electrical faults and power steering

[nimrod]

Hi all, I have recently had a few strange things happening, turn on start engine and no power steering. no noise, no juddering etc. if I turn the engine off and on it works fine, sometimes a couple of turn offs are required. then its fine for a week or two. also at the same time various dash lights come on and the ACC gives a failure warning with the orange warning that is a vehicle with the skids under it. I have an extended warranty but after booking it in for investigation/diagnostics they informed me that I would have to pay for the diagnostics. they wanted the vehicle for 2 days which could be very expensive. it was suggested to get a new battery (at over £420) as the amps were slightly lower. does it need to be reset when a battery is fitted, .7 of an hour according to them. this would not effect the power steering though would it. any help please. thanks N

 

[mmi]

love mine in grape yellow, 2018 edition..

Still the same van - T6?
Have you checked fluid level for the power steering?

 

[DXX]

it was suggested to get a new battery (at over £420)

A Varta battery in the UK is approx’ £160-180, fitted and coded approx’ £200. Take your van somewhere else.

 

[nimrod]

Still the same van - T6?
Have you checked fluid level for the power steering?

thanks. yes same van, fluid looks fine, recently serviced by main agent under the all in plan. that too has gone up to about £42 from £26 per month.

 

[nimrod]

A Varta battery in the UK is approx’ £160-180, fitted and coded approx’ £200. Take your van somewhere else.

will look into this thanks for the info.

 

[nimrod]

just had a mad spell, parked van outside for a few hours,10 mtrs, reversed back in and loads of warnings came up one after the other, first something about stabilisation, didn't read all of it trying to open camera, went away quickly then various others which I am going to try and load pics. COULD THIS BE THE BATTERY STARTING TO FAIL. I am not great with electrical stuff on vehicles. looks like I am not good at loading pics either. I have had other messages but couldn't get them all.

 

[Bav]

A falling battery can cause lots of errors to to be thrown, yes.

 

[roadtripper]

My general rule of thumb with this is once you've eliminated the obvious if you're having electrical weirdness it's worth starting from a known good new battery.

If your battery is original I'd definitely get it done.

I'd also recommend spending a bit of money on Carista or OBD11 and seeing what fault codes are being logged.

My next suspicion if it's transient and wide spread is a wiring fault somewhere that's moving, we've seen a few odd cases that have been traced to a bad earth.

If the dealer is charging for diagnostics that should be refunded if it's found to be a warranty issue?

 

[nimrod]

My general rule of thumb with this is once you've eliminated the obvious if you're having electrical weirdness it's worth starting from a known good new battery.

If your battery is original I'd definitely get it done.

I'd also recommend spending a bit of money on Carista or OBD11 and seeing what fault codes are being logged.

My next suspicion if it's transient and wide spread is a wiring fault somewhere that's moving, we've seen a few odd cases that have been traced to a bad earth.

If the dealer is charging for diagnostics that should be refunded if it's found to be a warranty issue?

what is Carista or OBD11 please, its like learning another language with all the electronics abbreviations I have read on here lol.

 

[roadtripper]

A device to read the fault codes logged by the electronics. It's almost impossible to diagnose issues with modern vehicles without one.

VCDS vs Carista vs OBDEleven vs ??

Carissa or odbeleven? Looking at doing some basic programming ie auto locking etc. Would like auto mirrors but assume not available on my 16 plate shuttle se

www.t6forum.com

 

[nimrod]

called out VW assist today after reading lots of stuff on here. wheel sensor knackered and power steering pump basically gone. dropped off at van centre, hire van on its way hopefully sorted asap. thanks to everyone who has helped out and the forum for info. now need to decide whether its worth continuing with extended warranty even though they have increased monthly price from £26 to about £42. what's the general opinion. my 2018 T6 204ps
with 36800 miles. I am leaning towards it even though I have breakdown on my insurance.

 

[DXX]

called out VW assist today after reading lots of stuff on here. wheel sensor knackered and power steering pump basically gone. dropped off at van centre, hire van on its way hopefully sorted asap. thanks to everyone who has helped out and the forum for info. now need to decide whether its worth continuing with extended warranty even though they have increased monthly price from £26 to about £42. what's the general opinion. my 2018 T6 204ps
with 36800 miles. I am leaning towards it even though I have breakdown on my insurance.

IMO pretty bad that extended warranty is even on peoples mind when the vehicle is only 6 years old with 36K miles. That’s the reality of new VWs.
I think it comes down to how much you value the £42 against inconvenience and potential additional cost. It’s a form of gambling!

 

[nimrod]

IMO pretty bad that extended warranty is even on peoples mind when the vehicle is only 6 years old with 36K miles. That’s the reality of new VWs.
I think it comes down to how much you value the £42 against inconvenience and potential additional cost. It’s a form of gambling!

I totally agree, we buy these vehicles for quality etc and they seem to always have problems. for me personally I am happy to get my hands dirty on mechanical stuff but these modern times I cannot understand all the electronics and sensors. over time its what the manufacturer wanted. but there seems a continuous line of faults. I hate the idea of having an extended warranty on a vehicle this new (past 2 years as well,) and now retired I could do with the money on other things. battling with my conscience at the moment.