FIAT PUNTO ELECTRIC STEERING

Here,s a quick guide for anybody out there suffering steering faults with the mk 2 and 3 Puntos.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN-If your steering light comes on,most likely your steering will become very stiff,you will still be able to drive your car home or to your local garage,it will just be harder to steer,especially at low speeds,sometimes switching the ignition of and then restarting may clear the faults for a short while,TAKE CARE.

First we'll look at the easy faults to rectify'

1. BATTERY-Make sure your battery is in good condition,a weak battery will most likely cause a steering failure.

2. ALTERNATOR-The electric steering requires a lot of power so any fault in the battery or alternator will cause a steering failure,get them checked.

3. SPEEDO SENSOR-This is a small device on your gearbox which transmits your speed to your speedometer,your steering ecu needs to know how fast you're going,so any fault here will also cause a steering failure,your speedo may still work even if the sensor is faulty,models with abs will pick the speed up through the abs sensors,diagnostic equipment will be required to check this.

4. BAD CONNECTIONS-Puntos can suffer from bad connections onto the steering ecu,which is located on the steering column itself,remove the lower steering column cover and a small metal plate,and clean all connections with electrical contact cleaner and refit,you may still need to have the faults removed from the ecu at your local dealer.

NOW TO THE MORE SERIOUS FAULTS AND REPAIRS,I HAVE LISTED THESE IN THE MOST COMMON OCURRING ORDER.

1. MOTOR TORQUE AND STEERING POSTION SENSORS-These are built into your steering column and cannot be changed,it will require you to change the steering column,here you have two options,you can either purchase a complete column with the motor and ecu,or Fiat now do the parts available separately,although prices are expensive and complete columns are available for not much more money.It may make common sense to fit the complete column and then you know everything is new,this is quite an easy task for any one with any experience and you will not need to have your car put on a diagnostic machine afterwards,as the ecu will be brand new and clear of any errors.Take care when removing airbags,the advise is to disconnect the battery a half hour before you start and reconnect only when you have finished.

2. ELECTRIC MOTOR-Not as common as the above fault,the motor is very easy to change,and is available from Fiat separately for about 170,or you may find a second hand one.Ensure that it is your motor that is faulty by having the car checked on diagnostic equipment,again you may swap the complete column for peace of mind.

3. STEERING ECU-With over 10 years of experience on the Punto i have never had a faulty ecu,so don't be tempted to swap it just to try it,most likely you'll be wasting your money.

AND THATS ABOUT IT-remember there are different columns fitted to different models,so ensure you get the right one,always supply the seller or supplier with your chassis number to be sure,the PUNTO SPEEDGEAR(auto) has a one of column fitted to it,don.t attempt to fit a column of a standard Punto,these are more expensive than standard columns and it may pay you to fit the parts which are available separately from Fiat.