1 minute ago, Bossboy said:

Thanks for reply

shall I test for longer

i have noticed after charging the battery I only ever get 12.6 volts and charger only ever shows 99% never 100

i am mystified 

 

12.6V is fine for a secondhand battery and you can ignore the charger, it doesn't know anything.

Seconded, with the note that I did this test on a car with full instruments back in the day. With the engine just idling, and every single electrical system on full, I got the voltmeter down from the usual 14.4v (electrics off) to 11.8v. When I brought the engine revs up to 2_000 I got the voltmeter back to 14.4v.

What about one of the vag fault code readers I have seen, any good for this ?

You may not even have a fault code for the PAS since the angle sensor is an analogue device and the ECU can't tell if you're actually moving the steering wheel or not if the sensor is constantly sending a signal and triggering the pump even when the steering is at rest.

The other possibility is that the PAS system is in 'error' mode where the pump runs all the time at a reduced level, that should give you an angle sensor error.

Thanks,

difficult to know where to take it

to be honest I did go to main dealer a few years back with the car for the Airconditioning and they did more harm than good

up a gumtree a little bit

Fitted new battery

pump only operates when I move steering wheel