So today we are talking about power steering drive with care. We going to talk about things that cause power steering light on your car and what you need to do. So before us going to talk about the power steering issue we need talk about what is power steering. Basically power steering means a system that reduce the effort of turning the steering wheel for driver. So in most vehicles it’s hard to steer without power assist. Its feel so heavy to steer without this system as well. Mainly its get heavy while driving slow or while parking. Power steering is invented in 1951 and it’s firstly came with a Chrysler vehicle. Most people ask can they drive without power steering. If you drive without power steering it can cause damage to your vehicle. And also in most states of USA without driving power steering is actually illegal.
There is few different type of power steering systems. I will explain few of them for you. So the first one is hydraulic power steering system. Hydraulic power steering system was invented in 1951 and used it till 2000. It served us latterly for 50 years and it was one of the best systems. So basically this worked from a hydraulic pump that came from engine. And the next system is electronic power steering system. This one of the most common system that in these days vehicles have. So this system have electric motors that draw power from the vehicle electric system to power steering. Electric motors are located directly under the steering rack as well. This system is mostly used in sports cars and luxury vehicles. So the sensor calculate the effort that driver putting to steer. And then the computer system on the car decides how much assistance he needs.
Power steering drive with care- what is power steering service light
So now we going to talk about what is power steering service light is. So if you notice that you have a power steering service light on your car. That means you need to take immediate actions to solve this issue. This issue is not like other issues, this is very crucial. Mainly because this directly impact to driving. Basically this light means that you have total power steering failure in your vehicle. That’s make so much hard to steer the vehicle. Mostly while going slower you can’t even turn your steering wheel. Basically it so hard than manual steering as well. As I said service light means that you need to give immediate attention. The issue for this failure can be different due to what type of power steering that you use. Basically some cases are the cause bye same issue as well. So let’s see what they are.
Issues that cause to turn on the power steering service light
When power steering fluid is low
So one of the reasons that this issue can be happen because of low fluid levels. Basically power steering unit need some specific fluid to work. If you don’t have the specific fluid or it is lower than level that it need to be. That means the power steering system won’t work accurately. And it’s actually easy to fix as well it’s not too hard. So you need to look under the hood you can see a little tank that you can fill the fluid. And you need to pay attention to the minimum fluid level and to the maximum fluid level. It is marked in the tank but they are pretty closer to each other. Basically if you don’t have the recommended fluid level the fluid pump will not lubricate. That will cause the fluid temperature levels to go high.
So all these issues will cause the power steering light to turn on. Basically this is an early stage issue. If recognize this early and fixed this there will be no power steering issues. And this one is one of the most common issues that reported all around the world.
Broken power steering belt
So now we are talking another issue that can cause the service light. Let me explain what is broken power steering belt is. Basically the power steering system is connected to a pump that run by engine crankshaft. The pulley on the engine is connected to a belt on the power steering pump and it supplies power to the pump. Basically this belt easily snap with the time. After this belt snapped your power steering system won’t work anymore. Your steering wheel will be so hard to handle when this happens. Mainly because there is no power on the power steering pump. When this happens you need to take your car into a repair station ASAP. You tow your car basically it’s the best thing you can do. Don’t drive your car in this kind of situations.
Contaminated power steering fluid
Do basically for power steering system to function accurately. The fluid in the hydraulic system tubes need to be free of contaminate. It need to be free from air bubbles and from other liquid intrusions. Contaminates will cause failures in tubes regularly. This will cause difficult steering issues it will hard to turn your vehicle when this happens. Only thing that you can do is cleaning the pumps and tank and re filling the fluid as well.
When power steering pump gone bad
Also this is one of the most basic issues that can happen to your vehicle. Actually power steering pump is a proper mechanical part that comes with so many moving parts. So this parts can get bad over time. For example like the seals of the pump can wear off. Also the internal parts can be warped over time. So mainly this will make pump lose pressure. This will cause hard steering on your vehicle. For these kind of situations you can replace the pump. We are not recommend that you should repair this instead of replacing. Replacing is the best option you have other options can make this situation way worse. Also we don’t recommend that you should drive your car in these situations.
So we talked about power steering drive with care. I will bring another article about power steering issues. So be for now.