Does your car have the Koyo, or TRW steering system?

1 hour ago, Pete_Ex-Wino said:

Does your car have the Koyo, or TRW steering system?

i dont know, how do i know that?

I had the dreaded PS warning light in June, topped up fluid and replaced the fuse on the battery (red/black wire). Since then I have fitted a 80Ah battery (was 52 Ah) and tested alternator. All was well until recently when temps dropped,  rain rolled in and so did the PS warning light.

 

The vehicle is a 2001, 1.9 TDi Fabia ATD and I want to gain a better understanding of why the TRW electro-hydraulic pumps fail. TRW and others sell new with a core exchange and my aim is to strip, test and replace anything serviceable that has failed and save a bucket of money (if possible). At this point I don't have a scan tool and will look into buying VCDS in the near future.

 

Any thoughts as to why the fuse blew? The PS fluid level was down a centimetre back in June but I can't speak historically. I binned the foam pump cover as it was loaded full of oil/water and I understand the reservoir can leak from the  O-ring. Can PS fluid/water enter down into the electrical plugs and damage components on the PCB? People have commented about holes in the base of the female plugs on the pump body.

 

Also I have read about transistor failure on the pump control PCB. Below is a link testing supply voltages and transistor replacement. Is is possible the steering angle sensor can somehow overloaded the pump transistor leading to its failure? For anyone interested the transistor is IRL3705N. I will also look at the capacitors as car is at 230,000 km.

 

 

 

An old topic now but any feedback would be appreciated.

4 minutes ago, Fabish said:

I don't have a scan tool and will look into buying VCDS in the near future

VCDS Lite (freeware) is adequate for mk1 Fabia, you just need to buy a suitable KKL cable, very cheap compared with full VCDS.

 

6 minutes ago, Fabish said:

Any thoughts as to why the fuse blew?

Did it blow (visibly melt?) or just crack? The cracking is I think a purely mechanical issue, nothing to do with the pump or current flow.

 

6 minutes ago, Fabish said:

People have commented about holes in the base of the female plugs on the pump body.

Yes, I think if the sealing round the individual wires, or any connector's mating parts fails, water has holes it can go through.  Not sure if I have a photo of this, but have an old pump unit at work I could look at on Monday.

Thank you Brezzy_Pete and nice to now there is free diagnostic software available.

 

The fuse definitely looked to have cracked with no signs of thermal damage, good point on mechanical failure.  These PD engines do rattle a bit.

 

Re the plug if you have time it would be appreciated.