Steering fault

Finally got to check the car and the fluid level is at the top of the indent on the dipstick. Fault still refuses to clear. Anyone know the procedure to check the steering angles on vcds.
 
ajsellors said:
The power steering control electronics and electric hydraulic motor are a self contained single module. Its fitted in the front corner of the car under the nearside (passenger) headlight on the outside of the chassis leg. You need to remove the headlight to see the filler cap for the fluid reservoir to check the level and top up but to work on the pump you need to remove the wheel and plastic wheel arch liner. The power steering controller itself is a simple affair and doesn't have a non-volatile memory so it sends it faults for storing to the instruments. I have had that message when clearing my dash instrument errors so I wouldn't worry about that so much.

The power steering module communicates with the dash to get road speed and the engine ECU to get engine speed. The speed information is important as the assistance level is dependent on road speed. High assistance a low speed and parking and load assistance at high speed. As having the correct amount of assistance at the right speed is a safety issue, if the steering module sees an interruption in communication or something that's unexpected, it goes into "emergency mode" with low assistance. The warning symbol you are seeing is shown when the steering is in "emergence mode" and the steering goes heavy. You also get error 00566 stored in the dash for this.

00566 can mean that there is an interruption or issue with the CAN bus communication or it can simply mean that the steering has going into "emergency mode" for another reason. Have you checked the fluid level since you had the leak? Is it correct? If its not correct I would check the connectors on the pump for corrosion and the wiring for damage. The CAN bus wiring from the steering connects to the ABS CAN bus wires in the engine bay before going into the interior of the car to get to the dash so if there was a wiring issue further in then I would expect to see problems with the ABS too.

Regarding the comment about steering angle, early cars have a "G250" steering angle sensor on the steering rack itself for measuring the wheel position. There are separate fault codes for this if G250 it is faulty as this is wired directly to the steering controller. Later cars don't have this sensor and use the measurement from the steering angle ring sensor in the steering column inside the car for this. The steering column angle sensor has built in electronics and other modules such as the ABS and power steering read the angle via the CAN bus from the sensor. A problem with this module could be recorded as a communication error fault code.

If you want to check the CAN bus wiring using a multi meter, I would suggest that all modules on the bus are disconnected first to prevent any damage. That is steering pump, ABS, engine ECU, dash and steering angle. Then check steering 4 pin connector pin 1 to dash green pin 19 and steering pin 2 to dash green pin 18. You can also check the steering angle sensor wiring, pin 5 to dash green 18 and pin 4 to dash green pin 19.

If the fluid level is OK, there isn't corrosion on any of the connectors and the wiring is fine, there could be a problem with the steering angle sensor.

regards

Andrew
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is it possible to put in a manual steering rack? I know that there is one for the polo.
 
Steering angle fault stayed off until yesterday. Just came on at random. Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the steering so I can check the connections. Fluid level is ok so I think I have an electrical fault
 
I had this warning pop up yesterday morning as I was moving the car just as the snow arrived, though didn’t notice the steering get any heavier. Took the car out again just now for a longer trip, the fault didn’t recur and the steering felt normal. Should I be worried or could it just be a glitch?
 
It could be that your battery is a bit low and the steering system does demand a lot of power. that together with interior fan running at full blast and heated rear window. With the cold plus infrequent use our poor batteries and alternator are working their socks off.
 
thejohn said:
It could be that your battery is a bit low and the steering system does demand a lot of power. that together with interior fan running at full blast and heated rear window. With the cold plus infrequent use our poor batteries and alternator are working their socks off.
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I'm not saying you're wrong but my battery is only about 6 months old and I've been diligently taking the car out for reasonable trips every few days to try and keep the battery charged up. And the warning occurred within a few seconds of starting her up. For sure it was an uncommonly cold morning though. I'll keep my fingers crossed for now.
 
