good idea.
Technical Red steering wheel light
- Thread starter Lorna87
- Start date
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Technical Red steering wheel light
good idea.
All suggested 18 months ago..
But the present failure after 10 minutes of engine running.. doesnt fit the conventional
'Low power' scenario
Phase 1.. get the battery checked
All suggested 18 months ago..
But the present failure after 10 minutes of engine running.. doesnt fit the conventional
'Low power' scenario
Phase 1.. get the battery checked
Thinking about it and having done the journeys again and paid attention, it’s probably more likely to have been five minutes.
All suggested 18 months ago..
But the present failure after 10 minutes of engine running.. doesnt fit the conventional
'Low power' scenario
Phase 1.. get the battery checked
I had a few failure modes with a battery
from only failing on cold day
only failing when reverse parking
failing when coming to a stop after being on the motorway for a few hours
probably the most common is turning a T junction in the First few minutes even though the cars started, reversed down the drive and done a 90 onto the road fine.
measuring voltage at the cigarette lighter generally doesn't detect anything. It will stay above 14V. probable drops and comes back to quickly.
It bugs me I don't full understand the failure. For instance I had a battery with dead cells. The car wouldn't start without a jump start and wouldn't idle without giving it a little throttle but I drove it across Manchester and it didn't throw the steering code once and was still showing 14.4V but wouldn't idle but fine with just the battery swapped
the fact the original poster has only had the battery a couple of years an over night charge would be a Good start. We have had a thread recently where it would only fail in city mode and was fixed by starting the car with a boost battery
Which reminds me. City mode is off ?
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This doesn’t sit well with me.
Obviously there is a fault and it keeps coming back. Posting each day to say “made it” doesn’t mean the fault is gone or the car is safe
There are plenty of posts around the forum if you look where failed power steering has resulted in accidents, one example I found here https://www.fiatforum.com/newbie-ce...-crashed-nearly-died.html?342835=#post3409406
I know there is another where someone’s father borrowed there car and the steering failed mid corner and caused an accident.
The main problem isn’t driving in a straight line it’s when you go into a hard or sharp corner and the steering quits in that moment, the power assist fails and you find yourself having to deal with the full (extremely heavy) weight of the steering mid corner.
You need to get this problem checked out properly and fixed
I know you say that the steering still works even with the light on, but it’s a very small step from the light being on to the car cutting power to the steering.
Basically as it currently stands you’re knowingly driving a dangerous car and knowingly putting yourself and other people at risk. If you did have an accident your insurance company and the police would be both pretty annoyed with you, and you could find yourself uninsured and prosecuted
Obviously there is a fault and it keeps coming back. Posting each day to say “made it” doesn’t mean the fault is gone or the car is safe
There are plenty of posts around the forum if you look where failed power steering has resulted in accidents, one example I found here https://www.fiatforum.com/newbie-ce...-crashed-nearly-died.html?342835=#post3409406
I know there is another where someone’s father borrowed there car and the steering failed mid corner and caused an accident.
The main problem isn’t driving in a straight line it’s when you go into a hard or sharp corner and the steering quits in that moment, the power assist fails and you find yourself having to deal with the full (extremely heavy) weight of the steering mid corner.
You need to get this problem checked out properly and fixed
I know you say that the steering still works even with the light on, but it’s a very small step from the light being on to the car cutting power to the steering.
Basically as it currently stands you’re knowingly driving a dangerous car and knowingly putting yourself and other people at risk. If you did have an accident your insurance company and the police would be both pretty annoyed with you, and you could find yourself uninsured and prosecuted
The reason for posting is for my own records. Also, as mentioned I have said that when/if the light occurs again, then it will be taken to be looked into. Right now, everything is pointing towards the battery struggling. I will now no longer continue to post until the next event, when the car will be looked into.
Doesn't sit well with me either, for much the same reasons. Also the OP is clearly focusing on this; it makes sense to find the cause, fix it for good and stop having to think about it every time she wants to use the car.
I don't agree with this. I think it's more likely you have an issue with a sensor or connection within the steering column itself.
If it were the battery, you could easily fix this permanently for about £50 by replacing the battery for a decent new one. Sadly I don't think it's going to be that simple.
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Well I'm gonna be honest and say I've not read this whole thread through from the start before I say anything at all.
But I've had this issue a few times as well. And the c1002 error code isn't usually anything other than an actual torque sensor issue, particularly on a car that is just starting and driving.
I feel it prudent here to point out (really for anyone else reading than the OP as she has the code) but many garages seem to struggle with the steering codes, plain just don't know about how to access it. When my mum's old MK2 Punto was doing this it went in few garages and all said they couldn't replicate it or get a code but I found them straight away with MES and the adapters.
Sounds to me like the battery is fine and the alternator is charging or there'd be more issues.
The torque sensor is also the position sensor in one unit. I've found when they start playing up sometimes going to full lock (this draws massive current) will make the light come on and it will stay on until car is restarted and flip to that had the light come on and if you turn to full lock it goes out.
A new torque sensor last time I bought one was about 35quid (few years ago now so expect a bit more). Took me about half hour to strip the column down far enough to replace sensor, another half hour to put back together. It does need calibration but MES can do it which I have.
Plenty doable for a diy'er, garages all seem to say they need to replace the column at great expense but individual parts are available, just not from fiat. But i see no reason why supplied with the parts a mechanic couldn't swap it in an hour.
