Power steering gone 02 tdi 75

Gritty

Gritty

Member
Ive been trawling through loads of threads on here about power steering problems but I`m struggling to find any concrete answers.
On Saturday just gone I was driving in heavy rain when yellow oil can symbol flashed on Diss then yellow wheel and exclamation mark plus beeps before steering went stiff.
Drove the car home and started researching.
I did have problems with my alternator last time I drove in heavy rain and was wondering if this may be connected to the steering G250 sensor which seems to comer up in historical conversation on this subject.
Power steer working fine up until last Sat, Ive checked the fluid level all good. Where do I go from here as I cant find a power steering fuse to check or the G250 sensor either??
 
Suggest you have a full VCDS scan done.
Check all wiring plugs for contact corrosion and all fuses with a meter.
 
Gritty said:
Ive been trawling through loads of threads on here about power steering problems but I`m struggling to find any concrete answers.
On Saturday just gone I was driving in heavy rain when yellow oil can symbol flashed on Diss then yellow wheel and exclamation mark plus beeps before steering went stiff.
Drove the car home and started researching.
I did have problems with my alternator last time I drove in heavy rain and was wondering if this may be connected to the steering G250 sensor which seems to comer up in historical conversation on this subject.
Power steer working fine up until last Sat, Ive checked the fluid level all good. Where do I go from here as I cant find a power steering fuse to check or the G250 sensor either??
Click to expand...
I know there is a big fuse in the passenger footwell that is connected with the power steering.

Andy
 
Picture courtesy of ajsellors, but maybe it is connected with ABS but that's connected with the power steering, maybe I am wrong, check it anyway

image.jpeg


Andy
 
audifan said:
Suggest you have a full VCDS scan done.
Check all wiring plugs for contact corrosion and all fuses with a meter.
Click to expand...
Some one suggested using a electrical cleaning product called IPA ? new to me as I thought this was for detailing? any suggestions for a cleaning product?
 
IPA can be used on electrical components with success. Contact cleaner is very similar. The main thing is if you find and plugs / sockets with corrosion in them that you remove the corrosion. You did mention rain, so for that reason I am saying to go through as many of the plugs and sockets on the front and engine bay of the car including the wheels as possible. Think of this more a preventative step. You may find nothing amiss but at least you will then have confidence in those electrical connections. Possibility there could be sensor issues, hence the request you have the car scanned with VCDS. Electrics do not respond well to damp. Checking all fuses with a meter, fuse box and under floor, the battery terminals especially the secondary + leads at the battery are tight and the main engine earth between the base of the passenger headlight and the starter motor for looseness and more importantly corrosion usually under the thick insulation. Don't get too caught up yet with the steering angle sensors, although they feed information for ABS ESP and traction control. Concentrate more on what could have got wet.
 
I should have not doubted myself, a quote from guru Tom(Timmus), in truth where I probably learned about the passenger footwell fuse.

"The power steering pump draws a huge electrical current. It is fed by a dedicated 80A fuse that's located in the front-left (passenger) footwell, just in front of the CCCU. It's definitely worth lifting the carpet and ally panel and verifying that this fuse isn't blown. However, if it is blown, there has to be a reason that's happened. This reason could be a failed pump, a chafed wiring loom, water ingress, etc."

Andy
 
There are two fuses related to the steering pump - the big one under the floor supplying steering power, and fuse 38 in the box under the steering wheel that supplies the controller.

The fact that the oil-can sign came on as well is very reminiscent of the cause of the power steering outage on my project car, especially given the weather conditions cited. This homes me in on one distinct possibility linked to @audifan's post above. The air-conditioning pressure sensor is in front of the radiator, tucked behind the front bumper and presumably could have taken a bath in your case. Mine was compromised internally and was shorting out, making fuse 38 (?) blow and taking out the CanBus circuit which has the steering controller / oil sensor on it. The big fuse under the floor was still absolutely fine. If I remember, one tell-tale of fuse 38 going is that the backlighting of the hazard lights switch is lost when the car is running - but looking at the fuse could at least be a start. Just replacing it without eliminating the possible source of the short could result in it immediately blowing again if moisture is still in a critical spot.

