Technical Fiat Punto Evo 2011

[Mamac1369]

Hello all
Please help if possible. My car has just started with battery warning light. Seemed ok but then I lost power steering. If I turn the engine off and back on again.Goes back to normal. When driving, the power steering will go but then come back on after a minute. Tested battery and its fully charged. Any ideas? Alternator? If so, is this expensive?

 

[AndyRKett]

Hello all
Please help if possible. My car has just started with battery warning light. Seemed ok but then I lost power steering. If I turn the engine off and back on again.Goes back to normal. When driving, the power steering will go but then come back on after a minute. Tested battery and its fully charged. Any ideas? Alternator? If so, is this expensive?

When you say tested battery and it’s fully charged how did you test it, car batteries are not like the battery in your phone. They don’t have electronics built into them to manage and monitor their state.

More than likely the battery is the problem especially if stop start isn’t working or hasn’t been working for a while

 

[Mamac1369]

When you say tested battery and it’s fully charged how did you test it, car batteries are not like the battery in your phone. They don’t have electronics built into them to manage and monitor their state.

More than likely the battery is the problem especially if stop start isn’t working or hasn’t been working for a while

I used a battery charger that showed it was fully charged. my battery also has a thing on it that shows if its full,needs charging or dead.

 

[AndyRKett]

I used a battery charger that showed it was fully charged. my battery also has a thing on it that shows if its full,needs charging or dead.

Still several things to know. By 2011stop start was on almost every fiat so I assume yours would have stop start. If so does this work?
And is the battery a stop star battery ? (I suspect already that it is not)

The indicator on a battery basically tests the specific gravity of the liquid contained within, does nothing to tell you anything about its condition, and you can't fit these types of monitors to AGM stop start batteries, not sure if you can on EFB batteries.

Battery chargers can only read the voltage and cannot properly test the power (current) the battery can supply.

A completely knackered battery can provide a 12v on a tester but that voltage drops dramatically when you start pully 100Amps of power to run the power steering. Id still strongly suspect the battery is the problem and probably/possibly the wrong type.

 

[Mamac1369]

Still several things to know. By 2011stop start was on almost every fiat so I assume yours would have stop start. If so does this work?
And is the battery a stop star battery ? (I suspect already that it is not)

The indicator on a battery basically tests the specific gravity of the liquid contained within, does nothing to tell you anything about its condition, and you can't fit these types of monitors to AGM stop start batteries, not sure if you can on EFB batteries.

Battery chargers can only read the voltage and cannot properly test the power (current) the battery can supply.

A completely knackered battery can provide a 12v on a tester but that voltage drops dramatically when you start pully 100Amps of power to run the power steering. Id still strongly suspect the battery is the problem and probably/possibly the wrong type.

Thanks Andy. Goes to show how little I know The stop start does work but not always. I really have no clue. I just know how to drive lol. I will take a pic of the battery and let you see. Im hoping its just the battery as you are saying

 

[The Panda Nut]

Thanks Andy. Goes to show how little I know The stop start does work but not always. I really have no clue. I just know how to drive lol. I will take a pic of the battery and let you see. Im hoping its just the battery as you are saying

I agree with AndyRkett. I had two batteries on two cars fail in 1 week. Both were "fully charged" and both failed totally shortly after the first sign of a problem. If you have a voltmeter test the battery voltage when the engine is running. It should stabilise at 14.4v and if it does so strongly suggests the alternator is OK. Its a job any tyre depot should do for nothing. My dead Panda battery was still showing 12.8 volts for two weeks after a replacement sorted the car out. It then went dead. My battery charger said it was fully charged and wouldnt charge it at all. You may have a steering problem but if the battery is out of its warranty, I'd look VERY carefully at it first,

 

[Mamac1369]

I agree with AndyRkett. I had two batteries on two cars fail in 1 week. Both were "fully charged" and both failed totally shortly after the first sign of a problem. If you have a voltmeter test the battery voltage when the engine is running. It should stabilise at 14.4v and if it does so strongly suggests the alternator is OK. Its a job any tyre depot should do for nothing. My dead Panda battery was still showing 12.8 volts for two weeks after a replacement sorted the car out. It then went dead. My battery charger said it was fully charged and wouldnt charge it at all. You may have a steering problem but if the battery is out of its warranty, I'd look VERY carefully at it first,

Thank you. Will be having a look at the battery tomorrow and hopefully can be an easy fix

 

[AndyRKett]

Thank you. Will be having a look at the battery tomorrow and hopefully can be an easy fix

If you can post a picture up we can soon tell you if its stop start. (you might need 5 posts before you can post picture) also ask back here if you do need a replacement. Halfords can be very over priced. Some places will charge absolutely stupid money for a stop start battery while other places can do very good prices. Either way you might need to budget around £100 or so.

The last one I bought was a very good quality battery from Amazon of all places. Good brand and about £80 (this was pre cost of living increases)

 

[Mamac1369]

Heres a pic of the battery. There is also a message saying check engine, stop/start. This has been on since i got the car a few months ago.

 

[Mamac1369]

Update...Called the AA and he said it was undercharging as tested while running and was showing 15v. He seems to thi k its the alternator so probably need to get it to a garage. Does this sound right?

 

[AndyRKett]

That is the wrong battery. Its a standard battery for cars without stop start. It is also for care without High power demands (like electric power steering) If the alternator is a problem or not the battery still needs to be changed. It looks fairly new so I suspect its been over charged and damaged.

 

[Mamac1369]

Andy, thats what I thought. Will change the battery anyway and see what hapoebs. Thank you so much for your help and advice

 

[varesecrazy]

Andy, thats what I thought. Will change the battery anyway and see what hapoebs. Thank you so much for your help and advice

IF its Overcharging..

It will boil the fluid in the battery...and that will be giving trouble by the Autumn

Worth getting a 2nd opinion on the alternator.. as a new alternator is going to be a reasonably costly exercise