Fabia power steering problems?

[Tech1e]

Hi there Techie1!.

Thanks for the article. I started a thread about this problem but this looks a great place to start.

I am having problems with my Fabia power steering and my car battery died on Saturday! So there may be a link.

Can you possibly advise how to find out what battery we should put in as I have never done this.

Thanks!

A dealer can tell you from the PR codes.

[Wynnie]

Hi Guys, I have a 2001 Fabia 1.9 SDI..last winter I had the PAS warning light come on. On restarting the engine the light went out and Power Steering was restored, it only occured over a couple of the worst weeks of the weather last year and was fine from spring up until this winter. This winter the exact same has happend but this time the light has stayed on, and I have no PAS. I have plugged in VAG-Com / VDS Lite and I get the following fault codes:

Address 44: Steering Assist Labels: 6q0-423-156.LBL

Controller 6q0 423 156 H

Component LenkhilfeTRW

Coding 00110

1 Fault found:

00566 - Steering assistance operation

27-00 Implausible Signal.

Can anyone help with fixing this? I had an error on the airbag too that said Supply Voltage B+ Signal too low but this error cleared, could it be the alternator has been dicky and has fried the PAS control module?

Any suggestions, help much appreciated.

Mark.

[MathiasS]

My findings on this topic are posted here: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/123548-help-with-code-01290/. Will update as the problem is (hopefully) fixed next week.

Edited 30 January, 2011 by MathiasS

[geostorm]

I have 2 Fabia diesels, an 03 SDI and a 55 TDI. Both have problems from time to time with the PAS.

The O3 has the light come on and the PAS partly work if the temperature is around freezing or just above at other temps it works fine. Start up, light's on, switch off, start up again, everything works properly.

The 55, light does not come on but PAS not working when starting after overnight cold temperature, rev the engine, PAS works fine.

Just thought this may help people with similar symptoms, it might work for you.

On the subject of the MOT, just having the light on is not a fail, the PAS not working at all is but if the light is on and there is some assistance it should pass.

[geostorm]

Peter right about MOT i am tester also i have similar problem, switch on light stays on switch off and usualy light stays off i suspect sensor many a cause of warning lights but best to check if not sure.

[nigelcm]

Can anyone help me. My 10 year old Fabia lost it's power steering, the steering light came on, a couple of hundred miles later it has gone out, still no assistance or possibly some. Is this a steering angle sensor fault? Or something more worrying? Will it pass the MOT? It's driveable, and I have driven it fine, a little heavy to do parking with ease.

Thanks,

Nigel

Edited 23 February, 2011 by nigelcm

[shane55]

Can anyone help me. My 10 year old Fabia lost it's power steering, the steering light came on, a couple of hundred miles later it has gone out, still no assistance or possibly some. Is this a steering angle sensor fault? Or something more worrying? Will it pass the MOT? It's driveable, and I have driven it fine, a little heavy to do parking with ease.

Thanks,

Nigel

My Sister had the same problem about 18mths ago with her 2001 Fabia.We brought it to the main dealer and they diagnosed a failed steering pump. They quoted 800 euro + lab for a new one. I got a new one on ebay for about 350 euro.They charged about 100 euro to fit it. About a year later the power steering failed again. I checked the fluid and it was low.I topped it up and the power steering was ok again for another few months when it failed again. The steering rack was now leaking.I would have left it and just kept topping up the fluid if it wasnt so hard to get at the power steering reservoir which is in a ridiculous place under the battery.We had the rack reconditioned at a total cost of 300 euro incl removal and refitting.A new one of these would have cost about 500 euro plus fitting.Now the radiator fan has gone. This is by far the worst car for failures any of my family has ever owned for the last 30 yrs. I am trying to get my sister to get rid of it. Anyway the best case scenario is that the angle sensor has just failed. But you hear so many stories of people having multiple failures with power steering it just isnt funny. Best of luck with it

[bluebrakes]

Although this has been some really good information i'm still not sure what's causing my problem...

My Fabia VRS 54 plate seems to have developed a problem on cold start up.

The steering assist doesn't appear to be working at all and then after about 20seconds it starts working again.

The steering assist light came on until it started working again.

It's fine once the car is warmed up.

I checked the fault codes on vagcom and the only thing i really found was something to do with the alternator. Signal something....

thanks!

[wellchilled]

Although this has been some really good information i'm still not sure what's causing my problem...

My Fabia VRS 54 plate seems to have developed a problem on cold start up.

