General steering

[woowoos]

just driving home tonight and my steering suddenly stiffened up, had it on city as i was in town but now its like driving with no power steering at all and a red warning light in the shape of a steering wheel, how do i check my fluid levels as i cant seem to locate where it is

 

[visfix]

City? On a Mk1?

 

[visfix]

I'm guessing you have a Mk2 Punto, in which case, the power steering is electric, rather than hydraulic, so there will be no reservoir.

 

[blu73]

as above, please confirm, i will move thread to mk2 if you have posted in wrong place

 

[MadMan0]

If it is a Mk2 punto then the power steering will be electric as said above. Some possible causes of the problem are:

1. Your battery is not holding the correct voltage (possible if it's on its way out), to check simply put a voltmeter across the two terminals, if it's over 12.5 volts with the engine off or over 13 volts with the engine on then it's probably not the battery at fault.

2. The torque sensors or motors could be faulty (located on the steering column) not too sure how to check these.

3. There could be a break in the circuit, possibly a blown fuse.