My 2000 'V' Punto 1.2 has developed the dreaded power steering problem, although its intermittent at the moment.
My question is this: Can a weak battery or faulty alternator cause the symptoms?
I ask because I could make an expensive mistake of paying for a replacement steering unit only to find the problem remains.
I'm intending to get the battery and alternator checked at the weekend because I have my suspicions due to other symptoms, ie flickering headlights whilst driving being one.
I have also been informed that I may be draining the battery due to fitting an after-market stereo

yes mate battery can be the problem

Well I've had the battery and alternator checked today and they are OK.
So it looks like its the expensive steering motor/ECU replacement after all

The mal fittage of a radio can cause a very big drasin on the syatem -- might be worthwhile getting that looked at.

You might consider disabling the power steering and reversing the suspension top mounts.

dont get it replace until uve exhauted every other possiblity.
as fingers99 says, the radio can drain it if its not installed to turn off with ignition.
Theres a guide to show u how to rewire it if needed.

If u are competent with tools, you can remove the power steering motor, then check the circuit board for cracked solder joints.
This isnt as hard as it seems, and takes less than an hour.

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.
Certainly the new stereo doesn't automatically go off with the ignition so I'll probably refit the original.
I don't mind having a go at checking the motor so I'll check on here for the correct procedure for removal & refit.
Unfortunately I didn't witness the testing of the battery and alternator so I don't know if they tested it on load or not. That could make all the difference.

I don't understand the comment about reversing suspension tops
Are you saying the car could be made 'reasonably driveable' without the power steering? If so, that sounds like a great option

I had the exact same problem with my punto except the lights i think.. but my steering column was under warrenty for 2 years so i got it replaced for free and then to make it even better i had a brand new 2 year warrenty on that one start Everything works fine now no problems what so ever (touch wood)

fingers99 said:

You might consider disabling the power steering and reversing the suspension top mounts.

Click to expand...

can you explain this?

there isnt a proper guide on here, so here's what ive done...

to check the solder joints you need,

allen key - not sure
torx bit - T7 or T6
soldering iron
soldering wire
steady hand
a good light source

take off fuse box cover
take of bottom steering cowling
unclip the motor wire from ECU
unbolt the motor, theres 3 hex head bolts, here you can use 8mm socket
take out motor and boss - leave boss in car as not to loose it
take off foam gasket (try not to rip it, if u do, dont worry)
unsolder the 6 main wires beside each relay
unscrew the 4 torx screws
take out circuit board
flip it over and resolder all connections on relay, on each theres 3 main and 1 smaller one
make sure you have plenty of solder on each one
then reattach to motor, screw in 4 torx and bracket
resolder main wires, you may have remove old solder to get wires back in fully
reattach foam gasket
reattach boss
bolt back into place
reconnect wires

then try it...

its defintaly worth having a go, as it doesnt cost much to do it...£10 for solder iron & wire ?

colinf1 said:

can you explain this?

there isnt a proper guide on here, so here's what ive done...

to check the solder joints you need,

allen key - not sure
torx bit - T7 or T6
soldering iron
soldering wire
steady hand
a good light source

take off fuse box cover
take of bottom steering cowling
unclip the motor wire from ECU
unbolt the motor, theres 3 hex head bolts, here you can use 8mm socket
take out motor and boss - leave boss in car as not to loose it
take off foam gasket (try not to rip it, if u do, dont worry)
unsolder the 6 main wires beside each relay
unscrew the 4 torx screws
take out circuit board
flip it over and resolder all connections on relay, on each theres 3 main and 1 smaller one
make sure you have plenty of solder on each one
then reattach to motor, screw in 4 torx and bracket
resolder main wires, you may have remove old solder to get wires back in fully
reattach foam gasket
reattach boss
bolt back into place
reconnect wires

then try it...

its defintaly worth having a go, as it doesnt cost much to do it...£10 for solder iron & wire ?

Click to expand...

Hi, is that the main cause of failure then? dry/cracked solder joints?
is this a common problem?

mine was intermitent, so it would be fine for days/weeksm then it could jus go...
the joints where cracked on mine so when i resoldered them it cured it..

colinf1 said:

mine was intermitent, so it would be fine for days/weeksm then it could jus go...
the joints where cracked on mine so when i resoldered them it cured it..

Click to expand...

Hi, i always thought the main failure point on these steering columns was the torque sensor.

