Hi, 

A couple of months ago I had to have a reconditioned steering rack on my 2005 1.4 16V 100bhp due to a fluid leak out of one end. All seemed fine but then I noticed that the power steering seemed to lack assistance at times. This may be a total coincidence and is more noticeable at low speeds doing almost full left or right steering lock manoeuvres. Increasing the amount of steering on a tight roundabout will produce a wooden feeling and I really have to pull on the steering wheel to increase the lock. Yesterday, in a tight car park doing a 3 point turn took a lot of effort.  On the open road when steering is minimal there does not seem to be an issue. There are no lights appearing on the dash. I do not know if the steering angle sensor was checked or replaced as part of the reconditioned rack. The recon company has been in business a long time.

 

In my research, some information points to a low capacity battery not producing enough current for the steering pump to work properly. On checking the Exide Premium 079 battery in the car bought by a previous owner, it appears to be 3 years old with 53AH and 540 Amps stamped on the top. Some info I have read suggests that the capacity should be higher. The two choices on ECP are either a 027 or a 063. The 063 batteries have a lower capacity than the existing battery the but the 027 exceed what I have already but at 246mm long it might be tight fit into the case after a quick measurement.

 

So which is the correct battery code for my car if I need to buy a replacement? I have no issues with starting the car etc. My Haynes manual or the car handbook is no help! The fluid reservoir is topped up properly.

 

I am going back to the company who supplied and fitted the reconditioned steering rack tomorrow and so what do you think might be the problem with the steering so that I am clued up. I don't want to pay for something that may not be needed?

 

Thank you for any assistance.

If the charging system is functioning well, the battery capacity should be almost irrelevant. Do you have a multimeter with which to check battery volts before and after starting the engine?

 

Does the battery light come on with ignition? https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/401778-battery-light-and-associated-problems/

 

Thanks for your reply Wino. 
The battery light does come on prior to starting the engine. 
The engine switched off voltage is 12.5V and after stating the engine the battery is being charged at 14.38V. 
 

What are your thoughts about a dodgy steering pump or steering angle sensor? As I said, no lights on the dash. My son is bringing round diagnostic Carly which may be able to identify any faults. My basic diagnostic reader for my Mk 4 GTI could not find anything. 
The intermittent heaviness almost caught me out going round a tight roundabout as I had to turn the steering wheel tighter. 
The company who fitted the rack reset the tracking but I don’t think that would not affect the heaviness at low speeds but again the fault appears to be intermittent so that rules that out. 

I think  that data clears both charging system and battery from blame.

 

There could still be an issue with cabling/connections between battery and PAS pump, but I suspect a fault with CAN wiring, angle sensor or pump module would be my guesses, prior to fault code reading of the PAS module.

 

The reason I mention CAN wiring is that the PAS has speed sensitivity, and the way the module gets its vehicle speed info is solely via CAN data, as far as I can tell.  If these two wires are compromised, I think I'd expect a fault light, but not certain. If they are problematic, a code reader may well come back with 'module unavailable' or similar if you do try to read faults out of it. In VCDS it's module 44, steering assist; not sure how that transfers to other readers.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll update if we find anything this evening.  Just one thing, could the reconditioned rack be the cause of any of the symptoms?

No, would be my gut feeling, but I'd suggest listening to others' opinions on that as I've no personal experience of any PAS faults.

Was it definitely your original rack that you got back?

 

15 minutes ago, prt57 said:

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll update if we find anything this evening.  Just one thing, could the reconditioned rack be the cause of any of the symptoms?

 

The rack itself is basically a double acting hydraulic ram, it contains no electrical components and either leaks or doesn't leak.

 

It sounds like you're getting a momentary loss of power to the electric pump, have you checked the big fuse on top of the battery for a crack?

Strip fuse no.3 in your car I think, unless built very late in 2005, in which case it might be no.5  Check them all!

 

Thanks everyone. The handbook says fuse no. 7 relates to the power steering and it was intact. The links on top of the battery were all OK and I checked the continuity. A little tweak of the 10mm  nuts holding them down but they were tight enough really. 
My son’s Carly diagnostic tool did not connect but it is for more modern cars really. 
So I’ll have to see what the garage says tomorrow. 

It's probably the pump unit starting to go on the fritz at that age, if you can't connect to the PAS ECU then that would confirm the diagnosis.

I don’t think I was clear enough. 
the Carly tool could not connect at all as it is not compatible with these older cars. My son bought it so he could modify convenience factors on more modern vehicles. 
Hopefully the garage will plug it in and all will be revealed. 

Sounds like the PAS angle sensor to me..when mine started to go there were no lights on the dash.

42 minutes ago, fabdavrav said:

Sounds like the PAS angle sensor to me..when mine started to go there were no lights on the dash.

Did you start getting lack of power steering when the sensor started playing  up?

24 minutes ago, prt57 said:

Did you start getting lack of power steering when the sensor started playing  up?

 

Yes, sudden & intermittent...& then it would go back to normal....I checked everything...fitting a new OEM sensor solved it.

