Technical Power Steering Problems

[leongrey99]

I have a 2010 Fiat Panda which is having intermittent power steering failure. Seems to be working fine on some long distance trips for hours on end and then next day on a cold morning the light comes on as I’m driving and no power steering. Some days it works perfect other days it fails and even turning the car off and on won’t solve the issue. I have arranged to buy a second hand steering column from a breakers but the steering does not pull to one side or feel heavy when it’s working. I have a feeling it’s not getting enough power or something like that. What can I do to get it to work?? I’m not wanting to take it to a garage just wanting to fix myself.

 

[koalar]

I have a 2010 Fiat Panda which is having intermittent power steering failure. Seems to be working fine on some long distance trips for hours on end and then next day on a cold morning the light comes on as I’m driving and no power steering. Some days it works perfect other days it fails and even turning the car off and on won’t solve the issue. I have arranged to buy a second hand steering column from a breakers but the steering does not pull to one side or feel heavy when it’s working. I have a feeling it’s not getting enough power or something like that. What can I do to get it to work?? I’m not wanting to take it to a garage just wanting to fix myself.

As its worse on a cold days and at the start, it's pointing to the battery

I don't know of any good test for this, people regularly fall into the trap of its not the battery because it been tested

I have a spare battery and two cars, it's fairly easy for me to swap the batteries over, substitution for known good is the only reliable test I have found.

I have looked into devising a simple test when I had one fail and failed, everything measured fine, which was to be expected as I couldn't get it to fail while testing.

Some motor factors test a battery free of charge, even though it's not conclusive if it passes

If it fails you have a good place to start

EPS electric power steering faults | FIAT Panda (Mk3)

First don't panic, the vast majority of power steering faults are normally simple and cheap fixes especially if it starts failing mainly in your winter months But unfortunately nobody can say change this or do that and it fix it. A lot of different faults will cause the same symptoms or the...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[leongrey99]

As its worse on a cold days and at the start, it's pointing to the battery

I don't know of any good test for this, people regularly fall into the trap of its not the battery because it been tested

I have a spare battery and two cars, it's fairly easy for me to swap the batteries over, substitution for known good is the only reliable test I have found.

I have looked into devising a simple test when I had one fail and failed, everything measured fine, which was to be expected as I couldn't get it to fail while testing.

Some motor factors test a battery free of charge, even though it's not conclusive if it passes

If it fails you have a good place to start

EPS electric power steering faults | FIAT Panda (Mk3)

First don't panic, the vast majority of power steering faults are normally simple and cheap fixes especially if it starts failing mainly in your winter months But unfortunately nobody can say change this or do that and it fix it. A lot of different faults will cause the same symptoms or the...

www.fiatforum.com

Thank you for that. Yes it looking like an electrical problem that causes the power steering motor to lose power. So there must be either a battery or electrical issue, I feel that is more likely than the motor itself failing. The steering feels spot on when it works it’s not pulling this or that way at all

 

[koalar]

I done quite a few of the delphi power steering not just fiat, Vauxhall and Mercedes as well

I have yet to come across one that required anything expensive,

It can happen but it's thankfully very very rare,

Even some of the cases, where the column has been changed and fixed the problem, it is due to the fact everything has been unplugged, recalibrated and reseated not the new column that's fixed the problem

Over the last 4 or 5 years we have learnt alot about the the faults and fixes no doubt there's more to be learnt