heavy steering after emergency breaking?

Hi guys a little advice needed on this.

A few nights back due to the sod you attitude of many ( not all ) of todays younger drivers, I was forced to throw out the anchors and do an emergency stop.

I'm glad to say my 2002 C3 pulled of the stop perfectly and no damage.

Now the interesting point after a little cursing I carried on driving however a few hundred yards down the road the steering became really heavy as if the power steering had packed up? Holding her straight and turning became a struggle, so as I was in work I parked the car up and thought oh joy looks like break down services when I finish work at 12.30am.

When I finished work I crossed my fingers and started the car and started to move, for a moment the steering was still heavy then it corrected itself and has been fine since.

So any ideas of what might have happened??????

Cheers guys

Billathome65 wrote:Hi guys a little advice needed on this.

A few nights back due to the sod you attitude of many ( not all ) of todays younger drivers, I was forced to throw out the anchors and do an emergency stop.

I'm glad to say my 2002 C3 pulled of the stop perfectly and no damage.

Now the interesting point after a little cursing I carried on driving however a few hundred yards down the road the steering became really heavy as if the power steering had packed up? Holding her straight and turning became a struggle, so as I was in work I parked the car up and thought oh joy looks like break down services when I finish work at 12.30am.

When I finished work I crossed my fingers and started the car and started to move, for a moment the steering was still heavy then it corrected itself and has been fine since.

So any ideas of what might have happened??????

Cheers guys

Hi Billathome65, glad to hear the brakes worked as they should

The steering is electronic and may have had a problem with the battery shifting and disconnecting under heavy breaking? There was a recall for some cars where the earth lead was just a bit too short and could disconnect under heavy braking. Yours may be a poor battery connection or something similar.

Check there is no recall for yours here for C3 recalls but also the battery connections.

Hi, I have had your problems a couple of times. Once when I rebooted the computer for something and also just after an MOT. They we turning the steering from the road wheel whilst they were doing checks. A computer reboot haa cleared the fault on both occasions.

Turned out to be the battery on mine which was causing the issue due to it's relationship to the electronic power steering on these models. Bloody dangerous if you ask me as I've discovered that this is a common problem with them.

Update on this.

I haven't had to slam the breaks on since my last post.

I changed the battery for a known good battery and it cured the PS Issue so know it is related to that.

However I notice that once again the first start is playing up again and time has reset. Knowing that the battery is a good one.

I now ask myself is it actually down to the drive belt as that I know needs changing or could it be the alternator not fully charging?

If these need changing how easy is it to do either the belt 1st or 2nd the alternator? I've changed belts and alternators before but not one that snakes round other pullies.

Any diagrams or videos out there on this?

Any advice?

Don't change any charge parts without diagnosis first.

If you suspect the alternator, this can be tested on the car. An auto electrician can check the alternator is performing in spec.

There are tests you could do yourself if you wanted to.

You wouldn't want to pay out for an alternator if it's not faulty.

If the belt squeals it needs changing for a charge problem but even a ropey flapping belt will allow the alternator to charge.

That's my thinking

I have a multi meter but not to sure how to use it so worried about doing a check on the alternator myself

Cheers buddy

Billathome65 wrote:That's my thinking

I have a multi meter but not to sure how to use it so worried about doing a check on the alternator myself

Cheers buddy

That's fair enough. The alternator feeds directly to the battery, so you can pick up some of what you need at the battery for some of the basic checks.

I think there needs to be a topic for doing the basic checks on alternator output. I will see if one can be put together soon.

The problem I find is there is very little video output out there on the C£ repairs so hard to gauge how difficult a job is or isnt.

Also Like me I am sure many people have a multi meter and the even basic scope on a rope however there is no real breakdown on how a multi meter actually works what settings are needed to do different tests should it be on ohm' volt etc etc the dangers of incorrect use on cars I have a half decent one that I know could easily be used to check voltage on a battery etc but it's never been used through fear of getting the settings wrong wrong and the meter or the ECU going bang pop fizzle