Technical 57 plate Diesel Multijet Steering issues

[Midlifecyclist]

My other half bought a high mileage (140,000) 57 plate Diesel Multijet Lounge from a friend of a friend. It had various messages appearing on the dash that she was assured by the friends friend who is a mechanic that they had been dealt with! Anyway I think she's bought a dog!

One of the warning messages was about checking power steering, this was proved accurate when on our second drive out the steering went stiff and required us to pull over and restart the engine which temporarily rectified the problem.

After an evening reading this forum it seemed that a new battery could solve things so a new one was fitted. The previous one showed 57% on the test meter.

For the next two days only a check glow plugs message appeared which had been there since the day she picked it up. But the steering message quickly came back and the steering went stiff a few more times.

More reading of the forum sent me down a rabbit hole about steering torque sensors. Could that be the issue?

Regardless of warning messages my Mrs headed off on a 100mile round trip on Saturday the steering failed twice and required a restart to cure and near the end of the journey the engine management light came on!

It actually drives ok apart from the steering issue!

I'm now worried we've bought a dog but want to explore a few possibilities if any exist to fix the thing before I drive it off a cliff .

Any thoughts on a plan of action would be gratefully received.

 

[jrkitching]

More reading of the forum sent me down a rabbit hole about steering torque sensors. Could that be the issue?

It's possible; they do sometimes fail. And there are 140,000 reasons why it might have happened in this case.

However, it's much more commonly the result of a power supply issue. The steering motor draws a lot of current, and if it can't get what it needs, it puts the light on and disconnects.

You've already replaced the battery, so the next step is to check the cables and connections, especially the earth lead and earthing points.

Only after you're sure all of this is sound is it worth investigating the steering motor and its torque sensor. If it really is a column fault, this link might prove useful

 

[Midlifecyclist]

It's possible; they do sometimes fail. And there are 140,000 reasons why it might have happened in this case.

However, it's much more commonly the result of a power supply issue. The steering motor draws a lot of current, and if it can't get what it needs, it puts the light on and disconnects.

You've already replaced the battery, so the next step is to check the cables and connections, especially the earth lead and earthing points.

Only after you're sure all of this is sound is it worth investigating the steering motor and its torque sensor. If it really is a column fault, this link might prove useful

Thanks for such a swift reply, I will look into this and let you know what the outcome is. Much appreciated.

 

[Midlifecyclist]

So my search for a dodgy earth begins! I watched a YouTube video on changing the earth strap from under the battery tray across to the clutch slave cylinder. On starting to strip down the parts to get at the strap I realised there was more to it than I saw in the video! This I've realised is due to mine being a diesel multijet and the car on the youtube vid being a petrol. There was no way that as a none mechanical sort of bloke I was going to strip all that gubbins out. Instead I fitted an earth lead on the other side of the engine bay as per the photo. I'm not sure if this will compensate if the one on the other side is failing! Typically the steering worked fine before and after this earth strap bodge. no stifness or dashboard message. So I'm none the wiser as to whether it actually did anything! All we can do is drive the car a bit more and see what happens, whilst carrying on looking for and checking earth wires.

 

[John202020]

So if buying any older car you have to be a good DIY mechanic otherwise the cost of having even an independent garage fix things gets prohibitively expensive, you also need a reasonable selection of tools too and good problem solving skills.
You're not going to like this, but try and sell the car on at the least loss, the 500(petrol at least) is a cheap and simple car to keep on the road generally Eg. the new radiator I just fitted only cost £60 but required this to fit it ( is our car but not at the point of replacement the rad but shows the work involved)

 

[jrkitching]

So if buying any older car you have to be a good DIY mechanic otherwise the cost of having even an independent garage fix things gets prohibitively expensive, you also need a reasonable selection of tools too and good problem solving skills.

Absolutely. The economics of owning an older car are basically down to how much you can do for yourself.

And it helps if you have somewhere level to work on it, preferably indoors, with power (and heat in winter). If all you have is the public highway, you're limited in what you can do.

