Technical Abarth 595 Alternator/Powering Steering

[alistairrags]

Hi Everyone

I have an ongoing issue, my garage and myself are all out of ideas on the cause.

Abarth 595 2017 (Series 4) Fault:
The battery light came on and the power steering went very solid when the car is stopped. Over 4mph the steering feels like it 'unlocks' itself. If you restart the car the light will go off and the power steering functions as normal after a couple of minutes the battery light will come back on and the same fault occurs as above. My garage replaced the alternator which worked but after 1 day the exact fault came back, they suspected a faulty alternator (unlikely from new) they replaced the alternator again, this time it lasted almost 3 weeks before the fault came back again. They have assured me that they have done earth wiring tests (can't confirm this is the case). The battery has also been replaced so that can be ruled out.

There are several threads about this, some people replace the alternator/battery and the issue has gone away. (Same in my case but fault keeps coming back)

Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.

 

[RichardH13]

First stop is the battery, but thats been done...

Apart from that, earth, they say they've checked it

Could be a steering rack issue, Pandas used to have an issue. I'd look at the rack & motor

 

[Zardo]

Power steering will shut itself of if the voltage drops below 12,3 V.

I once had an alternator fault on my Punto and a sudden burning smell in the car so I had to electrically disconnect the alternator. After doing some tests which proved that the smell did not come back with the alternator disconnected and inspecting the wires, I decided to charge the battery to the max and connect a 10 W solar panel with a voltage regulator (instead of the alternator), so the battery would remain more or less charged during the 30 min drive to the dealership and still have enough voltage to power the power steering all the way.

I had to wait for a sunny day to do this... The battery was already 7 years old and would drop below 12,3 V after 5 min if it was not charged. I monitored the voltage whilst driving.

It's possible to monitor the voltage with a voltage meter connected to the battery or via OBD.

The problem went away after the alternator was replaced. The cables were fine as the burning smell originated from within the alternator.

In your case, since you have already replaced the battery and the alternator, check all cable connections (faulty wire, faulty connector), if ok then check the voltage (engine off, engine idling, engine revving up) with high-beam on in order to put an electrical load on the system.

Hope this helps.

 

[force999]

Hi Everyone

I have an ongoing issue, my garage and myself are all out of ideas on the cause.

Abarth 595 2017 (Series 4) Fault:
The battery light came on and the power steering went very solid when the car is stopped. Over 4mph the steering feels like it 'unlocks' itself. If you restart the car the light will go off and the power steering functions as normal after a couple of minutes the battery light will come back on and the same fault occurs as above. My garage replaced the alternator which worked but after 1 day the exact fault came back, they suspected a faulty alternator (unlikely from new) they replaced the alternator again, this time it lasted almost 3 weeks before the fault came back again. They have assured me that they have done earth wiring tests (can't confirm this is the case). The battery has also been replaced so that can be ruled out.

There are several threads about this, some people replace the alternator/battery and the issue has gone away. (Same in my case but fault keeps coming back)

Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.

What was the solution, presuming you got it fixed ?