Technical Steering wheel warning light

[radiopanda]

Hi all. Last week my steering wheel light came on for a bit but then went away. Didn't notice any difference with the steering at all (and the city mode still worked).

Tonight it came on again, but turned off after I stopped at a junction and turned the wheel to full lock. Any ideas? I've done a search and people mention the battery but it's only just had a new one!

 

[koalar]

was it fine until the new battery ???

 

[radiopanda]

was it fine until the new battery ???

Not sure... the battery was put in by the owner in order to sell it (to me!).

It had a service and a bit of work to the exhaust when I put it in for its MOT a couple of weeks ago. Might they have disconnected the battery or something?

 

[koalar]

try parking on gravel or grass.

Test 1 switch all the electrics off. Blower, lights and so on

raise the revs to around 2K

move the steering from lock to lock a few times.

if it fails reset it by switching the engine off then bac on again.

then let it idle for a minute or so.

test 2 put the headlights on, blowers on max and the rear screen on, put it in reverse and keep both the brake and clutch fully pressed

again turn the steering from lock to lock a few times

does either test fail, one fail or none fail.

 

[A3jeroen]

Check the connections on the battery as well as the groundcables to engine and chassis.

gr J

 

[radiopanda]

I'll check later and let you know!

 

[radiopanda]

Out of interest, I think the battery the previous owner put in isn't the exact one I need. It's 300A/45AH. Could this be a problem?

 

[koalar]

Out of interest, I think the battery the previous owner put in isn't the exact one I need. It's 300A/45AH. Could this be a problem?

anything around 300 CCA will be fine

if its stood for awhile it can cause a few initial glitches which will sort itself out.

 

[radiopanda]

try parking on gravel or grass.

Test 1 switch all the electrics off. Blower, lights and so on

raise the revs to around 2K

move the steering from lock to lock a few times.

if it fails reset it by switching the engine off then bac on again.

then let it idle for a minute or so.

test 2 put the headlights on, blowers on max and the rear screen on, put it in reverse and keep both the brake and clutch fully pressed

again turn the steering from lock to lock a few times

does either test fail, one fail or none fail.

Update: the light turned off yesterday after turning the wheel full lock to full lock a couple of times and hasn't come on since (done quite a few miles).

I tried these tests but nothing happened since it's off and stayed off! Car running fine. Odd!

 

[varesecrazy]

Does it happen at VERY low revs.. like parking..or at junctions?

 

[koalar]

Update: the light turned off yesterday after turning the wheel full lock to full lock a couple of times and hasn't come on since (done quite a few miles).

I tried these tests but nothing happened since it's off and stayed off! Car running fine. Odd!

I have had the steering fail at every roundabout after a battery change


after raising the revs and turning the steering lock to lock a few times it never failed again. Fingers crossed yours will be the same.

I guess it need to relearn the maximum and minimum extremes are.

keep an eye on it. Failing First thing in the drive. Failing on colder days, Failing only on right or left turns, when parking/reverse parking are all valuable clues. The more information we can gather the better any diagnostics will be.



,

 

[radiopanda]

Thanks for your help. Both times it happened midway through a journey - first time parking in a supermarket car park in broad daylight (no lights or anything) and second time on the motorway at night doing 70!

Also both times the power steering continued to work. At least I think it did. I've manoeuvred the car with the engine off before and the steering was very heavy and it was nothing like that. It felt completely normal. In the case yesterday on the motorway I completed my journey home and it was normal on the A roads, steering very nicely thank you!

 

[varesecrazy]

Thats potentially goodnews..

Yove basically ruled out issues with the charging circuit there..

Both battery and alternator sound fine.

 

[chris3234]

Thanks for your help. Both times it happened midway through a journey - first time parking in a supermarket car park in broad daylight (no lights or anything) and second time on the motorway at night doing 70!

Also both times the power steering continued to work. At least I think it did. I've manoeuvred the car with the engine off before and the steering was very heavy and it was nothing like that. It felt completely normal. In the case yesterday on the motorway I completed my journey home and it was normal on the A roads, steering very nicely thank you!

Above about 30mph the power steering provides no assistance anyway I believe
But good to hear it's sorted

 

[koalar]

Above about 30mph the power steering provides no assistance anyway I believe
But good to hear it's sorted

I have also hear and seen this several times

not sure where this information originated from, and keeps changing.

I have also heard that city mode doesn't operated above 30 as well

both are incorrect on a 05 and 06 models. I haven't tried my 2010.

Its proportional the faster you go the less assistance it gives you. But at 50 mph and turning a sharp corner if you flick the city button you can still feel a difference. I have tried it in the real world and is the same as the description on eLearn.

It is correct that once you get up to speed you don't need much assistance and it would be hard to tell if the power assist is err assisting as it isnt doing as much.

 

[jrkitching]

But at 50 mph and turning a sharp corner if you flick the city button you can still feel a difference.

Correct.

On my 2010 car, you can feel a definite change in the weight of the steering if power assistance is lost at any speed, with or without engaging city mode, but obviously the effect is more noticeable if you are only moving slowly.

Whatever the speed, the car will always remain controllable, providing you are ready for it. I've driven 1950's cars with heavier steering than the Panda with EPS disabled, and a 1970's Capri on wider tyres isn't far short of it.

That said, if I had to drive one a long way with either a frequent intermittent fault, or a continuous failure, I'd pull the PAS fuse first, just to eliminate any chance of a nasty surprise on the journey.