Hiya, i've got a punto sporting 2000 (W) reg. Just got a few worries about my power steering and electrics! it seems that when i turn my steering wheel either slightly 2 the left or right, or all the way round, it grinds real bad!! you can feel the steering wheel pullin 2 one side and making a noise, does any one have this prob or hav any ideas wat it cld b? ive also got a few other elec probs, like heaters blowing the fuse. ive also got a slight prob wit wat seems like a power cut off when i start the ignition some times. the clock resets to 0.00 and the lights flicker off then on!

Please Help! xxx

Power steering whines and gets louder when you reach full lock, and when you get to the end of the lock, sometimes it wants to return to the neutral position more (i.e. there is a little more resistance). If the grinding is worying you try and compare it to another punto, if a freind/colleague has a similar model or even ask the dealer (who cares if they think you're being silly, better than not having peace of mind) If you then think there is really something wrong, book it into a dealer/garage to have it looked at... Just a thought it could be that the belt has not been tentioned correctly.

As for the other electrical issues, this could be caused by a number if things. The majority sound like there is a loose earth connection on the car, if you know something about electronics, then you can search the forum, and you'll find articles about finding bad earthing, but personally I'd call an auto electrician (although I don't know how to spot a good one )

As for the heater blowing fuses, this could be because of things (leaves/debris) being stuck in the intake fan, from time to time things manage to get themselves lodged in the most inconvenient places, anyway if there is something hindering the fan it will require a larger current to start the motor, and this is what could be blowing your fuses.

Finally, your alternator may be stopping working, and could have something to do with the above... again search the technical sections, there are probably some good articles on alternators, if you can't find anything on any of the above you try a different section, some problems have a habit of cropping up throught the model range and marks.

Hope that helps.

I had a similar noise in my power steering. The electric motor is on the steering column just under the ignition and the grinding sound was bad at 2 and 10 o'clock . It appeared to disappear with the City on. The steering column and motor were replaced under warranty. Sorry ,I do not know the cost.

Thanks very much for that, im gonna check a few things that i hadn't thought of checking - like the leaves in the intake fan! My car has run out of warrenty but i've got a guarentee so i will see what is covered!

thankyou!!