version and any battery history?

Supermarkets / Multi-story carparks, City Parking, when the steering is pushed hard left to right, the alternator isn't able to provide enough, so the battery is called upon
if the battery isn't supporting the alternator, then the light comes on

Ziggy

Wonder could you ask the supermarket to turn of the locking system to confirm your theory?
or

Find another turn that matches the same layout as the car park, i.e angle of turn, up hill etc..test out the steering on that

Re: aftermarket car alarm going off after 15mins when locked.

At the most supermarkets The locking wheel device on the trolly is normaly a magnectic strip in the floor, when the trolly wheel goes over it a magnet makes a spring and pin lock the wheel ( you can get away with a trolly if you lift the wheel from the floor before the strip)

A supermarket near me had those Trolley locks
Never caused a problem for me

Ziggy

has this only just started happeneing ( now its gone coldish ) mine playes up every cold snap between november-feb/march, but my battery is fine

Fiatpuntomk2b said:

has this only just started happeneing ( now its gone coldish ) mine playes up every cold snap between november-feb/march, but my battery is fine

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have you had the battery / charge system checked.

thelad said:

have you had the battery / charge system checked.

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Sorry if this is noobish,but whats that ? guessing the alternator?

just seems like it gets could and doesnt want to work, but switch it on and off and it works :bang:

Old batterys dont like cold weather, it kills them, the power steering light comes on when the voltage is low to the steering motor (common problem) battery/chargeing system needs to be checked its working correctly, you say your batterys ok how do you know?

thelad said:

Old batterys dont like cold weather, it kills them, the power steering light comes on when the voltage is low to the steering motor (common problem) battery/chargeing system needs to be checked its working correctly, you say your batterys ok how do you know?

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sorry op for clogging your thread

yeah i think the same battery has been on the car all its life (5 years )

well i took the battery out to charge it as i thought it was cause of the steering going of, plugged it into the charger and it saying its number 1, on the scale of 1-5 5 being the worst

Re: aftermarket car alarm going off after 15mins when locked.

That wont tell you if its duff, needs to have a high rate discharge/charge check, an autoelectrical garage will do that for you for a few £s

Cheap Chinese batteries are said to last about 3 years max

Decent batteries like from new are 5 to 8 years, Depending really

But a weak battery means the Car depends more on the alternator

So when alternator load is high, and you demand more (P/s for example) the power is then drawn from the Battery, but if the battery is weak, and isn't able to provide
The Control Unit on the Power Steering says - Not enough = Cut power off/Warn

Then your light comes on

Other faults could be ABS sensor failure on ABS versions
Speedo Sensor on Non Abs versions
Motor Failure
Basic Wiring Failure
Fuse/Relay Failure

Ziggy

batteries sulphate with age and so are harder to charge
it therefore follows that a battery past its best will take more charge than one in rude health and therefore putting a bigger strain on the alternator and so causing the power steering light of doom
do car batteries come from china?
personally i think they are just made in the same factory as good ones but without the extra lead of a premium brand (somewhere in bolton)
i took a good battery off a mk2b punto this week because it was putting the light on,i replaced it with a 35 amp andrew page special at £25 and the problem is gone
no way was it getting a bosch silver service
i only fit them on my own vehicles if im feeling flush

I am very sure it is not the trolly wheel stopper thingys.

First if your battery is very old it could be to do with that as said not enough power been generated or to much power been wanted to what can be provided.

Also as what some people have said and this happends to mine when the weather gets cold and damp it plays up it did it to me last year and did it to me the other day.

So unless you start to loose your power steering completely every single time the light comes on or the light does not go off at all i would not worry about it just keep an eye on it and make sure it does not get any worse.

To help stopp the problem getting any worse never use the power assist button other wise known as the girly button.

Ashjj said:

I am very sure it is not the trolly wheel stopper thingys.

First if your battery is very old it could be to do with that as said not enough power been generated or to much power been wanted to what can be provided.

Also as what some people have said and this happends to mine when the weather gets cold and damp it plays up it did it to me last year and did it to me the other day.

So unless you start to loose your power steering completely every single time the light comes on or the light does not go off at all i would not worry about it just keep an eye on it and make sure it does not get any worse.

To help stopp the problem getting any worse never use the power assist button other wise known as the girly button.

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Why do people say that?
When my battery was start leaking battery acid, i still used the city button

City button is fine, its great for super tight spaces
And girly yes - just dont sneeze while driving

ziggy

Surely useing that button is only putting more straing on the battery/alternator and not going to make the problem any better and if anything only worse.

Ashjj said:

Surely useing that button is only putting more straing on the battery/alternator and not going to make the problem any better and if anything only worse.

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customer of mine last week killed her power steering while doing a 22 point turn without using the girlie button,the extra strain killed her relays i guess and im also a believer in using the girlie button if it has one
use it or lose it as its dearer than a new battery


city assist..............its the future

If you read my earlier thread a week ago on the forum "punto 1.3 jtd yearly problems"I have had this problem since I bought the car in October 2007 ! But after parking it for awhile it has always returned to normal . It happened last week but is ok again now and have just completed a 150 mile round trip with no problem !!!
Regards
Ian