Nct and power steering

ameee · 06-06-2015 6:42pm #1

Hi,
Im wondering if anyone knows if they will put my car through the nct with no power steering. I know it will fail on it I just want to know if it will even be put through the test?

My very old battery stopped working today so after a failed jump start (I think the chap put the pegs on wrong as sparks flew) a push start got it going. I drove to halfords for a new battery but noticed the steering was gone.

The new battery is starting the car fine but still no power steering. We have checked the fuses but they seem fine?

Anyway the nct is booked for monday and there is nowhere open beforehand to get it sorted so will they test it as is?

Id rather know what if anything (besides steering) is wrong with it and get it all sorted at once. Thanks

Miike · 06-06-2015 6:45pm

What kind of car do you drive and what year? I'll put money on a fuse being blown.

ameee · 06-06-2015 6:51pm

Miike wrote: »

What kind of car do you drive and what year? I'll put money on a fuse being blown.

Its an opel zafera. I thought that too after the sparks and the fact it stop working straight away but all the fuses look fine but im not an expert at all. All the fuses when taken out looked the same as in no obvious damage could the be blown but look normal? Im a bit clueless with these things to be honest

Miike · 06-06-2015 6:58pm

ameee wrote: »

Its an opel zafera. I thought that too after the sparks and the fact it stop working straight away but all the fuses look fine but im not an expert at all. All the fuses when taken out looked the same as in no obvious damage could the be blown but look normal? Im a bit clueless with these things to be honest

Halfords are incompetent and NOT car mechanics.

There is a wire that comes from the power steering pump and goes into the fuse box. It's bolted down. Between the fuse box housing and the connector of that wire there is a fuse, that has blown. Take it to anyone with half a clue and they can replace it for you. It's not a normal looking fuse and the ONLY way to tell if it has been blown is by taking it out and looking underneath it.

Again, they are not a standard fuse.

What year is the car?

ameee · 06-06-2015 7:05pm

Miike wrote: »

Halfords are incompetent and NOT car mechanics.

There is a wire that comes from the power steering pump and goes into the fuse box. It's bolted down. Between the fuse box housing and the connector of that wire there is a fuse, that has blown. Take it to anyone with half a clue and they can replace it for you. It's not a normal looking fuse and the ONLY way to tell if it has been blown is by taking it out and looking underneath it.

Again, they are not a standard fuse.

What year is the car?

Thanks so much ill try to get someone to check it I might try have a look myself its an 02

Miike · 06-06-2015 7:06pm

ameee wrote: »

Thanks so much ill try to get someone to check it I might try have a look myself its an 02

Hopefully that'll sort it for you. I would suggest getting someone to look at it incase you do more damage than good though! :P

ameee · 06-06-2015 7:07pm

Stupid question but is that the fuse bix under the hood or the one in the dash. Im guessing under the hood but thought id better check

Miike · 06-06-2015 7:09pm

ameee wrote: »

Stupid question but is that the fuse bix under the hood or the one in the dash. Im guessing under the hood but thought id better check

Under the hood.

Let me know how you get on, if you fix it or if it was the fuse I'm talking about :P

ameee · 06-06-2015 7:09pm

Miike wrote: »

Hopefully that'll sort it for you. I would suggest getting someone to look at it incase you do more damage than good though! :P

Thanks your right id probably blow myself or the car up thanks for the info much appreciated

JBokeh · 06-06-2015 7:09pm

Is the PS pump belt driven inn it? Could be a busted belt that runs both the pump and the alternator?

I've never looked under the bonnet of a zafira so I could be talking out my hat

brightspark · 06-06-2015 7:14pm

I'd get the alternator checked if I were you.

http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/index.php?threads/loss-of-power-steering.178330/

A few posts there indicate a faulty alternator.

Also that could explain your battery failure too.

(Not too unusual to see some sparks when attaching jump leads, especially if you connect the batteries directly)

savagethegoat · 07-06-2015 7:48am

stupid question...how are you going to get it to the test centre?

pippip · 07-06-2015 7:57am

savagethegoat wrote: »

stupid question...how are you going to get it to the test centre?

car still runs just with no power steering, just a bit more work to turn so they'll be fine driving it.

ameee · 07-06-2015 8:20am

savagethegoat wrote: »

stupid question...how are you going to get it to the test centre?

Its still driveable just hard work on the arms

Ill bring it to the garage tomorrow when they open and Ill update.

savagethegoat · 07-06-2015 10:40am

there's drivable and there's safe......

visual · 07-06-2015 11:42am

pippip wrote: »

car still runs just with no power steering, just a bit more work to turn so they'll be fine driving it.

Why would they be fine driving a car with serious defect through test.

Tony Beetroot · 07-06-2015 11:46am

People in the Congo aren't even driving around with defective cars like yours, will you go away and get a garage to fix it before you kill yourself, your family or be the cause of a serious fatal collision with other parties.

mickdw · 07-06-2015 2:07pm

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

People in the Congo aren't even driving around with defective cars like yours, will you go away and get a garage to fix it before you kill yourself, your family or be the cause of a serious fatal collision with other parties.