The steering assist doesn't appear to be working at all and then after about 20seconds it starts working again.

The steering assist light came on until it started working again.

It's fine once the car is warmed up.

I checked the fault codes on vagcom and the only thing i really found was something to do with the alternator. Signal something....

thanks!

[wellchilled]

HI,

I have VRS 54 plate, same fault with power steering on cold start, but i also have an issue with the battery going flat after 10 hrs of non use etc, BUT BATTERY IS 100% fine and checked! I also have the engine management light on too. I checked with skoda and they said there is a common fault with these vrs, and it is a broken wire from the alternator to the loom. The prob is I have no idea where to start. Just wondering if you managed to get anywhere with your problem.

Ta

Graham

[faboka vrs]

I had the same fault.

Jack the front of the car up.

Put it on axle stands.

Remove undertray

From underneath in front of the gearbox/behind the radiator you should see the broken wire(s)

[Vinjy]

Ah! This is starting to sound more like my problem but I have a fabia classic 1.4Mpi. I start the car up and for anywhere between 2 seconds to 10 minutes have no power steering (and light is on). Then it comes back. However in the winter there were times it never came back so had to drive without it.

So you're saying that's due to a broken wire?

[silkman09]

Looking for help with my ongoing PAS sensor/flickering lights problem on '02 1.9tdi. First started over winter where the steering warning light would come on intermittently and steering become heavy, this was often accompanied by flickering headlights. Warning light would go off (for a few miles) if I stopped the engine and restarted. Eventually the warning light was on all the time and steering was heavier than normal – however ‘heaviness’ of steering varied – but once it got to the point that the warning light was on permanently the flickering headlight problem not longer occurred.

I’ve had the car in the garage this week who changed the PAS sensor (they’re expensive aren’t they) and cleared all fault codes (fault code when I first took it in was a ‘short to ground’ from the sensor), this was fine, for a day, then on the way back from work the warning light came back on, and I noticed flickering headlights again – this has now happened a few times so the car was back in the garage today – who couldn’t find what was wrong. From other posts on the forum I’m guessing it’s either the alternator or power steering pump, but I don’t know which. I’ve noticed that when the car is stationary the lights still flicker, but the flickering gets worse if I start turning the wheel, I’ve also noticed that I can now hear the power steering pump when turning (quiet whirring noise). Help!!!

Cheers

Alex

[MoggyTech]

Check the battery first, and that it's being charged (14.2Volts) with engine running at idle, then turn on headlights full beam, and heated rear window, Voltage across battery at idle should be no less than 13.8 Volts.

Check ignition light comes ON when ignition turned on, and goes OFF when engine started. If it doesn't, alternator sense wire has broken at the gearbox plug connector.

Check PAS fluid level is correct, and fluid clean.

If all of above are fine, check large link fuses on the top of the battery. It is common for them to split with a hairline fracture.

If they are OK, check the wiring to the PAS pump at the connectors on the bottom of the pump control unit. Corrosion is quite common due to the high current the pump can draw (60 Amps at times.)

After that, new pump and empty wallet.

[silkman09]

Thanks for the advice - got something to do at the weekend now. Will report back if I find anything. Otherwise time to start saving up by the sounds of it.

[silkman09]

Performed all the checks above - found a crack in one of the fuse links on top of the battery - 3rd one in from the right (40amp) - They look straight forward to replace - just wondered why can you get them from? - just done a quick google search but couldn't find anywhere to buy one from.

Cheers

Alex

[miho]

Thanks for all the useful information. I found it since our car's (2001 1.9TDI estate, comfort) PAS started acting up today. On starting after a previous short drive the PAS indication on the dash did not disappear and there was no assist noticeable. After a few minutes driving the light went out and PAS was working normally. This happened a few more times. After reading through all the comments here I suspect an electrical power issue. Apparently after starting the battery voltage is too low for the PAS to work correctly. After a bit of driving the battery voltage seems good enough, again. I assume this is caused by some corrosion or breakage in a power cable.

So far this is just a hypothesis as I am on holiday without so much of a tool set to even take the battery out. I hope to get home over the weekend and have a good look at all the cables. If I can find someone with VAG COM I'll try getting the fault codes read.

Do you think that is a reasonable course of action? The battery is only about a year old, so less likely to be the culprit. I don't know if the steering angle sensor has ever been replaced. Is it possible to see it without disassembling anything?

