Power steering warning light

[bob54321]

Hi,

Last night the power steering warning light came on the dash - and I dont think power-steering was working very well (at least not 100%). I ignored the the light and carried on my way and then parked up for the night. This morning tried to start the car and battery was dead. Once I got the car started, using my jump-pack, the warning light was not on.

So do you think it is a dead alternator? Or dead battery? Or something else?

Cheers,

Matt

p.s. does anyone else think power steering is waste of time on these cars!

Edited 28 January, 2011 by mattiker

[DRJ]

does anyone else think power steering is waste of time on these cars!

Power steering is essential...

[bob54321]

Power steering is essential...

Perhaps I should re-phrase that - power-steering on most modern cars is waste of time....unless you have exceptionally weak arms

[ap0gee1978]

Perhaps I should re-phrase that - power-steering on most modern cars is waste of time....unless you have exceptionally weak arms

Nope, the other guy was right. If the power steering HAD failed, you'd know about it!!!

Most likely the light came on due to low voltage from the battery. If the car's still on its original battery, it's probably overdue a new one...

[bob54321]

Nope, the other guy was right. If the power steering HAD failed, you'd know about it!!!

Most likely the light came on due to low voltage from the battery. If the car's still on its original battery, it's probably overdue a new one...

If you didn't have to work against the hydraulics in the steering rack (i.e. if it had bog-standard old-style rack-and-pinion rack) there would be no problem - plus there would be one less thing to go wrong. I see no advantage to having PAS - it's just another feature that manufactures can wow gullible customers with - IMO.

I'm going to get the battery tested - you're probably right about it being the original one - perhaps 7 years old now.

Cheers,

Matt

[JulieD]

Perhaps I should re-phrase that - power-steering on most modern cars is waste of time....unless you have exceptionally weak arms

Back in the days when a crumple zone was cutting edge safety and family cars weighed little more than a packet of crisps and never had tyres wider than 155 section, power steering was considered a luxury and was only fitted to heavier executive cars. Modern cars are so much heavier and even relatively low powered cars will come with185 width tyres or more making power steering necessary.

On a seperate note, there is a world of difference between driving a car with unassisted steering to driving a car with failed power steering. When the PAS failed on my last Furby it was almost impossible to steer it at low speeds, same when the engine cutout once on my old mk3 Golf GTI. My unassisted mk2 Jetta had heavy steering, but nothing compared to the other cars when the PAS cut out.

Getting back to your original post, as ap0gee says, it sounds very much like a new battery will sort your problems out especially since it has already gone completely flat. To rule out the alternator, put a multimeter on the battery with the engine running and you should see about 14V.

[ap0gee1978]

If you didn't have to work against the hydraulics in the steering rack (i.e. if it had bog-standard old-style rack-and-pinion rack) there would be no problem - plus there would be one less thing to go wrong. I see no advantage to having PAS - it's just another feature that manufactures can wow gullible customers with - IMO.

You've clearly never driven a 'modern' car without PAS either, then! I had a non-PAS Saxo as a courtesy car once about ten years ago, and I swear it would have been easier to park a supertanker!!!

[hobbo]

If its not the battery then it will most certainly be the steering angle sensor. Its a common fault and if it fails can cause some strange things to happen. I had mine go and the advice was a new battery but that was fine, so after the angle sensor was replaced all was fine in fact better as the wholecar electrics seemed more powerfull. hope that helps you out if not the battery.

[DRJ]

Perhaps I should re-phrase that - power-steering on most modern cars is waste of time....unless you have exceptionally weak arms

Off topic I know - but the last car I drove without power steering (except my Atom which doesn't have it) was my fathers Peugeot 106 - three cars ago from his viewpoint. It was HELL to park owing both to the amount of arm twirling and the sheer effort.

[bob54321]

Off topic I know - but the last car I drove without power steering (except my Atom which doesn't have it) was my fathers Peugeot 106 - three cars ago from his viewpoint. It was HELL to park owing both to the amount of arm twirling and the sheer effort.

I remember some of my older cars - for instance my Scirocco MK2, moderate in weight, 1.8 engine, large wheels/tires....and yes the steering was tough and required some effort - but I dont think anyone was really complaining about it at the time. Perhaps it is too late to save man kind - we are all too weak and feeble now.

[TriggerFish]

Perhaps I should re-phrase that - power-steering on most modern cars is waste of time....unless you have exceptionally weak arms

Having driven my Fabia after the steering pipes were clamped up, and then a leaky rack fitted and having no PAS at all, which lead to me getting stuck on mini roundabouts and having real issues turning off of larger ones - I can honestly say it is NOT a waste of time! At 18 at the time, I was hardly a weaker, elder driver either!

FWIW, F1 autocentres, Halfords etc do free battery checks if you don't have the means to do it yourself.

[DRJ]

Having driven my Fabia after the steering pipes were clamped up, and then a leaky rack fitted and having no PAS at all, which lead to me getting stuck on mini roundabouts and having real issues turning off of larger ones - I can honestly say it is NOT a waste of time! At 18 at the time, I was hardly a weaker, elder driver either!

You have to bear in mind that there's a world of difference between driving a car with failed power steering and one designed without power steering. the latter will have a much lower geared rack - say 3.5-4 turns rather than 1.8-2.5 turns.

However trying to drive a vRS with a failed rack - as I did - is desperately difficult, at parking speeds...

[TriggerFish]

True, although I've never driven a car that old (or in the case of the supercars, expensive!). Just speaking from a failed Fabia, which was as you say - difficult.