Power steering warning lamp

[nofeeling]

Trouble started last night ,steering wheel symbol on dash and no power steering .Left car overnight ,started engine ,all ok no warning lamp and steering fine .
Drove 3 mile with no problems but after starting engine again the faults back ,and I noticed the handbrake lamp won,t work with handbrake on .It works fine with ignition on before start up ,most probably a duff switch on lever .
But back to the steering .I`ll check the PS fluid tomorrow ,but if its ok wheres best to check next ?

[nofeeling]

Tested battery before start up ,showed 12.3v ,with engine running it was 14.4v .Finally got to the fluid cap .Removed it and there was nothing showing and the bottle looks empty .

I`m off to get some correct fluid so after a top up fingers crossed its ok . I`ll get a better look when I remove the undertray to checkfor any leaks .

Update . Bought 2 bottles of VW fluid . Topped up with approx 400ml ,replaced battery that had been on charge ,light went out on start up .Drove 2 mile ,all ok . Restarted car ,light on with very heavy steering ,after driving 10 mile light went off and normal steering returned .The final 2 mile of journey was fine .
Another restart saw return of warning light and heavy steering and remained for next 12 mile .
Another restart and warning lamp is not showing ,steering feels fine though not driven yet but there did seem to be a sort of whistle noise when going from full lock to full lock ,can`t say I`ve noticed that sound before .

I`ll check the sensor and wiring tomorrow and look for fluid leaks as 400ml must have gone somewhere .

Would a faulty sensor or pump itself give a code that a cheap scanner would pick up ?

[RUM4MO]

Make sure if you buy a cheap scanner, that it can read the steering ECU for faults, most will not, though VCDS will, maybe buy VCDS LITE?

[nofeeling]

Thanks .I already have a cheap scanner , a U281 . It shows 2 codes, engine 17911 ,ABS system 01314 .

Just drove 25 mile no faults at all . After a 2 min stop ,the faults back again .

Could those 2 codes be linked ? Gonna test the battery today ,remove undertray to check for leaks and check wiring and connections .

[alexperkins]

Check the alternator connections, and make sure the battery is healthy. It could well have a fault

[nofeeling]

There is a broken wire ,a purple ? that looks to have been connected to much thicker yellow wire and previously repaired by the look of it .I soldered that
Theres some fluid gathering on bottom of gearbox ,maybe driveshaft seals are weeping .
Steering angle sensor wiring looks ok ,still in its plastic sheath .
No visible leaks from pump area .
Off to check battery with a tester .Just used meter ,12.4v not running , 14+ on tickover ,lights ,fogs,HRW , hazards on it varies from 14.6 to 15 v .

[alexperkins]

15V is quite high - your alternator might not be playing nicely. Shouldnt really go above 14.1V

The broken wire wont be helping - guessing youve fixed that now

Driveshaft seals do sometimes weep. The steering rack normally leaks on where the hoses go in or on the tie rod end gaiters.

[nofeeling]

Cheers for replying .
Wire,s been soldered .Tested another cars battery that is known to be good ,tester showed fine . Same tester on my car showed weak then straight into bad when under load .
Hoses/pipes on rack show no signs of leaks .

[nofeeling]

Just tried a battery from a 1.8 vectra 60a ,still had warning light and no PAS .
If I can find someone with VCDS to check the car will it show faults from pump or rack sensor ?
Priced a sensor ,£148 !!!!!

[alexperkins]

Thats quite pricey

WHere are you based?

[nofeeling]

County Durham .That sensor price was at Pulman ,need to ring TPS for their price .

Double checked fluid level ,fine . No signs of fluid on undertray ,good sign .Put it back together ,drove bout 13 mile with light on ,no Pas ,but when going over speed bump it all works again !
12 mile home and all was fine .Got home ,stopped car ,restarted and you guessed it ,problem returns .

[nofeeling]

Contacted TPS ,same price as dealers .
Car will hopefully be scanned tonight .Mechanic whos doing it said it will most likely be the pressure switch in the pump .
Took battery off and charged overnight .Car drove fine this morning till it was turned off after 12 mile then light appears on restart .

[alexperkins]

Sounds about right

TPS shouldve been around 10% cheaper - sounds like they are giving you retail pricing.

[nofeeling]

Mechanics high tec battery tester showed "replace battery " .Overnight charge saw fault go this morning ,even managed a couple of restarts and was fine . Drove fine this afternoon but fault returned on startup .
Mechanic used a snap on scanner ,showed 01309 . Is this code pointing to a faulty pump ? If so ,is it worth buying a used pump from ebay or go for a re con .

[alexperkins]

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/01309

You really need a proper fault read out with the exact error