Hi ,

 

I've got a 2012 1.2 TSi Fabia estate on a ramp at a local garage. The mechanic thinks the steering pump (one with green dip stick) has failed. He says the computer he has cant communicate with it at all, so he cant get any codes from it. He is concerned about re coding issues if we get an off the shelf unit to replace it. So the question is this this case? Do these steering pumps need a unique code to communicate with the cars ecu or are they 'plug and play' (his term) I've found a place which sells reconditioned pumps or they can rebuild the one you send in, so he's saying best get it re built if it avoids re coding issues or an a reconditioned one if not . due to time and storage issues I'd rather get an off the self one but not if there are more head aches when it's fitted pic is of the one in the car. Mant thanks for ant help

Nothing you have described suggests that the pump has failed or needs reconditioning, at worst a failure of the controller, at best a comms failure due to a broken wire or oxidised connector contact.

 

Maybe you have omitted to post some relevant information like what the fault was, why and how the vehicle came to be on a ramp at a garage or why they bothered doing so if their diagnostic skills don't go beyond looking at a computer screen.

 

The more I read on this forum about peoples interactions with the motor trade the more despondent I become.

Hi JR,

the car had lost all power steering, the red hazard on the dash appeared, I checked the PS fluid level, it was ok. At that point I took it to a local garage . The mechanic  said (a few days ago) if I was lucky it would just be a bad connection, Today he told me he had checked the battery, some fuses, taken the bumper off to check the contacts to the pump, he said power is going to the pump and that he thinks the problem lies within the pump. He also said some stuff I didn't understand, possibly about a sensor, maybe the words can, bus, ecu I don't remember the word controller. Is it part of pump, or located somewhere else?

 

He seems to be saying that because he can't get a code (from the pump) fitting an off the self reconditioned pump wont work because it needs coding, he thinks it would be better to get my one reconditioned. Western Power steering in Bristol contradicted this by saying there aren't coding issues with this particular pump. I have read elsewhere that there are. Hence me here.

PAS module (control circuitboard) is inside the aluminium case of the pump. It communicates with other modules on the same bus by CAN.

I think coding won't be required.

Let us know how you get on please.

 

Have you been through deep standing water recently?

Edited 10 November, 20232 yr by Breezy_Pete

Hi Pete,

 

The issue did start when the weather turned wet a few weeks ago, initially intermittent (the worse type of electrical faults I've heard) so I kept turning it on and off which cleared the problem for a while. When the PAS failed was always on start up, never whilst driving, a couple of times the opposite happened, when it wasn't working (whilst driving) it came back on. When it never worked (even with on multiple start ups) I took it to the garage, I thought that would make it easier to diagnose.

The car's battery isn't the factory original is it?

I don't see why low voltage would cause comms issues, but the pump is quite current-hungry when steering enthusiastically.

 

Ive had the car for 4 years, Not changed the battery yet. It always starts well. Pre ignition if the red PAS hazard light came on, it would not have power steering when the engine was started (before touching the steering wheel) If pre ignition the hazard light was off, it would start up with PAS which not fail until the engine was next turned off then back on.. if that makes any sense!

It's the battery as @Breezy_Peteis trying to tell you.

You need a new one, it'll only get worse as it gets colder until one morning it won't start.

14 hours ago, Breezy_Pete said:

I don't see why low voltage would cause comms issues, but the pump is quite current-hungry when steering enthusiastically.

 

That causes the volt drop and the comms error seems to be the first indication on most of the modules that the supply voltage is slightly down.

 

I recently recovered a neighbours vehicle (a s**troen) with a flat battery that turned out to be a shredded auxiliary drive belt, after a jump start the engine was running but battery voltage only 8v, not enough for the power steering or to release the parking brake but I was encouraged that the engine would actually run, that the dashboard was not fault code city and the modules were still communicating albeit with the outputs like the windscreen wipers being sluggish jumpy.

 

It seems to be a VAG thing that the slightest volt drop stops most if not all comms between modules.

After starting I connected the charged jumper battery to the auxiliary socket but the voltage equalised at 10v, still not enough for the parking brake so we had to remove the battery and fit the healthy one to drive the vehicle home.

So a good plan may be to get the garage to connect a booster pack to the battery, and see if function and comms return.

...or just replace the battery since the charging system is obviously working properly so it really can't be anything else...

I prefer to suggest proving stuff  before spending when it's other peoples money.

1 hour ago, Breezy_Pete said:

I prefer to suggest proving stuff  before spending when it's other peoples money.

 

They've already proved it by a process of elimination, it can't be anything else, you should have more confidence in your diagnoses.

4 hours ago, J.R. said:

It seems to be a VAG thing that the slightest volt drop stops most if not all comms between modules

Never seen that at all  on any car I've had hands/VCDS on, but maybe newer ones than I have tend to be more affected.

 

1 hour ago, sepulchrave said:

you should have more confidence in your diagnoses

Maybe, but I didn't get to a point where I considered anything diagnosed.  

I think it could well still be the pump/module, or even cabling/connection/fuse??.

Hopefully the OP took on board the battery possibility though, before spending on pump replacement.

 

Only just thought of strip fuse. Wonder if it's that nasty, subtle hairline crack 'gotcha'??? Not sure if a 2012 mk2 has that type of strip fuse though*. 🤔

 

* Parts catalogue suggests it may have.  @Fred66 any progress today or was garage shut for weekend?

Any chance of close-up photos of the strip fuses if you currently have access to the car and the fault remains unsolved?

 

Edited 11 November, 20232 yr by Breezy_Pete

I agree it could be the pump module itself but the battery is old and is a lot cheaper and easier to replace and will almost certainly need doing this winter anyway.

 

There are no coding issues fitting a new pump, it's plug and play by the way.

Thanks guys you all have been very helpful. The car is still at the garage. I didn't get a chance to read this before i went out this morning but I will speak to the mechanic on Monday about the booster/ battery and the possibility of a hairline crack on the split fuse. I'm relieved to hear that there should not be any coding issues if (when no doubt!) it comes to changing the pump. One question I have is why are there these coding issues in the first place, the mechanic told me he had a Golf that had some abs work done and now he was having coding issues with it. Is this a corporate ploy to force us to use main dealers and mess about small independent operators?

 

As far as batteries go this seems a good deal

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-027-car-battery-3-year-guarantee-444770271

I finally got the car back at the end of last week, a re conditioned steering pump was fitted and the steering is now lighter and quieter than it ever has been, which is nice.

 I've racked up some miles since and it seems to be staying fixed for now.

It's disappointing to have this kind of thing go wrong on an 85k mile car, they don;t make them like they used to imo

The broken pump was sent to the provider of the reconditioned unit to get rebuilt. I'd really like to know what was actually wrong with it but it's probably a trade secret also I'd not dare ask as in their small print they say that if water ingress is the cause of the problem they can levy a surcharge so I'm keeping my head down really hoping not to hear from them.

 

 

Again many thanks for the information you all have gave me.