The garage is going to try a new steering angle sensor  next week. Still no light on the dashboard. Unfortunately, they don’t have scanning capabilities so I’ll give this a go as it is the easiest option. 
If not fixed with this I’ll have to go elsewhere. I think it has packed up totally as the steering is heavy all the time now. 
The chap at the garage commented the power steering fluid was not warm indicating the pump was not working. I had only driven 1/2 mile from where I was working so took this with a pinch of salt.  
I checked it later after driving about 15 miles through Birmingham and it was barely Luke warm. I know it warms up as the Haynes suggests different levels on the dipstick for cold or after driving. 
How hot does the fluid get after driving as I could barely feel anything on my finger?

 

It gets properly warm, very noticeable.

 

I'm afraid your pump has packed up because in the absence of a plausible signal from the angle sensor it should go into a reduced power mode running all the time.

Hmmmmm, not good news!

This old car is starting to get quite expensive. I’ll see what next Tuesday brings when it goes in for another look. 

11 hours ago, prt57 said:

Unfortunately, they don’t have scanning capabilities

Go elsewhere; most local garages have VAG code reading capabilities, and I'm not sure I'd trust one that didn't to even do an oil change right!

A little update for everyone who has given their thoughts.

 Originally, all I needed was a replace the rack due to a leak from the passenger side boot. Not expensive and I was happy with the refurbished rack repair. I’ve done well over 1000 miles since the repair and this heaviness only popped up a few weeks ago. Minimal to begin with and I took the car round the Lake District maybe 3 weeks ago. No real problem then. 
So I took the car back last week in case it was a rack warranty job. That is when I discovered no scanning capabilities. 
I thought I’d give them a go to fit a steering sensor. Not too expensive and if it works then excellent!

I’ll go to Midland VW if no joy but this is a budget car and I need it to help me complete a volunteering project I’m involved with in Birmingham so nothing too flash.  The garage is 10 mins walk away from where I am working on Tuesday. 
I tried something this morning in that I added a bit of rotation to the steering wheel before starting the engine. Then started the engine and the wheel loosened and moved slightly in the direction I was turning the wheel. Nothing much but it may be it is in minimal power due to a broken steering sensor. 
Time will tell!

Cheers everyone,

Peter

 

 

Yet another update…..  I took the car back to the rack fitting garage and they fitted what they believe to be a good steering angle sensor. Provided by a 3rd party who assured them it was fine. 
No change what so ever, but at least I don’t need to pay a gym membership at the moment! No charge to me so no problem really. 

I have learnt from some Youtube videos what has to be done to get a new pump to run via VCDS and so no chance of going any further with them. 

So this afternoon I went for a chat with a local VW specialist with a view to getting it sorted out properly. 
 

The one thing the guy could not understand was normally, if the pump is at fault, the dash light will illuminate. Mine does not, apart from the standard test as the ignition is first turned on. 

 

The car is booked in for the week after next but does anyone have any idea what else it could be as I don’t want to spend on a pump if it’s something else?

 

Thank you for your further thoughts.
 

On 03/09/2021 at 22:32, sepulchrave said:

It gets properly warm, very noticeable.

 

I'm afraid your pump has packed up because in the absence of a plausible signal from the angle sensor it should go into a reduced power mode running all the time.

 

I'm not repeating myself again, you read it, the PAS system has TWO electronic components, the angle sensor is one...

2 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

I'm not repeating myself again, you read it, the PAS system has TWO electronic components, the angle sensor is one...

That’s fine and I understand but any idea why the warning light on the dash does not illuminate if the pump has packed up?

30 minutes ago, prt57 said:

That’s fine and I understand but any idea why the warning light on the dash does not illuminate if the pump has packed up?

 

Because the pump contains the electronics that put the light on and when they fail there's nothing to tell the instrument cluster to put the light on and it has no other way of knowing that the PAS ist kaput because there are no other components to the system, it's completely standalone.

1 minute ago, sepulchrave said:

 

Because the pump contains the electronics that put the light on and when they fail there's nothing to tell the instrument cluster to put the light on and it has no other way of knowing that the PAS ist kaput because there are no other components to the system, it's completely standalone.

OK, that makes sense, thank you very much for your clarification. 

Time for an update on the power steering problem. 
A couple of weeks ago I went to a small VAG specialist near where I live and explained the problem and that it was likely to be the power steering pump. 
I suggested that I was looking for an economical repair and quite happy with a good 2nd hand part or reconditioned unit at a pinch as I only paid £250 for the car!! That did not appear to be a problem according to the chap I talked to. 

I had to wait two weeks to get it booked in. The scan cost me £40.00 and it told me there are no stored faults on the system and so it must be the pump.

However, I could not believe my ears when they then said they would only fit a brand new pump and it would cost £1284!!!

What a waste of two weeks and why tell me originally that no problem with reconditioned parts. Net result, I’ll never go back and we have 7 VAG cars in the family. Not the best business sense!
As you can imagine, I just paid for the scan and took the car away ASAP. 
15 mins searching on Google found a big steering reconditioner that gives a 3 year warranty on parts and even labour if I take the car to them for a fraction of the cost compared to the new part. 
So it will be a bit of a trip but the car is worth spending a sensible amount on as I did have a bargain when I bought it and it is ideal for the areas I have to visit in B’ham for one of my jobs.

I’ll update after the trip.