But I've had this issue a few times as well. And the c1002 error code isn't usually anything other than an actual torque sensor issue, particularly on a car that is just starting and driving.
I feel it prudent here to point out (really for anyone else reading than the OP as she has the code) but many garages seem to struggle with the steering codes, plain just don't know about how to access it. When my mum's old MK2 Punto was doing this it went in few garages and all said they couldn't replicate it or get a code but I found them straight away with MES and the adapters.
Sounds to me like the battery is fine and the alternator is charging or there'd be more issues.
The torque sensor is also the position sensor in one unit. I've found when they start playing up sometimes going to full lock (this draws massive current) will make the light come on and it will stay on until car is restarted and flip to that had the light come on and if you turn to full lock it goes out.
A new torque sensor last time I bought one was about 35quid (few years ago now so expect a bit more). Took me about half hour to strip the column down far enough to replace sensor, another half hour to put back together. It does need calibration but MES can do it which I have.
Plenty doable for a diy'er, garages all seem to say they need to replace the column at great expense but individual parts are available, just not from fiat. But i see no reason why supplied with the parts a mechanic couldn't swap it in an hour.
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If you are sure it’s just the battery then get a new battery as already pointed out you can get one for about £50 depending where you go.
If I there is any doubt then it needs looking at professionally.
Every time you drive this car at the moment knowing there is a fault with the steering you risk your own life, and while that’s a risk you might be willing to take, if the steering goes and you end up driving into someone else then that’s entirely on you.
There is the potential for electric power steering systems if faulty to turn the steering wheel against you, so while you could argue that you can steer the car if the power steering fails then you’d not stand a chance if the steering motor decides to change the direction of the car and turns you into the path of traffic or a wall.
Continuing to ignore this or just wait and see how it goes can have dire consequences
I'd say this is a good summary which fits with the story that's been posted so far.
Four real-world obstacles for the OP:
o the OP clearly doesn''t have the skill, knowledge or equipment to repair this themselves
o changing the torque sensor needs MES or similar to recalibrate the column; most general independent garages won't have this
o mechanics are hard to come by; most garages nowadays only have fitters; a fitter could likely fit a reconditioned, calibrated column, but changing sensors and recalibrating a column; probably not
o getting any kind of parts at the moment could be problematic; the guys at Western Power Steering will almost certainly have what's needed to refurbish the existing column sitting on a shelf somewhere.
In the OP's position, in the absence of a well-referenced independent Fiat specialist, I'd get a competent local garage to remove the motor assembly, send it off to WPS for refurbishment, and refit it. They'll likely be without the car for a week or so, and the total bill should be in the order of £500-£600, but they'll have a known good, warranted column and hopefully will be able to run the car for a few more years without this issue recurring (which it certainly will if they just do nothing).
If they take it to a franchised dealer, the repair will likely cost more than the car is worth.
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To be honest we’re talking about a mk2 Punto which unless it’s the 1.3 multijet almost all of them are now less than £500-600 to buy on eBay, Facebook market place and alike. It’s actually cheaper now to buy another Punto than it is to bother repairing power steering problems unless you are going to repair it yourself as discussed
Er, no, it's a 9yr old Panda with 65k on the clock; probably worth somewhere in the region of £1500 in good order. Decent £30 RFL cars are holding their value well just now.
My bad ?
the car is oversteering and swapping ends the problem is at the other end, rear. 100% not a power steering fault.
car rolling 5 or 6 times velocity plus weight it should have no pillars left surprised they survived it unless it had a roll cage fitted.
electric power steering only works up to 40mph reducing the effort required as the vehicle is slowing down with maximum effort applied when the vehicle is stationary, this is achieved via the ABS sensor feeding in to the steering control unit and delivered via the torque sensor.
If any of these components fail it is like driving a vehicle without power steering (although the design of the castor angles on the front wheel may make it heavier) hence my reference to my MK1 trafic when stopped it takes a lot of leverage to turn the wheels however when rolling even at 0.1 mph the steering is considerably lighter electronic steering failure may be a shock to the driver but it is not dangerous, if you are cornering when it fails the wheels will remain in the correct position for instance. Fly by wire systems on the other hand........
If any of these components fail it is like driving a vehicle without power steering (although the design of the castor angles on the front wheel may make it heavier) hence my reference to my MK1 trafic when stopped it takes a lot of leverage to turn the wheels however when rolling even at 0.1 mph the steering is considerably lighter electronic steering failure may be a shock to the driver but it is not dangerous, if you are cornering when it fails the wheels will remain in the correct position for instance. Fly by wire systems on the other hand........
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Nope it’s absolutely dangerous, that’s why it’s an automatic MOT fail if the steering light is on. It’s also been the cause of accidents, I believe it was ChrisUK who’s dad crashed his Mk2b Punto when the power steering failed mid corner.
What’s dangerous is telling people they can continue to drive a car with failed power steering.
Assuming your van is not and was not designed and built with power steering that’s fine but even if you have hydraulic power steering that’s failed it’s not safe to drive on the road as the steering rack and components are not designed to be used in that way.
Also if you are used to driving a car with the power steering you may not have the strength to control the car if the power steering fails, so if the eps stops working at speed it may come as a nasty surprise when you slow down for a corner or round about and find you don’t have the strength to steer the car and avoid an accident
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