Why is My Power Steering Not Working?

Sommerset

Parking and slow speed maneuvering would be a nightmare without power steering. It has become so synonymous with modern cars we take it for granted.

While driving without power steering is possible, turning the wheel when at a standstill or slow speed needs some muscle power. You might get away with it at highway speeds, but you will need both hands on the wheel.

Moreover, cars with safety features like lane keep assist or any form of self-driving technology won’t operate normally if the power steering fails.

Pro Tip: If your power steering has a problem, your steering wheel will be hard to turn

Types of Power Steering

Before looking into why your power steering might be having issues, we first have to understand what assisted steering technology your car uses. Power steering could be:

  • Hydraulic
  • electrical hydraulic
  • Fully electric

Any hydraulic system uses pressurized steering fluid to move your steering gears. The power steering pump, in this case, gets its power straight from the engine through a drive belt.

An electric hydraulic system works like the hydraulic version above, only that instead of a belt-driven pump, it uses an electric hydraulic pump to generate fluid pressure.

The final option is the fully electric power steering that uses an electric motor to generate the torque needed to steer the car. Such systems don’t need power steering fluid at all.

If your power steering stops working (it takes up to five times the usual energy to make a turn or responds slowly), you first have to identify which type of power steering your car uses.

The best way to figure this out is to get your car model and year number and check its specifications online. You can also get this information in your user manual. Alternatively, you can check if your car has a power steering fluid reservoir under the hood or not.

Once you figure out what type of power steering you are running, you can then proceed to the relevant sections below to troubleshoot.

What Will Make Your Hydraulic Power Steering Stop Working

Some of the top reasons that will make your hydraulic power steering fail to work include:

Low Power Steering Fluid

Low power steering fluid levels reduce the overall effectiveness of the system. When fluid levels drop, the system has to compress air which is spongier than fluid.

You will get the reduced performance just as you would with low brake fluid levels.

Since the system relies on pressure to turn the tires, less fluid will either make your steering vague or harder to use as the system defaults to fully manual steering.

How Do I Know if I Have a Power Steering Fluid Leak?

You can make troubleshooting your car simpler if you know how to identify power steering fluid level losses. If you are lucky, you can even arrest the problem before it is too late. Some of the top signs that you are bleeding power steering fluid include:

Low Levels in the Reservoir

Checking your coolant and oil levels is typical to most responsible car owners. However, very few people go the extra mile and check their power steering fluid level.

Just like your oil, coolant, and brake fluid, your power steering fluid needs to be at the suitable range to operate optimally.

The fluid is in a transparent tank under your hood that resembles the coolant reservoir tank.

There are MIN and MAX lines on the tank to help you figure out if you have the correct fluid levels. Ensure that your fluid is close to the MAX level as possible but never below the MIN line.

Remember to park your car on level ground before checking and have your wheels pointing straight forward to get accurate results.

Is it Normal to Lose Power Steering Fluid Over Time?

No. It’s not normal to lose power steering fluid over time. A perfect power steering system is closed up. The fluid doesn’t heat up.

The possibility of it evaporating or burning up is nil. The only way your levels are going to drop is if you have a leak somewhere in the system.

If you notice a slight drop, you can:

  1. Top-up and monitor it to see if it drops again fast. Some people will keep on driving if the levels drop VERY slowly and you are topping up once a month. This is still dangerous.
  2. Get a professional to examine your system, identify the leak, and fix it
A Puddle of Fluid Under the Car

Once you see a drop in your power steering fluid levels, the next step would be finding out where it’s leaking from. An excellent way to do this is by looking for a puddle under your car.

Alternatively, you can troubleshoot backward if you see a puddle under your car after parking for a while.

Since a puddle can be a couple of fluids leaking, it would be safe to check all levels to narrow down the problem.

  1. Check your engine oil levels
  2. Check your coolant levels
  3. Check your transmission fluid levels
  4. Check your brake fluid levels
  5. Check your power steering fluid level

In this way, you can narrow down the problem and know where to peep under your car to identify the leaky spot.

Any fluid leak under your car is an emergency that you should address ASAP. Don’t ignore it if you think your oil, coolant, brake fluid, or power steering fluid is OK.

Take the time to identify what it is before making your next move.

A Squealing Noise When You Turn the Steering

Many old cars will give a shrill shriek when you turn your wheel. This is common in slow speed turning or when parking.

It could also be a dull noise when you turn your wheel all the way to one side.

Power steering systems shouldn’t make such noises. A squeal means you have low fluid levels or something else is faulty in the system. Have it checked as soon as possible.

