Hi all

Just a quick one. Apologies if this has been covered already but just after some advice. I noticed the other night when I was parked and I turned the steering wheel, my headlights dimmed then went back to normal when wasn't turning wheels. Should I be worried? Thanks in advance.

I have a similar problem on a Fabia Mk1.

It's as though the power available for the lights is being drained by the power steering.

I suspect a dodgy battery in my case but haven't had chance to check it out properly yet .

I hope not, mine does it too !

It's a strange one isn't it. Sounds exactly the same issue as yours then. Hopefully it is the battery and nothing too serious :-). I've got to take it back to the dealers tomorrow for them to have a look at a couple of things so I will ask them if they've come across it before. I've only had the car about 5 weeks or so. It's a fabia vrs estate.

The power steering pump is electric rather than a conventional belt driven pump, it takes a massive amount of current to drive the pump when the car is not moving so it's not uncommon for the lights to dip, however there is a pressure switch in the power steering pipe which should sense the increased load and momentarily adjusts the idle speed/field current in the alternator accordingly to compensate for the extra load.. Keep an eye on it

My mk1 vrs did this from day dot, had it 9 years and it was always the same, its a feature not a fault :yes:

My mk1 vrs did this from day dot, had it 9 years and it was always the same, its a feature not a fault :yes:

That ^

Also, as Tom said, the P/S pump is electric. Draws ~60A I think.

Ah brill! I didn't know the pump was electric. That's put my mind at ease now. Cheers.

Thanks a lot guys. Appreciate it.

Nothing wrong with that. Sounds normal to me.

Try moving when you steer, better for your car too

Unfortunately the power steering "pump" is on it's way out. It's a very expensive repair on the Mk I.

It's definitely not normal for the lights to flicker or dim when you manoeuvre.

Try and get a meter on it if you can - if I dry steer my car, it drops the voltage by at least 1 volt.

I've got to go to dealers again at some point this week so I'll ask if they can have a look. Would a new pump be under warranty or wear and tear do you know? I'll ask them about getting a meter on it. Cheers

From what the other guys in here have said. It seems quite common so hopefully it is normal :-)

My mk1 vRS started to do this when it was nearly 3yrs old. The power steering started to play-up too. I suspect it may have been developing an alternator problem but I chopped it in before things got any worse.

Ive noticed a very mild headlight dimming when turning the wheel whilst coming to a stop in our new vrs. Interestingly tho our previous mk2 vrs never did this.

The electric steering will use power though, obviously. When your dry steering theres much more resistance on the tyres, and all through the steering componants.

Its this extra resistance which is bad for your steering componants and the reason why you shouldnt dry steer anyway.

I dont think theres any problem. Your steering is just using a little more power than it normally would.

Id see if mine does it, but iv got hids in so it wont anyway.

All normal i have had 8 fabias from 2004 including this one (monte) and all done the same lights dim when turning when stationary