Hi all, i was reversing to park up last week when my steering went heavy and loads of messages and some fault codes came up.

I've checked the battery and it seems to be ok and I've tried to look under the car for broken wires, rust and lose connection but nothing looks to bad visually,  I'm hoping it's a sensor or a bad connection etc as I know the rack/module itself is very expensive (coding) etc,  can anyone recommend me looking for any other signs of what the problem could be. Car is 66 plate with about 120,000 miles.

One thing that could be a factor is my undertray has been off the car for about 12 mths?

Any help much appreciated. 

Cheers Colin. 

Welcome Colin, and sorry to hear of your issue. 
‘….. I’ve checked the battery and it seems OK…..’. If that decision was arrived at by a simple voltage check with a multimeter, then it’s effectively a meaningless ‘not-under-load’ assessment of its efficiency. 
My first port of call would be to get a proper test done on the battery - Halfords stores (shops) do this - and you should then have a report on the cold cranking amps etc. and an overall % efficiency. 
If it is found to be sub standard then if you have any respect for your wallet, come back to us and we can advise on where to get branded batteries at competitive prices.

Well worth getting the alternator output checked at the same time.

A new battery would need to be coded to the car.

Please let us know how you get on. 
Regards,

Gareth. 

 

Thanks for the reply and advice,  booking the car in for diagnostic work next week, hoping it's not bad news.

Please keep us posted on how you get on 

Hi everyone,  I'm glad to report that the fault was down to corrosion on a cable/wire under the car closer to the wheel arch area and had nothing to do with the Steering rack or module, big heads up to anyone that is told its a major fault with the steering rack etc, I'm lucky to have found a totally awesome time served honest garage owner that found the fault for me and it cost me £200 all in.

Thanks for your help on the forum.

Cheers Colin. 

Thanks for letting us know.

Hi, 

 I had a similar fault on an A4 2.0 TDI 2003, I eventually traced it to a faulty Alternator clutch pulley which was seized. The car had been in storage for over a year on blocks. The steering was very heavy and lumpy , checked steering pump, cooling fan bearing and once serpentine belt was removed I could feel how notchy the alternator pulley was when spinning it. Bought a new one and replaced it and instant smoothness returned....so many variables to choose from. But as always we jump in with both feet and go for the most expensive fault we think it might be.