 

[Midlifecyclist]

So if buying any older car you have to be a good DIY mechanic otherwise the cost of having even an independent garage fix things gets prohibitively expensive, you also need a reasonable selection of tools too and good problem solving skills.
You're not going to like this, but try and sell the car on at the least loss, the 500(petrol at least) is a cheap and simple car to keep on the road generally Eg. the new radiator I just fitted only cost £60 but required this to fit it ( is our car but not at the point of replacement the rad but shows the work involved)

Yes you're probably right, I may have to cut my losses on this one. Now back in the day I could strip a Citroen 2CV clutch out blindfolded, but my interest in getting oily hands has wained somewhat!!

 

[John202020]

If all you have is the public highway, you're limited in what you can do.

Me,, don't even have a driveway but do have a wide pavement and parking bay outside the gate, still I'm really glad I changed the rad the week I did 17c next week freezing and wet

 

[Midlifecyclist]

So since fitting the new earth to the other side of the engine bay on Monday I've been out every day for a spin and clocked up 35 miles and the steering has totally behaived itself, no warnings and no power loss on the steering motor. There is also a more definative difference between CITY mode and NORMAL mode, more like my Pandas steering! Before it was failing on every trip, usually quite early on the journey.

So now my shopping list of errors has shrunk slightly to:

• Handbrake needs adjusting
• "Check Running Lights" and Yellow triangle light, when I turn the main lights on. Doesn't appear when main lights are off.
• "Check Glow Plugs" warning light on startup
• The following (appearing on phone when using a bluetooth OBD2 gadget)
• P0101
  Mass air flow (MAF) sensor/volume air flow (VAF) sensor - range/performance problem mass air flow sensor,
  Status: Confirmed
• P0069
  Manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor/ barometric pressure (BARO) sensor - correlation Atmospheric Pressure Sensor - Plausibility Boost pressure sensor, Status: Confirmed
• B1021(18) Status: Test failed, Pending, Confirmed, Test not completed during this operation cycle
• B1005(13) Status: Test failed, Test failed (current drive cycle), Pending, Confirmed

Before I decide whether to sell the car it's time to dive back into the forum and see if there any easy/cheap/ not to mechanically challenging solutions to any of the above.

Thanks for advice given on my post, much appreciated.

 

[John202020]

Go out to the car, turn the lights on from off without the key in, go round the car front side lights rear side lights( might have the wrong wattage bulb in should be 10w not 5 ) and also the two number plate lights.
Also many people simply turn off the front day running lights same bulb as the sides(twin filament) as they can't be bothered to replace the bulb it's toggled on off using the menu to the right of the speedo, suggest you only try this once you've sorted the other light issue

 

[jrkitching]

Handbrake needs adjusting

This isn't common, most of the time, it's down to something having seized, usually internally within the rear drums. This happens much more frequently.

Remove both rear drums and make sure that there is sufficient material on the rear shoes, and that everything is working as it should be, particularly the self adjusting mechanism.

Don't try to adjust the handbrake cable until you have done this. Taking up excessive handbrake travel by adjusting the cables when the self adjusters have seized is a common mistake.

 

[John202020]

Failed hand brake cables also possible where they bend, note if replacing they are not the same length don't mix up also you may need new star lock washers.

This could easily become a "restoration project" with that prospect check just what may need doing!
A guess is all new front suspension( front bumper off and all that includes ), new bakes, new rear axle, cosmetic items

 

[Midlifecyclist]

This could easily become a "restoration project" with that prospect check just what may need doing!
A guess is all new front suspension( front bumper off and all that includes ), new bakes, new rear axle, cosmetic items

Thanks for your thoughts @John202020 , is your "restoration project" diagnosis based on typical problems seen on a car of this age and the shopping list of problems I've already got?

I guess my confidence was boulstered with the steering seeming to have been fixed with a new battery and earth strap. If I can get it safe for the Mrs as a run around that would be good, but otherwise we'll sell it on.

I can't beleive we got it with a Full MOT, with the handbrake having tons of travel and the battery loose in it's tray due to a sheared rusty bolt and a disco lights and messages flashing on the dashboard !

 

[John202020]

Yes, our car is a 59 plate, bought in 2015, its required, all done by myself, all front suspension, rear axle, brakes all round radiator, rear hatch wiring issue, sump, cooling pipes, heater matrix, door handles, plus other things I've forgotten probably spent 2k on parts, on the plus side most things that fail I've now replaced so it's only age related issues IE. Rust!