With the car off, undo the a/c sensor connector from the sensor. Then replace fuse 38 - assuming it is burnt out. Steering should come back and oil warning go away. If this is the case then it may be necessary to get a new a/c sensor - not expensive, but if it is corroded onto the alloy tube coming out of the a/c heat exchanger (as mine is, permanently!) then it could be a bigger job.
 
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Fuse 38 was blown. I have replaced it and all appears to be well again i.e. power steering, rear parking sensors, air con, and hazard switch light.
Took her for a spin all good thus far.
So now I`ve got to work out why the fuse has blown and with the info you have provided I will have a good route around, I m convinced it was due to very heavy rain on the day so will check all your suggestions.
Thanks for all your input.
Also found an interesting thread posted by Skipton who found the wiring loom into the front passenger side on his car was chaffed and not earthed properly which was interesting but well over my head in terms of locating the source of the problem.
 
I had the same problem with fuse 38 that suddenly started blowing, steering went awol but I didn't get any other warning lights at all.
So after changing said fuse over a couple of weeks, about five times in total the problem went away and has never come back, fingers crossed.
I never did get to find out the cause but was told by Timmus it would in all probability be the A/C sensor.
 
Another thing I noticed on that wet Saturday was how wet the left side n/s wheel arch was on the inside I recon water has gotten into this area and come into contact with wiring in this location, looking up into n/s wheel arch there are a couple of 20mm holes which water may well have gotten in through and the scuttle is`nt in the best of shape so water ingress here is also a possibility.
 
Another possibility for the water in the left foot well is if the water did not drain out the fresh air inlet chamber in the bonnet and over flowed into the cabin heater. Check to see if your pollen filter is soaking. If wet be a good idea to remove the blower motor and give it a good cleaning and relubricate the bearings.
 
No water in the foot well it was just wet inside the N/s engine bay sorry may not have made that clear. No water inside car.
 
Been working on the bug today and found the drain plugs in the bnonet were both full of gunk so cleared those.
Power steering working fine since replacing fuse 38 but air con and heater now not working so searchin on her for a cure to that.
Took the earthing advice and after cleaning up the earth under the n/s head light the starter is`nt making that awful screach anymore which is positive!
Can anyone tell me how you prize off the plastics in either foot wells to gain access to the earth connections?
 
Robin_Cox said:
There are two fuses related to the steering pump - the big one under the floor supplying steering power, and fuse 38 in the box under the steering wheel that supplies the controller.

The fact that the oil-can sign came on as well is very reminiscent of the cause of the power steering outage on my project car, especially given the weather conditions cited. This homes me in on one distinct possibility linked to @audifan's post above. The air-conditioning pressure sensor is in front of the radiator, tucked behind the front bumper and presumably could have taken a bath in your case. Mine was compromised internally and was shorting out, making fuse 38 (?) blow and taking out the CanBus circuit which has the steering controller / oil sensor on it. The big fuse under the floor was still absolutely fine. If I remember, one tell-tale of fuse 38 going is that the backlighting of the hazard lights switch is lost when the car is running - but looking at the fuse could at least be a start. Just replacing it without eliminating the possible source of the short could result in it immediately blowing again if moisture is still in a critical spot.

With the car off, undo the a/c sensor connector from the sensor. Then replace fuse 38 - assuming it is burnt out. Steering should come back and oil warning go away. If this is the case then it may be necessary to get a new a/c sensor - not expensive, but if it is corroded onto the alloy tube coming out of the a/c heat exchanger (as mine is, permanently!) then it could be a bigger job.
Click to expand...
Hi I only noticed the air con wasnt working today blower fine but no ice cold air also heater dosnt appear to be working either!
The power steering is fine though since replacing fuse 38 and Ive been out driving in the rain today with no blown fuse yet.
Where exactly is the air con fuse location you mention?
 
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