Hi guys

Apologies for starting a new thread on this, but I HAVE done a lot of searching and found quite a few relevant posts, though having read them I'm not 100% sure what the problem is, and I didn't want to hijack someone elses thread. Anyway.....

I've had my vRS for about 10 months now, and for around the last 6 it's had what appears to be the fairly common problem with the power steering not working for the first 10 seconds or so. It didn't bother me too much so I just put up with it, even though recently I'd noticed that occasionally it was perhaps taking a little bit longer to kick in.

About a week before Christmas, when all the snow was about, I went to start the car after it had been sat for 3 or 4 days, but although it tried, it wouldn't catch. I tried a couple more times, but it wouldn't even turn after that. I jump started the car fine, but I assume I'd completely discharged the battery because it reset my clock and trip computer, and the windows, lights, radio etc wouldn't actually work for at least 2 minutes after starting the car! Still, I put this down to a tired battery (I believe it's the original, and the car is a 54 plate, so about 6 years old) struggling in the particularly cold weather we were having then. I had to drive about 30 miles down the motorway after that, and instead of 10 seconds or so, the power steering didn't come on at all for the whole journey. It didn't work the next time I drove the car either, but strangely, when I stopped for diesel after 10 miles, it was working fine as soon as I started the car up again.

And it continued to work fine for a week or so, until the car failed to start again. I jump started it again, and this time the clock and trip computer etc didn't reset but the power steering didn't work at all again, although it only lasted about 15 miles this time, and then kicked in while I was driving, without having to restart the car. The magic eye on the battery was clear when I checked it (even after quite a few taps!), and being quite sure that all this was a clear sign of a knackered battery anyway, I decided to get a new one, which I have now, ready to fit on sunday or monday probably. (Though when I checked my current battery with a multimeter today, it was showing 12.33V, which seems pretty good?!)

During the course of investigating causes for the power steering problem on here though, I came accross a lot of threads suggesting a common fault is the load signal wire (also called an exciter wire?) to the alternator snapping, causing the battery not to charge at low revs. I don't get the battery light on the dash when I turn the ignition on (never noticed before, so not sure how long it's been like this for), so I was fairly sure this had happened. Anyway, I wanted to check this before I put the new battery in, just in case I didn't actually need one, but after taking the undertray off and fully expecting to see one or both wires snapped at the plug in front of the gearbox (the most common place apparently), it was fine!

So basically, what I'm asking in a fairly long winded way is: what could be another cause of the battery light not coming on? Is it most likely that one of the wires is just broken in a different (more awkward to fix) place, or could it just be something simple like a fuse? Does the fact that the light is not coming on with the ignition mean that the battery is definitely not being charged at low revs anyway? I'm not particularly technically minded when it comes to cars tbh, but I'm pretty good at googling and following instructions, so if someone could point me in the right direction it would be most appreciated!

Nick

Hi guys

Apologies for starting a new thread on this, but I HAVE done a lot of searching and found quite a few relevant posts, though having read them I'm not 100% sure what the problem is, and I didn't want to hijack someone elses thread. Anyway.....

I've had my vRS for about 10 months now, and for around the last 6 it's had what appears to be the fairly common problem with the power steering not working for the first 10 seconds or so. It didn't bother me too much so I just put up with it, even though recently I'd noticed that occasionally it was perhaps taking a little bit longer to kick in.

About a week before Christmas, when all the snow was about, I went to start the car after it had been sat for 3 or 4 days, but although it tried, it wouldn't catch. I tried a couple more times, but it wouldn't even turn after that. I jump started the car fine, but I assume I'd completely discharged the battery because it reset my clock and trip computer, and the windows, lights, radio etc wouldn't actually work for at least 2 minutes after starting the car! Still, I put this down to a tired battery (I believe it's the original, and the car is a 54 plate, so about 6 years old) struggling in the particularly cold weather we were having then. I had to drive about 30 miles down the motorway after that, and instead of 10 seconds or so, the power steering didn't come on at all for the whole journey. It didn't work the next time I drove the car either, but strangely, when I stopped for diesel after 10 miles, it was working fine as soon as I started the car up again.