Damaged Power Steering (Serpentine) Belt and or Pulley

Since your hydraulic power steering gets its power from the engine via a belt, it won’t work well if that belt is slipping, broken, or missing.

Use your user manual to identify the power steering hydraulic belt and confirm that it runs well without slipping.

Please don’t wait until your power steering starts acting up before checking it. You can have it inspected every time you service your car. Replace it if it’s frayed, has any signs of wear, or is slightly damaged.

Damaged Power Steering Hydraulic Pump

While power steering pumps are very resilient, they will still fail over time. When they do, your car will start by making noises when turning the wheel.

Eventually, your power steering assist will wear off or stop.

The pump should be the culprit if your fluid levels are OK and your belt is spinning just fine.

You will have to run through a comprehensive troubleshooting list to rule out other more straightforward problems before narrowing it down to the power steering hydraulic pump.

Faulty Electric Hydraulic Pump System

If your car uses an electric hydraulic pump, you don’t have a serpentine belt. However, your pump could still stop working if it doesn’t get power.

The pump will lose power if:

  • Its wiring is damaged
  • You have a blown fuse
  • The electric hydraulic pump is damaged

Blocked or Leaking Plumbing

The last thing that could make your power steering fail is a blockage or leak somewhere in the plumbing.

A leak will lose power steering fluid and bleed pressure.

A blockage might keep the fluid in but won’t let enough pressure transfer to the steering gears, forcing you to apply more energy to move the car’s steering wheel.

How Do You Reassure Test a Power Steering Pump?

A pressure test is an excellent way to identify problems within the system. This approach uses a pressure pump gauge to verify that the power steering system is faulty and not your actual steering system.

  1. Install the power steering pressure testing gauge according to your manufacturer’s instructions
  2. Ensure that the dead head valve is fully open and that your reservoir is filled to the ‘Cold’ level
  3. Turn your engine on and turn the steering wheel full left to right at least 15 times to bleed any air from the system
  4. Get someone to hold the car at 1500 RPM
  5. Close the dead head valve and observe how much pressure your gauge reads. Remember to hold the valve closed for over 5 seconds as this could burn the pump
  6. If the pressure levels are within your manufacturer’s specified range, then the pump is working fine
  7. If the levels are lower, the pump could be fault or the serpentine belt could be damaged and slipping

You can also use this setup to check the performance of your steering unit using the following procedure.

  1. Ensure that the dead head valve is fully open
  2. Keep the car at the right RPM range
  3. Turn the wheel to full right
  4. Close the dead head valve and take the reading. Remember not to close it for over five seconds
  5. Repeat the same with the wheel turned full left

The two readings should be almost identical. If they are not, then your steering unit has a problem. They should also be very close to the first test above.

Why is My Electric Power Steering Not Working?

Electric power steering is somewhat more straightforward than a hydraulic system. Troubleshooting it could be as easy as hooking up voltage testers at the right place.

Some cars will throw up errors if they sense a fault in the system. Moreover, there is no fluid; hence you don’t have to spend time looking for leaks.

What Causes Electric Power Steering Failure?

Electric power steering, or motor-driven power steering, will only fail if you have an electrical problem with the steering unit or the car as a whole.

Some of the possible causes of such a problem include

Faulty or Damaged Wiring

The first culprit, especially in old cars, is damaged or frayed wiring. A car that has been parked for long could have its wires chewed through by rodents or contacts corroded.

This will either reduce the current that gets to the motor or cut it off completely. Your motor won’t kick in when you call on it hence leaving you with manual steering.

Blown Fuse or Damaged Relay

Just like any other electrical system, your power steering circuit goes through a fuse. In case of an overload or any short circuit, the dedicated fuse will blow.

Consult your manual to identify the fuse. If it is blown, inspect the wiring to ensure there is no short circuit before replacing it.

If you find no short circuit and the fuse is blown again, chances are your power steering motor is faulty.

Some cars control their power steering motor through a relay. If this is the case for you, you’ll also have to check if the relay is working.

Faulty Sensors or Computer Module

Power steering systems use sensors attached to the steering wheel to determine the position of the steering column and the amount of torque you apply on the steering wheel.

A computer module then uses this information to determine how much torque the motor should apply to the steering gears or column. It also uses this information to determine when to start or stop steering.

Even though these sensors and the computer module rarely fail, you could be in trouble if they do. The fail-safe is totally disconnecting the system and leaving you on manual steering.