Thanks,

Mike

[Glenn_1966]

Hello Everyone

My car is a 2001 1.9 SDI Fabia, 125k. I recently replaced the steering angle sensor after it failed and the steering has been fine since. Yesterday I went to Tesco for milk and all was well, came home and next time I started the car the PAS light was on and no PAS, steering very heavy.

I took the battery out and discovered that the PAS fluid level is low (below the bottom of the plastic dipstick) so obviously my first fix is to top that up, but I was wondering how I would go about reading out fault codes over the BUS from the PAS pump controller.

I have a Bluetooth ELM-type OBD dongle and have used ScanTool and OBD Gauge to read diagnostics from the main ECU, but these don't report PAS problems.

Thanks in advance

Glenn

[scunnyfab]

Hello Everyone

My car is a 2001 1.9 SDI Fabia, 125k. I recently replaced the steering angle sensor after it failed and the steering has been fine since. Yesterday I went to Tesco for milk and all was well, came home and next time I started the car the PAS light was on and no PAS, steering very heavy.

I took the battery out and discovered that the PAS fluid level is low (below the bottom of the plastic dipstick) so obviously my first fix is to top that up, but I was wondering how I would go about reading out fault codes over the BUS from the PAS pump controller.

I have a Bluetooth ELM-type OBD dongle and have used ScanTool and OBD Gauge to read diagnostics from the main ECU, but these don't report PAS problems.

Thanks in advance

Glenn

after topping up has this fixed your pas problem???

[bygumlad]

The more I read on this subject the more it makes sense about moisture in the rack where the sensor is fitted, winter months quoted here seem to throw up pas problems etc which makes the connection with solving my issue. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. I put it down to moisture/water in the rack which made the sensor give out spuriors signals. After cleaning my sensor and drying it and blasting compressed air in the rack, normal pas was resumed! Happy days and free of charge.

[chickenhawk]

thank you for writing this, i am looking for a metal encased sensor cheap and was hoping you might have a site or number of someone who provides theses genuine parts, i've spoken to a skoda dealer who has quoted me £115

Quite a new people have complained about this since, well since the Fabia came out but I thought id complie a simple guide to what CAN cause PAS faults on the Fabia and a little background to how the system works. Please note all of this is from my head so please take it as advice and not the word of Skodagod. It is open to discussion and can and will be changed as it needs to be.

The Fabia PAS system is electro hydraulic. This means it has an electric pump the presurises the fluid rather than a mechanical pump driven by the engine. The pump is controlled by a control unit, this is mounted with the pump under the reservoir under the n/s chassis leg. Ballache is this is under the battery for most of the engine options with a few exceptions so that needs to come out to check the level sadly. The system itself is actually fairly simple, the motor have a main live and earth connection that powers the motor, three wires to a hall effect sensor and an ignition live. Add a couple of data wires to the dash insert for warning lights and thats about it.

PAS sensor

This little beauty pops up more than anything and probably these days fairly its unjustified. True the early PAS sensors were problematic, the plastic cased end ones used to get water in them and cause issues. These were replaced in service by metal ended ones. Usually logging a fault code along the lines of PAS sensor incorrect signal. The job of the sensor is simple, tell the ECU you are turning the steering wheel so the pump provides assistance. All of the vRS models and most from around 2003 onwards adpoters the latter sensor set up that uses the seperate sensor and lead and a twin pick up in the rack these very rarely give issue. The sensor can be viewed in MBV in diagnosis to see if the ECU is picking up movement, the rate of the movement and current draw etc.

Steering rack

Its a regular hydraulic power steering rack, nothing exceptionally special it just has a hall effect rotor on the pinion where the column bolts on. Two different types that I know of, single and twin, uses different sensors etc so the right one must be ordered. Watch out with pattern ones, quite often get the wrong one. Common issues the end seals leak into the rack boots, as these are sealed you dont notice the loss of oil so if its going somewhere, its a pretty good bet.

Pump

The pump as mentioned before is built in with the ECU and reservoir as one unit. Pretty much the last resort but using simple diagnosis its fairly easy to in down if the culprit of a failure. Water ingress is fairly common, was covered in a big foam jacket on earlier cars to quieten it down, however this just held a load of water in around the ECU so it was dropped (by the looks of it). Pump control unit does have a fair ammount of self diagnosis capabilities, also coding is required if replaced. Steering assistance can be altered on some pumps (vRS is normally already on the heaviest setting).