And it continued to work fine for a week or so, until the car failed to start again. I jump started it again, and this time the clock and trip computer etc didn't reset but the power steering didn't work at all again, although it only lasted about 15 miles this time, and then kicked in while I was driving, without having to restart the car. The magic eye on the battery was clear when I checked it (even after quite a few taps!), and being quite sure that all this was a clear sign of a knackered battery anyway, I decided to get a new one, which I have now, ready to fit on sunday or monday probably. (Though when I checked my current battery with a multimeter today, it was showing 12.33V, which seems pretty good?!)

During the course of investigating causes for the power steering problem on here though, I came accross a lot of threads suggesting a common fault is the load signal wire (also called an exciter wire?) to the alternator snapping, causing the battery not to charge at low revs. I don't get the battery light on the dash when I turn the ignition on (never noticed before, so not sure how long it's been like this for), so I was fairly sure this had happened. Anyway, I wanted to check this before I put the new battery in, just in case I didn't actually need one, but after taking the undertray off and fully expecting to see one or both wires snapped at the plug in front of the gearbox (the most common place apparently), it was fine!

So basically, what I'm asking in a fairly long winded way is: what could be another cause of the battery light not coming on? Is it most likely that one of the wires is just broken in a different (more awkward to fix) place, or could it just be something simple like a fuse? Does the fact that the light is not coming on with the ignition mean that the battery is definitely not being charged at low revs anyway? I'm not particularly technically minded when it comes to cars tbh, but I'm pretty good at googling and following instructions, so if someone could point me in the right direction it would be most appreciated!

Nick

on wifes car it was just the connector slightly broken anfd falling off. Parts were about £16, but my auto elec said just to supergle it in place, its been 8 months now and no problem, Worth a look?

PAS draws 60 amps sometimes, so tired battery will not be enough to drive the PAS pump. No ignition light with intact sense wire is faulty alternator or voltage control module. Usually the alternator which is not cheap, as it has a fancy load clutch.

Thanks for the replies chaps

Kevin, do you mean the connector in front of the gearbox that I mentioned where the wire usually breaks?

MoggyTech, hoped you would reply cos I've read a lot of your posts on here which seem very helpful and well informed.

Not too pleased if it IS the alternator though! I'd kind of ruled out that out though, because the battery seemed to be completely drained the first time I had to jump start it (no electrics at all for a couple of mins), but then it was fine for quite a while after that, so I assumed the alternator was ok because it must have charged the battery.

Am I right in thinking I can test the alternator with my multimeter if I test the voltage with the engine idling? Though if it's low, could that also indicate a problem with the load signal wire? As I said, it's not broken in the usual place, but is it likely to be broken elsewhere? And is there no way it could be just a fuse? (hoping!)

Sorry for all the questions by the way!

Am I right in thinking I can test the alternator with my multimeter if I test the voltage with the engine idling? Though if it's low, could that also indicate a problem with the load signal wire? As I said, it's not broken in the usual place, but is it likely to be broken elsewhere? And is there no way it could be just a fuse? (hoping!)

Sorry for all the questions by the way!

Even with a broken load signal wire a working alternator should charge above 2000rpm. The load signal wire just kicks it in earlier in the rev range.

Test the batery voltage with the ignition OFF - should be around 13. Less than 12 and battery is duff.

Try starting the car and measuring the voltage across the battery. Should be some increase on the above voltage.

Then have someone hold 2500 to 3000rpm and see if it climbs to 14+ volts.

If it climbs to 14+ volts there is a good chance the alternator is working.

The battery could be so knackered that the alternator is flat out to maintain it at 12v. As soon as you switch off the voltage dies.

Simple check though for the DFM wire, its easy to see from underneath once the undertray is off. I normally cut the plug out and rejoin the wires again with a couple of lengths so it can be routed neatly.

Yeah, I tested the voltage with the ignition off and it was 12.33, so doesn't seem too bad? Haven't checked it with it on yet cos I'm not sure if it will start again when I turn it off! I'll have a check tomorrow afternoon when I'm going out in it though, cheers.

Yeah Tech1e, I did have the undertray off and checked the wire from underneath, but it seemed fine, certainly around that plug anyway. Could it possibly have gone inside but still seem ok? Tempted to just cut the plug out anyway tbh and just bypass it. Is that fine to do (I mean, is that plug actually there for a reason?!) and is there any specific wire I'd need for that?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone

Its fine to bypass it and yes they do normally rot out internally.

Ok cool, I think I'll give that a try first then. Thanks for the advice

Sorry, just one more noob question though (I'm not particularly technical, like I said!) - will I need a specific type of wire to do that, or will any old stuff from maplins do?