A Damaged Power Steering Motor

The last possible problem with a power steering system would be a damaged motor. Your power steering motor should last very long.

However, it could be damaged in some situations and refuse to spin even with the right power and signal input.

In this case, you will have no power steering assistance.

Other Electrical System Problems

Since your electric power steering runs on electricity, it needs your car’s alternator to be working at its optimum to operate.

If you have a faulty alternator, your steering could work for a while off the car’s battery but start to fail as soon as the voltage starts to drop.

Should this be the case, power steering should be your last worry. You will soon have symptoms of low power.

Crucial electronics won’t work well, and your engine will soon grind to a halt. Restarting your car will be impossible since the battery will be depleted.

Is it OK to Drive Without Power Steering?

All cars are designed to still be driveable without power steering as a fail-safe. The hydraulic power steering naturally defaults to manual steering.

Note that driving a hydraulic or electric hydraulic power steering fluid dry could damage the pump. Your pump uses the fluid for cooling and lubrication. Running it dry for long will be catastrophic.

An electric system still retains some linkage between the steering wheel and the steering rack.

This means you can still control your car even without power steering. However, your steering will be less responsive than usual, and you will need more power to steer.

If you are used to the bad habit of controlling your car with one hand or fingers, things might be a bit harder to control once the assist goes off.

Stay safe. Keep all your hands on the wheel at all times and stay alert. Be ready to take control should your power steering ever fail.

You should note that most power steering systems dial down once you get to speed. This is because it is naturally easier to steer a moving car ( parking an old manual steering car is easy if you turn the wheel when it’s slowly moving.)

As such, many drivers will only notice a difference or dip in power steering when parking their cars or maneuvering in slow-moving traffic.

Will Failing Power Steering Lock My Steering?

No. A power steering failure will never lock your steering or make it entirely unresponsive. If this happens, something significant has failed in your steering system. Stop the car immediately and don’t drive it until a mechanic fixes the problem.

Are Power Steering Leak Stop Additives Worth It?

Just like the case with coolant and engine oil leaks, some products promise to help you plug small leaks in the system.

These chemicals work by restoring gasket, seals, and rubber hoses in the system. If your leaks are minuscule, you might be lucky enough and stop a leak with this product.

However, don’t expect them to work miracles and plug massive leaks that bleed considerable amounts of hydraulic fluid in a short time.

My advice is to try them if your leak is prolonged and you are not ready to replace the faulty parts – or you can’t identify them yet. Start saving for replacements, though, as this is not a guaranteed permanent fix.

How Do You Know if Your Hydraulic Power Steering System is Clogged Up?

So far, we have been focusing on leaks and damaged pumps. However, your hydraulic power steering will also have issues if the system is clogged up.

Some of the top signs that you have clogged lines include:

  1. Whining noises when turning the wheel
  2. A stiff steering wheel
  3. A squealing noise when the vehicle starts
  4. The engine seems to be at a high load when at idle with AC off
  5. Groaning noises

The clog is not always in the hoses. It might be in the gears or actuator pistons within your system. You can fix a clog by flushing the entire system and topping it up with new fresh fluid.

How Do You Flush a Power Steering Pump?

If you suspect a clog or feel that your power steering hydraulic fluid is too dirty, perhaps it’s time for a flush. Here is how to do it.

  1. Pump out all the power steering fluid of the reservoir and fill it with new fluid
  2. Identify the low-pressure line in your system ( the one running from the steering rack back to the reservoir) and detach it
  3. Turn your wheel to the right and then to the left repeatedly (around 15 times to expel most of the fluid old fluid
  4. Top up more fluid to replace what was lost during the bleeding procedure

The above bleeding procedure can also be used to remove air bubbles from your power steering system.

Bleeding Pro Tip: Lifting your car so that your front wheels are not on the ground will make the turns easier. It will also be easier on your tires.

What Power Steering Fluid Should I Use?

Power steering fluid is a hydraulic fluid. The choice of fluid varies depending on what car you are driving.

  • Some cars are designed to use any hydraulic fluid. They can even take brake fluid.
  • Some cars can take transmission fluid
  • Other cars need specific power steering fluid

Consult your manual to confirm what type of power steering fluid your car needs before topping up or swapping. Using the wrong fluid could damage your vehicle.

Bottom Line

Power steering assist is one of the most practical yet uncelebrated luxury features in modern cars. Keeping it working perfectly will make driving and parking your car easy.

Ensure that you inspect it often and service it as soon as you see signs of trouble. Moreover, being aware of what it does and how it could fail will help adjust your driving habits and react should it fail when driving.