Technical Fiat punto 188 steering suddenly becomes hard

[Farooq]

Hello,
my Fiat punto steering suddenly becomes hard and steering light appears on the odo meter.
Does Fiat punto 188 has Electrical Steering or Hydralic steering .
What could be the possible reason of steering to become hard.

 

[Roberto56]

Hi there, i have the same problem! i found out that the electronic sensor from the electronic steering could be damaged or malfunctional, try changing the sensor and it should solve!

 

[Farooq]

how much does it cost to change the sensors. can i drive it like that. or it can cause more issues with the steering

 

[BenWheatz]

You can still drive with no assist it’ll just be heavy.. and even more extra heavy when your parking/slow speed or just stood still. There’s a pinned post right at the top when you go onto the punto mk2b forum about the power steering. I personally had the same problem 2/3 years back with my punto and i had to replace the whole steering column. I think the earlier puntos you could change the relays or the motor but then newer models had to change the whole column

 

[Farooq]

streeing wheel becomes heavy during the morning but when i drive it in the evening it was working normally still showing red steering symbol on the meter. its 2004 model and i just bought it 2 days ago. i dont want to spend extra money on it atleast for 8 to 9 months... i hope nothing serious would happen

 

[rmjbn1]

Have a look at this thread first: https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/eps-electric-power-steering-faults.491623/

Lots of FIATs use the same system and issues are common, especially in winter with high electrical loads.

Can be a symptom of weak battery / earth. Hopefully nothing serious.

I would start by cleaning the negative terminal and earth connections on the battery, and also where the main battery earth strap is bolted to the body.

If that doesn't help try replacing the earth strap and/or substitute battery if possible before spending time and money on further diagnosis.

 

[judderbar]

streeing wheel becomes heavy during the morning but when i drive it in the evening it was working normally still showing red steering symbol on the meter. its 2004 model and i just bought it 2 days ago. i dont want to spend extra money on it atleast for 8 to 9 months... i hope nothing serious would happen

Check the battery. The electric power steering takes a very large current to operate. I had a similar problem with my car last week after not driving it for about 10 days. I was surprised that even after a 30 minute drive on the motorway it was still not right. It is ok now. The battery will probably get me through the winter and next summer.

 

[HughJarsse]

Check the battery. The electric power steering takes a very large current to operate. I had a similar problem with my car last week after not driving it for about 10 days. I was surprised that even after a 30 minute drive on the motorway it was still not right. It is ok now. The battery will probably get me through the winter and next summer.

Had a similar problem last week. Punto not been used for 2 weeks, and had steering problem for2 days once it was started up. I too know the battery is on it's last legs, and if used every day, has no problems.
First check the battery, (easiest to do!) then the earthing leads, before starting too much dismantling and replacing.

 

[Farooq]

battery seems to be ok car is starting very well... no issues

 

[judderbar]

battery seems to be ok car is starting very well... no issues

Check the alternator is producing correctly. You should have almost exactly 14V once the car is started even with the headlights on. My car has the 70amp alternator which is common in Finland but might not be universal. I can run everything at idle without significantly draining the battery.