Power Steering Fault

[RUM4MO]

Hmm... I might need to look into buying one of these sensors.

I read that it can be down to a faulty battery also... the battery is over five years old now so might be worth replacing?

I would not change the battery unless you know that its got a bit weak, maybe the "way" you use the car leads to the battery becoming partially discharged - and if so, just after starting the car, the battery will be quite low and if the revs are low then this could happen. If you normally use the car on longish runs - maybe 10+miles, then this should not be a problem with a good battery.

 

[RUM4MO]

hey i've also had this problem since i ad my ibiza in jan this year and im begining to lose all hope n let them ave it bk. i agree seat dealers dont no what they are talking about as mine is currently in their hands and has been for a week now and they still cant find the problem!!

is it really as simple as a sensor?? because i ave the hand brake n abs light flash for few seconds on dash n 3 beeps before i get the power steering failing. but it does seem to be low revs and reversing that set it off or sometimes a small bank when pulling off.

Remember you could have a duff battery, are using the car on short journeys leading to the good enough battery getting discharged, or it could be the "normal" alternator sense lead breaking/broken - is it a TDI engine?

 

[MJ]

On ibizas,polos,fabias the steering system is hydro-electric in the sense that fluid is used but is conrolled and regulated by an electronic pump which works in conjunction with steering angle sensors and vehicle speed sensors to vary the steering speed.

Faults can occur when certain factors effect the system.

If the battery voltage drops then the steering will suffer - the PAS system on an ibiza drains more power than any other single system so the battery and alternator must be working correctly.
The steering angle sensor (located in the steering rack) can cause an intermittent fault with the steering but its function can be checked using MVBs on VCDS (the angle per second should vary at the same time the wheel is turned)
Or loose/ damaged connections such as bad earths, corroded connectors, water contaminated conectors can all cause this system to fail. The PAS system has 2 fuses, a small one on the top of the battery and a larger flat fuse also on the battery.

 

[Kimmsy]

hi guys well i was without a car for a week while they tried figure out what was wrong they weren't having much luck all week until a tech guy from seat head office dropped in and said it maybe worth replaing and re-earthing some wires that were thought to be causing the problem.

So far no problems but I'm still not convinced that this has solved the problem and I'm expecting it to go again within a week but only time will tell

 

[faboka vrs]

I was having an issue on my fabia with the pas. Sometimes when you first turn it on the pas wouldn't work. Also found the battery after a while would nit hold it's charge. Battery was checked a number if times and was ok. Vag com was showing a fault with the alternator. Turned out two wires from the alternator had broken. I used the guide on here that awesome posted. Everything had been fine since.