Technical Another Power Steering Failure

[lachyjb]

Hello all,

I just got a 2011 panda with 42k miles for £900 the other day. I thought it was a bargain as it has an MOT until january and the previous was clean. Low mileage, new clutch, tires, battery etc. I took it for a test drive with no issues at all, but on the drive back the power steering cut out randomly, but fixed after an engine restart. Fast forward to yesterday, I was out in the car in the evening for an hour with no issues at all, so I assumed the fault was due to the battery being low from sitting for a while, but this morning the power steering failed from the beginning. Battery is fine, car starts with no problem at all. No sign alternator is at fault and I have cleaned the earth connections to the battery.

I am just confused here because this case seems to be a little different from the rest. The EPS was completely fine the night before, then completely dead the next morning. I've got a £5 ebay OBD2 scanner coming tomorrow, but is there anything else I can do to try to bring it back to life in the mean time.

I want to spend as little money fixing this as possible, so any free/cheap tests I can do to narrow this problem down would be very helpful.

If it comes to needing to spend hundreds on a garage to fix it I will just disconnect the steering and deal with it until the MOT runs out before scrapping it I reckon.

 

[koalar]

Do you have a battery charger, if so leave it on charge over night and see if there is any improvement

On its own the £5 dongle will not connect to the EPS

There's no reliable way to check a battery for an average diyer, the test equipment fiat uses is around £10K

Substation for a known good battery is the most reliable

 

[lachyjb]

Thanks for quick reply

I don't have access to that, is it worth taking it to halfords free battery check?

Would a garage swap in a good battery to test it if I took it to one?

 

[koalar]

Maybe

It's a starting place and it's free, If it fails the check it will need changing

But it's know for batteries that pass a garage battery check yet still be the problem, so if it passes we are no further forwards

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

I've got a £5 ebay OBD2 scanner coming tomorrow

Unnecessary expense. You can send it back right away. Those cheap ELM readers can connect only to the engine module. Some of them are able to connect to other after a modification of a resistor / capacitor on the PCB. There are some instructions somewhere on the forum here.

FIAT vehicles modules communicate best with MultiEcuScan or AlfaOBD. All other core readers might not be accurate and suitable for all functions. You can find the required information on the multiecuscan.net website. Apparently here on the forum Gendan is known and

Those electronic battery health testers are crap. The only reliable battery test are load testers:

I have no idea if Halford's uses them, however I don't think so, someone wrote here he's got a print from the tester... with some battery 'health' values. I'd try a battery specialized workshop.

 

[lachyjb]

So best thing to do right now is to test the battery?

You think that's the most likely culprit?

 

[koalar]

It's pretty much all covered here

EPS electric power steering faults | FIAT Panda (Mk3)

First don't panic, the vast majority of power steering faults are normally simple and cheap fixes especially if it starts failing mainly in your winter months But unfortunately nobody can say change this or do that and it fix it. A lot of different faults will cause the same symptoms or the...

www.fiatforum.com

If the steering is shacking or feeling weird it's likely to be the EPS unit at fault

Everything else be power related, and a high percentage will be battery.

You think that's the most likely culprit?

Odd favour, as it's the most common cause, but nobody can say for sure as several things give the same symptoms.

 

[lachyjb]

The steering felt completely normal the night before, then was completely dead the day after. Felt smooth, nothing weird at all.

I guess off to halfords for the free battery check. Doesnt get much cheaper than that

 

[rmjbn1]

Some have also fixed it by replacing the main earth cable (even if it looks fine it can fail), or adding a secondary earth cable.

If you have jump leads, connect from battery negative terminal to clean metal on the engine, see if that helps.

 

[FiatMatt94]

You say you have cleaned the main battery earth strap but there is another which goes from the gearbox to the body which a few people don't know about, this earth & the main battery earth cable both join together on the body with either a nut or bolt from memory, the gearbox to body straps are well known for corroding on Panda's as where they are positioned is exposed so gets extremely rotten & causes a few electrical gremlins. Fiat sell both cables as 1 unit & are extremely expensive as main dealers often are but they can be purchased separately from motor factors, eBay etc for anything between £5 - £10, my 319 Panda one was completely rotten at 5 years old, although a newer car it's mostly the same mechanically bar a few minor differences, Hope this helps.

 

[DaveMcT]

My wife's Panda had intermittent steering problems. It gradually became an issue after cold starts. New battery "cured it" for a while but the problem returned. I fitted a voltmeter and found it was running a little low especially after a cold start. I crawled under the car and found the alternator case was cracked so went off and fitted a replacement. No more steering troubles. The original battery was probably ok. My bad.

I believe the old alternator had a regulator issue and of course the casing was failing so it needed replacing anyway.

To illustrate how almost dead batteries can fool you. My Punto started fine after being parked on level ground then failed to start when parked on a hill. I got it going with a jump start but had to disconnect my battery earth before the donor could properly spin the starter. I drove it a mile to Halfords and they allegedly had nothing suitable (Punto Mk2). The "expert' came out with his tester and pronounced the battery as ok. I put the lights on and asked him to try again. His box of tricks now said battery had failed. Unsurprisingly, the engine would not start.

I measured up the old battery and bought one that would fit. It lasted at least a year before I sold the car.

The old battery had filled its cells with sludge. Parking on a hill caused the gunk to pile up and short out the plates. That all said, I never had any steering glitches. Presumably, the alternator was able to keep up.

 

[the green vanper]

To illustrate how almost dead batteries can fool you. My Punto started fine after being parked on level ground then failed to start when parked on a hill. I got it going with a jump start but had to disconnect my battery earth before the donor could properly spin the starter. I drove it a mile to Halfords and they allegedly had nothing suitable (Punto Mk2). The "expert' came out with his tester and pronounced the battery as ok. I put the lights on and asked him to try again. His box of tricks now said battery had failed. Unsurprisingly, the engine would not start.

Understanding how a started battery works is crucial. There are lots of sites all over the internet that explain how they work.

Electronic health testers are crap. The only way to test the state of the battery is a load tester.