Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: evo1968 on 18 January 2010, 23:11:19
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does anyone have an idea what could be wrong with my steering..for the last couple of weeks when i am parking the car the steering goes really hard like the power steering has packed up,but when driving normally its fine??
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does anyone have an idea what could be wrong with my steering..for the last couple of weeks when i am parking the car the steering goes really hard like the power steering has packed up,but when driving normally its fine??
As i said to matt earlier mate,check your tyre pressures,mine does exactly the same sometimes,because i have a slow leak in the passenger tyre,put some air in and its great again.I think the migs steering is very sensative. :y
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poss low fluid level
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does anyone have an idea what could be wrong with my steering..for the last couple of weeks when i am parking the car the steering goes really hard like the power steering has packed up,but when driving normally its fine??
As i said to matt earlier mate,check your tyre pressures,mine does exactly the same sometimes,because i have a slow leak in the passenger tyre,put some air in and its great again.I think the migs steering is very sensative. :y
+1 ;)
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Oh yes definatly peter,forgot to mention the obvious first. :D :y
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tyre pressure and fluid levels are all correct,first things i checked.could the steering pump be nackered or rack..no leaking or anything though??
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Got the exact same problem with mine, every time when i go to park it seems the power steering packs up.....
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Mine too! & I get a horrible grating noise on full lock most times but not all! :D :-?
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jack up both wheels, then if you can move the steering by one wheel, probably a ball joint going or somthing, should move easy by hand no need to use the power steering with engine running. :y
if nothing then try with the engine running and have so one move the steering wheel left lock to right lock.
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Now do not laugh at this.
Last week my power steering stopped working after I had got myself stuck in the snow,miggys must be the worse car ever made for driving in snow.
But anyhow after checking everything out fuse fluid drive belts etc,a neighbour told me that his astra had suffered the the same problem a while ago,and he had traced it to a poor condition battery,rechare the battery and hey pesto problem solved.
Now i thought what a lot of balls,but next day another friend also told me much the same story only with his combo van.
So with nothing to lose,I charged the battery ,restarted the car and the steering worked perfect.
So before you spend any money,make sure your battery is in tip top condition,as the engine managerment computer seems to want to shut down unnessesary systems to safeguard itself.
My own battery had a few dud cells,so its worth a try isn,t it .
Best luck Alfie.
ps its true it really did work.
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What does it feel and sound like when you have the motor running and you turn it lock to lock? Whether jacked up or not it should be relatively silent and only whine quietly, it should be smooth and the only other noise should be the tyres scraping the ground. Does it sound chattery and feel lumpy? If so that is called cavitation and is caused by air in the system. Is there an ATF leak making it low on fluid? The pump itself could be on the way out. It could be the Aux belt too.
alfie says Migs are bad for driving in snow????
I am not trying to be funny but I find it strange to state that it is a bad car in snow. With so many driving aids included in my Elite auto I have found it to very good provided that the tyres are in good order and the driving technique is adjusted to suit the weather conditions and road surface. It is a very heavy car which makes driving technique even more important because it takes more power to get it moving and its harder to stop once it is.
I have never been stuck but do admit that on rare occassions, usually uphill I have had to use the snowflake button. This area is not known for good gritting practice either, the LCC council is so tight their asses have been stitched shut!
I have seen many 4x4s having problems due to the driver, not the vehicle.
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Hello Bionic,Regarding my omegas dislike of snow,I live in the Heads of the Valleys area of Gwent.
When it snows it really SNOWS here,my cars finds it difficult to even pull away on a level bit of road let alone any kind of incline of which around here there are many.
Once you are on the move,you are ok, but its the start thats the problem.
Regards Alfie.
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thanks for all of your thoughts,i will try them over the weekend,weather permitting,a bit wet down here. >:(
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Try changing the servotronic assistance relay located in the drivers footwell kick panal. these have :y a tendancy to intermittantly lose assistance at low revs.
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Now do not laugh at this.
Last week my power steering stopped working after I had got myself stuck in the snow,miggys must be the worse car ever made for driving in snow.
But anyhow after checking everything out fuse fluid drive belts etc,a neighbour told me that his astra had suffered the the same problem a while ago,and he had traced it to a poor condition battery,rechare the battery and hey pesto problem solved.
Now i thought what a lot of balls,but next day another friend also told me much the same story only with his combo van.
So with nothing to lose,I charged the battery ,restarted the car and the steering worked perfect.
So before you spend any money,make sure your battery is in tip top condition,as the engine managerment computer seems to want to shut down unnessesary systems to safeguard itself.
My own battery had a few dud cells,so its worth a try isn,t it .
Best luck Alfie.
ps its true it really did work.
Don't see why it mad a lot of difference to the Omega PAS... It's mechanically driven by a belt. The Newer Ashtrays and Combo's ar electro-mechanical PAS, so a poor battery would make a difference ;) ;)
As for Omega's in the snow... Don't understand the problems really, although I accept your comments further down, but I would have thought if you lived in an area which was that bad you'd have snow chains and make the relevant preparations ::) ::)
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i've had servo tronic fail, its a totaly random thing going stiff at any speed and the relay is behind the glove box.
i would think the low revs showing the fault and the fact its belt driven would point to a tired worn out pump, raise the revs and it starts working/pumping enough fluid to operate the pas, drop the revs and its out of range of its operation due to ware?
but i've not had a pump fail so would be nice if someone would confirm....
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Well its worked perfectly since I changed the battery,so I,m not going the knock it.
My last car before I got the mig was a Subura Legacy,what a car,go any place great in the mud or snow ,but so expensive to run.Had for 7 years,only let me down once camshalf sensor,Sold within 30 mins after I put it in a layby with a for sale sign on it.
Regards Alfie
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How much does a servotronic relay cost out of interest. (Might just be worth doing)
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How much does a servotronic relay cost out of interest. (Might just be worth doing)
ooh, memory time, twas a while ago, with tech2 to diagnose it first i think it was £86 ish through a dealer, this was pre forum days mind, and i would certainly not recommend that route now.
See a tech 2 owning member on here to diagnose first, then if faulty get a relay from a breaker, its not a common failure so they should be 2 a penny i would think...? bit of a head stand to swap though.
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Hello Lazydocker,If the mig is purely mech/fluid power steering whats the wiring harness connected to it for.
FFCGARY1 has just posted about a servotronic relay,so I ,II ask him to explain it a bit more.
Alfie
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Hello Ffcgary1,Please could you explain what this servotronic assistance relay function is,what it looks like,and exactly where it is.
Is it likely to be the cause of heavy steering at low revs and such like.
Regards Alfie.
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Servotronic is a way of changing the "weight" or amount of assistance given to the steering with relation to speed. At low speed the assistance is high, at high speed it is low as you only need tiny amounts of steering input.
The ABS ECU uses the speed signal derived from the ABS sensors to control the power steering assistance level.. which is why when you lose the ABS ECU you lose power steering.
Thats why you have a wiring harness !!! to carry the electonic signals :)