General diagnosis

First, fault code check, sounds obvious but it can save a lot of assumptions and wild goose chases changing random parts, also use MBV to see what the pump is getting voltage wise and if a signal is being picked up by the PAS sensor. They dont always log a code, but its worth checking.

Second up the really obvious one, power! Its an ELECTRO hydraulic system so requires a good healthy battery. The pump can draw up to 60amps so I was told (probably a bit less that that to be fair) but add that to the other things you might be running such as lights, heater, HRW and you can see why it may struggle. Cars fitted with the 41ah batteries will always struggle a little more, my advice would always be if you end up having to replace it at some point do yourself a favour and go a size up to something like a 60ah. Dont forget that your power supply is only as good as the earth return so these also need to be in good order. I have seen quite a few older Fabias having issues with the battery earth leads and had good results in renewing them, bonus is they are pretty cheap and will help the whole electrical system nt just the PAS. Check the charging system paying special attention to the common DFM wire fault, if the battery isnt charging the PAS wont work. DFM wire fault is easy to verify by switching your ignition on, does the battery light come on? If it doesnt, pretty good bet the wire has broken, usually at the two pin connector in front of the gearbox. So if your fuse on top of the battery is ok, you have a healthy batter and a good 12v+ at the pump, a sound earth (which goes up on to the chassis leg, very short lead and can come loose or corroded) its all pretty good here.

Fluid level is also crucial, the light in theory wont come on if the level is low, it will however come on if the pump overheats which is can do with insufficient oil so can do in a round about way.

It should in theory be fairly simple to resolve any issues, not saying it will be cheap mind if you end up having a rack and pump it can be quite a shock but it doesnt happen very often.

I will update this as I think of more and hopefully a mod will make it a sticky, hope this helps a little.

[bblqg99]

The more I read on this subject the more it makes sense about moisture in the rack where the sensor is fitted, winter months quoted here seem to throw up pas problems etc which makes the connection with solving my issue. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. I put it down to moisture/water in the rack which made the sensor give out spuriors signals. After cleaning my sensor and drying it and blasting compressed air in the rack, normal pas was resumed! Happy days and free of charge.

Where can I locate the "rack where the sensor is fitted"?

I do have a Seat Ibiza, but should not be to different I hope.

Is this same as the previous link to PAS Sensor change on Fabia-Vrs site?

Had my VAG dealer diagnose my trouble on missing Steering power and a light in the instrument- Conclusion defekt El pump. Changed it but problem remains the same (did not bring it in for a "reset", could this be the problem only?)

Did swap it back with the old one (compared the resistance on all pins on the pump and almost equal between old and new pump), as I consider to deliver this back and take the car in to VAG for more troubleshooting upcomming Thursday.

Please comment on this

Thanks

Edited 12 June, 2011 by bblqg99

[chickenhawk]

gonna try it tomorrow, thanks, will let you know the result

The more I read on this subject the more it makes sense about moisture in the rack where the sensor is fitted, winter months quoted here seem to throw up pas problems etc which makes the connection with solving my issue. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. I put it down to moisture/water in the rack which made the sensor give out spuriors signals. After cleaning my sensor and drying it and blasting compressed air in the rack, normal pas was resumed! Happy days and free of charge.

[chickenhawk]

Not to sound dumb but do you open the sensor to clean it, i gave the outside a clean with a toothbrush and blew compressed air around the rack and sensor but no change

The more I read on this subject the more it makes sense about moisture in the rack where the sensor is fitted, winter months quoted here seem to throw up pas problems etc which makes the connection with solving my issue. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. I put it down to moisture/water in the rack which made the sensor give out spuriors signals. After cleaning my sensor and drying it and blasting compressed air in the rack, normal pas was resumed! Happy days and free of charge.

[bblqg99]

Where can I locate the "rack where the sensor is fitted"?

I do have a Seat Ibiza, but should not be to different I hope.

Is this same as the previous link to PAS Sensor change on Fabia-Vrs site?

Had my VAG dealer diagnose my trouble on missing Steering power and a light in the instrument- Conclusion defekt El pump. Changed it but problem remains the same (did not bring it in for a "reset", could this be the problem only?)

Did swap it back with the old one (compared the resistance on all pins on the pump and almost equal between old and new pump), as I consider to deliver this back and take the car in to VAG for more troubleshooting upcomming Thursday.

Please comment on this

Thanks

Spoke to the VAG shop today, and they say the unit needs to be programmed. So going to the workshop tomorrow and give it a go. Fingers crossed