But thats definitely something else to check.

dont want to hijack this thread, but was just asking because I keep getting intermittent failures come up on the dash.. no idea why lol
will go days or weeks without any errors, then randomly pop up steering failure, airbag failure, hill hold failure and stuff.. no idea why, and a few minutes later all fine again, errors gone. So im trying to figure out what the cause is.

Thank you for the replies chaps. I'll post the results of my findings when its finally resolved to hopefully help others with the same problem.

I guess I'm a bit of a sucker for a challenge. I've gone a number of years since owning my last Fiat (previously owned a Mirafiori, two Uno Turbos and two Mk1 Puntos).
I've always liked their driving qualities but in my personal experience the 'Achilles heel' has traditionally been inferior electrical systems.

To disable the power steering, remove the fuse. (You can also remove the bulb so there's no aparent issue.) Many Puntos came without power steering. Apart from a non power column the main difference is that the front damper top mounts are reversed to change the camber angle. Applies to Mk 1s, at least.

u cant remove the bulb, as its smb led, & all mk2s had power steering

fingers99 said:

To disable the power steering, remove the fuse. (You can also remove the bulb so there's no aparent issue.) Many Puntos came without power steering. Apart from a non power column the main difference is that the front damper top mounts are reversed to change the camber angle. Applies to Mk 1s, at least.

Click to expand...

lol, please dont advise people to remove the bulb, its not the answer and if the person comes to sell the car unfair on the new owner.

Ive got an instrument cluster im working on at the moment.. its had 8 of the SMD LEDs remove from it, basically almost every single warning lamp.

colinf1 said:

u cant remove the bulb, as its smb led, & all mk2s had power steering

Click to expand...

you can remove them, as above.. lol got 8 missing.
pair of pliers, grip and twist probably removes them quick enough.

Remove the bulb if you're disabling the power steering. Tell the customer. Otherwise, yep, it's a fiddle and shouldn't be done. Everything I've written applies to Mk1s (as I clearly state).

The question remains -- do the Mk2s really need power steering?

I'm probably not alone here (ref the quantity of postings on this subject).....but I would rather have the option of NO power steering in my Punto than this problemmatic system Fiat have thrown in.

Unfortunately, as you state, disabling the EPAS alone isn't a solution as the steering becomes incredibly heavy.
I don't refute what you say about reversing the suspension tops but I wouldn't feel comfortable making such a modification.

As an aside, I understand this type of power steering is also used by other manufacturers? It may be an interesting experiment to scour other forums to see if they also have the volume of problems that Fiat have.:idea:

bunkerbill said:

HTML:

The question remains -- do the Mk2s really need power steering?

I'm probably not alone here (ref the quantity of postings on this subject).....but I would rather have the option of NO power steering in my Punto than this problemmatic system Fiat have thrown in.

Unfortunately, as you state, disabling the EPAS alone isn't a solution as the steering becomes incredibly heavy.
I don't refute what you say about reversing the suspension tops but I wouldn't feel comfortable making such a modification.

As an aside, I understand this type of power steering is also used by other manufacturers? It may be an interesting experiment to scour other forums to see if they also have the volume of problems that Fiat have.:idea:

Click to expand...

its also possibly used by vauxhall/opel

its used by opel/vauxhall, MG, Fiat

It seems to be more common on Fiats, although Corsa's suffer from the same low voltage errors which cause no eps. they also suffer from loss of assiatance due to torque sensor error, but arent as common as puntos.

the MGF suffers from torque sensor errors that leads to loss of assistance in one direction or both, normally one goes then both.

The main reason that its highlighted in puntos is due to the different version numbers that are installed, as in, you need to match the number on the failed one to the new one otherwise its incompatible.

Also, i reckon alot of people get the errors read, then dodgey dealer says you need a new column when it could be other issues - as in dead battery, cracked solder joints, just to make a few ££'s for themselfs. Mine was read and dealer stated new column was needed, took it apart and resolder the joints on motor and fixed it.

So as Ive said previously, exhaust every other possibility before commiting to going down the expensive new column route.

Reconditioned service exchange columns are plug & play with 2 years warranty & cost £180 about 1/3 of a new one that has to be electronically aligned by a Fiat mech.

Is it really a Punto problem? How many cars get new ECUs fitted when there was actually nothing wrong with the old one & ditto steering columns. Its amazing how many garages recommend megabux repairs when they haven't exhausted all the other cheaper problems.