Another thought have you checked the earth behind the N/S headlight recently as that's a weak point. Also were you holding on full lock as that can set off the steering warning too.
John
 
thejohn said:
Another thought have you checked the earth behind the N/S headlight recently as that's a weak point. Also were you holding on full lock as that can set off the steering warning too.
John
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I did read on an old post that it could be a dodgy earth - no it isn’t something I’ve checked and to be honest with my mechanical skill I don’t think I’d trust myself to improve it. Having said that I’ve not witnessed any other electrical funnies in the time I’ve owned the car. I don’t think I was on full lock at the time it went off but was certainly putting lock on while stationary just after I’d put it into reverse.
 
Chiefmechanic said:
Steering angle fault stayed off until yesterday. Just came on at random. Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the steering so I can check the connections. Fluid level is ok so I think I have an electrical fault
Click to expand...

Did you eventually find out what was wrong and were you able to fix it? I have the same problem.:(
 
Hi,
After reporting a year ago that I’d seen the power steering fault, it never recurred until a few days ago, since when my wife’s seen it briefly twice. The steering wasn’t under any lock at the time. As others had suggested I thought the first thing to check would be the power steering fluid level, and I just discovered it’s definitely low - though there’s some in the bottle it’s not reaching the level of the gauge at all. Think I’ve got myself to blame for this one because at the last service Gary (B&F) reported some fluid weeping from high pressure pipes around gearbox and I should have got it attended to. But for now I at least want to top the reservoir up. So I’ve got 2 questoons…
1. Can somebody please tell me for certain what fluid I need? I typed in the reg on halfrauds website and it came up with a couple of brands including this stuff…
www.halfords.com

Comma MVCHF 1L | Halfords UK

Shop the latest The Comma MVCHF 1L is recommended by Comma for applications requiring CHF 11S and CHF 202. at Halfords UK
www.halfords.com www.halfords.com
for what it’s worth I could see that the fluid in there now is greenish. Could do with getting some quickly so though I don’t like halfrauds it’s my easiest option right now. I thought the handbook might tell me but couldn’t find anything.
2. While I’ve seen that there can be multiple causes of this fault, would low fluid level definitely be one of them?
Thanks
 
I obviously should have searched the forum more carefully since I found the answer to my 1st question, so long as it says CHF11S on it, it should be OK?
 
Malcyb said:
I obviously should have searched the forum more carefully since I found the answer to my 1st question, so long as it says CHF11S on it, it should be OK?
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I use Comma fluids for most jobs. The CHF11S code sounds familiar from the original bottle I got that was Pentosin-branded although that has now been renamed.
 
Malcyb said:
Hi,
After reporting a year ago that I’d seen the power steering fault, it never recurred until a few days ago, since when my wife’s seen it briefly twice. The steering wasn’t under any lock at the time. As others had suggested I thought the first thing to check would be the power steering fluid level, and I just discovered it’s definitely low - though there’s some in the bottle it’s not reaching the level of the gauge at all. Think I’ve got myself to blame for this one because at the last service Gary (B&F) reported some fluid weeping from high pressure pipes around gearbox and I should have got it attended to. But for now I at least want to top the reservoir up. So I’ve got 2 questoons…
1. Can somebody please tell me for certain what fluid I need? I typed in the reg on halfrauds website and it came up with a couple of brands including this stuff…
www.halfords.com

Comma MVCHF 1L | Halfords UK

Shop the latest The Comma MVCHF 1L is recommended by Comma for applications requiring CHF 11S and CHF 202. at Halfords UK
www.halfords.com www.halfords.com
for what it’s worth I could see that the fluid in there now is greenish. Could do with getting some quickly so though I don’t like halfrauds it’s my easiest option right now. I thought the handbook might tell me but couldn’t find anything.
2. While I’ve seen that there can be multiple causes of this fault, would low fluid level definitely be one of them?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Topped up now - unfortunately rather overfilled as I couldn’t see the level, hopefully that won’t matter. As for whether this stops the fault, we’ll just have to see.
 
@Malcyb Please drop level back down to maximum cold. There is a reason they give maximum levels on dip sticks......
 
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