power steering trouble. Please Help!!

[saxons]

Hi everyone.

Been having a bit of trouble lately with my skoda fabia 1.3 comfort 51 plate.

Few weeks ago in when temp outside was minus 3 my power steering decided to cut out whilst I was parking, very annoying as im not a very strong lil lady! came back to the car after work, turned on the car and steering was back to normal all the way home (only about 3 miles). So all went well for a week when my front widscreenwipers stopped working too. Checked all the fuses.. they were fine... still got 2 weeks on the warranty, so put in the garage turned out the stalk switch had gone. Anyway, 2 days after getting the car back from the garage have gone to work this morning, after getting 2 min down the road steering cut out again. Great. Didnt stop and kept driving to work, got stuck in a bit of traffic and power steering started working again, 2 more mins..whilst parking again it cut out. warning light has been on since. have tryed turning the egnition off and on again, but light has stayed on. Partner has taken in for a drive and recons it hasn't gone completely (seems to cut in and out whilst driving) alos very light steering when in high speeds. Strange?

Another thing i have experienced is flickering headlights, haqve read about this and some people think it has something to do with the alternator.

Sorry about such a long post...! Any help would be much appreciated!

[Mike B]

Possibly the battery has had it!

Best bet would be a scan for fault codes!

http://briskoda.net/diagnostics-vag-com/vag-com-owners-map/80992/

[saxons]

if it is the battery wouldn't i have other problems aswell? will check it out. thanks!

[MoggyTech]

Battery is the most likely cause. The PAS pump can take 60 AMPS when working hard. Engine speed is low when parking so alternator doesn't put out much of a charge. Could also be steering angle sensor, but that usually gives a warning light on the dash.

[AndyPandy]

Hi ,

do searches you will find lots on this problem. I recently put one in about batteries and cold weather.

[ap0gee1978]

To echo the above, even when the battery's in good condition, the steering can get very heavy if the engine revs are low - if for instance you were rolling into your drive with the engine only ticking over. The cold can definitely tip a dodgy battery over the edge (it did for mine!), although if you can try and keep the revs up when manoeuvring, this will help. Needs careful clutch control, though...

Oh, and yours will be a 1.4 if it's a Fabia :P

[saxons]

Hello again! went to a battery specialists today and asked them to check my alternator and battery. Turns out that the battery is charging when the car is ticking over, but not when I rev the car. Guy said he didnt know what to suggest as he would have thought that the battery would be flat, but its not. So might be the alternator?

I have been researching on the internet about similar cases and there are alot of them, with mixed opinions from people thinking the cause could be the alternator or the steering angle sensor. Any one got any more thoughts on this?

Also would my car pass an MOT due next week with this problem? Just to confirm that the power steering warning light is always lit up on my display.

Thank you to everyone who have already helped!

[MoggyTech]

Charging at idle but not at higher revs, could be one of several things.

Worth checking the alternator wiring, including the sense wire that is prone to poor connection where it is supported on the gearbox.

Alternator slip clutch may have packed in, this would be my first check.

Battery terminals clean and check cables for security.

Alternator regulator may be starting to fail, or dirty slip rings/worn brushes.

[saxons]

hello again. have booked my car in for computer diagnostics for tomorrow so hopefuly should get an answer.