Jesus give the man a chance.
Its just happened and he is fixing it, just wondering if it will waste his nct booking or not if he was to turn up with the car as is.

Tony Beetroot · 07-06-2015 4:35pm

mickdw wrote: »

Jesus give the man a chance.
Its just happened and he is fixing it, just wondering if it will waste his nct booking or not if he was to turn up with the car as is.

What would you be saying if the op crashed into a family member of yours which resulted in a fatal collision?
People need to cop on, sharing the roads with the op no wonder there are traffic collisions.

tcawley29 · 07-06-2015 6:26pm

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

What would you be saying if the op crashed into a family member of yours which resulted in a fatal collision?
People need to cop on, sharing the roads with the op no wonder there are traffic collisions.

would you ever cop on. what about the cars on the road today that dont come with power steering.
how do you think they managed before power steering was invented and cars were heavier back then?
get a life

mgbgt1978 · 07-06-2015 6:38pm

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

People in the Congo aren't even driving around with defective cars like yours, will you go away and get a garage to fix it before you kill yourself, your family or be the cause of a serious fatal collision with other parties.

Have you just come back from the Congo ?????
That's where we send all our NCT Failures you know....;)

Please explain how heavy steering will wipe out the OP and their Family, and any others within the vicinity.

pablo128 · 07-06-2015 6:45pm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Have you just come back from the Congo ?????
That's where we send all our NCT Failures you know....;)

Please explain how heavy steering will wipe out the OP and their Family, and any others within the vicinity.

Faux outrage. It's legendary on Boards at this stage.

I've replaced these systems in the past on Opels. They are a cross between the old hydraulic and new electric system. Whatever the problem is, I'll bet it doesn't cost a fortune to fix.

My advice is to bring it to an auto electrician who will repair rather than replacing parts.

Mycroft H · 07-06-2015 7:13pm

Drove a Clio with a snapped PS belt and it didn't kill me. Kept putting it off until the next service to replace it. Was grand.

Tony Beetroot · 07-06-2015 7:53pm

tcawley29 wrote: »

would you ever cop on. what about the cars on the road today that dont come with power steering.
how do you think they managed before power steering was invented and cars were heavier back then?
get a life

You are the one that would want to cop on with that analogy, comparing a car that has no power steering to a defective car really that the best you can do :pac:

mgbgt1978 · 07-06-2015 8:06pm

Have you actually driven a car with PS where the belt has snapped ?

The steering just gets heavier....nothing else. It doesn't veer wildly into crowds of pedestrians. It doesn't take on a life of it's own and decide not to go where you point it.
It is simply very heavy to turn at low speeds, but feels fairly normal at speeds above 25mph or so.

If you are happy to continue with your 'death-trap' nonsense then fire away.

greasepalm · 07-06-2015 8:28pm

big difference in old cars that had no power steering as you could still turn the steering with one hand while pushing the car with the other.with a non working power steering it gets too heavy and needs 2 hands to turn when pushing,once a car is in motion it does get a little easier to turn.as long as person gets it repaired asap and not put on long finger.

Tony Beetroot · 07-06-2015 8:31pm

Maybe the nct will pass it and sure no need to get it fixed then.

mgbgt1978 · 07-06-2015 8:42pm

Ah c'mon Tony . What about the multiple deaths due any second now ?

You've certainly backpedalled quite a bit from your original post.

visual · 07-06-2015 8:47pm

What crap is being posted here comparing older cars without power steering to more modern cars with.

Older cars had huge steering wheels. Took more turns of steering wheel because of gearing to go from full lock to full lock. Had little skinny wheels that provided less resistance.

Only short of saying that don't need steering wheel at all can jump out and kick the wheel in direction you want to go.

If a child runs out in front of a car with defective steering as the brakes are applied it will become harder to swerve out of the way as car loses momentum.

Bring the car to garage first then on to nct centre.

Tony Beetroot · 07-06-2015 8:50pm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Ah c'mon Tony . What about the multiple deaths due any second now ?

You've certainly backpedalled quite a bit from your original post.

It seems I am a minority with my opinions, I did some searching on you tube and they said its ok too so I guess its grand, guess ye were right all along.

tcawley29 · 07-06-2015 8:51pm

refer to image

mgbgt1978 · 07-06-2015 8:53pm

greasepalm wrote: »

big difference in old cars that had no power steering as you could still turn the steering with one hand while pushing the car with the other.with a non working power steering it gets too heavy and needs 2 hands to turn when pushing,once a car is in motion it does get a little easier to turn.as long as person gets it repaired asap and not put on long finger.

The Op has said in their 1st post that they have the NCT tomorrow. All they asked was if the car could still be tested without the PS working. They have also stated that they would be getting it fixed as soon as possible....unless you're willing to do it now then it probably won't be fixed before the test.

Nobody is suggesting that the OP leave it as it is. He/she simply asked if the Test could be done with the PS not working, let it fail on that one issue and then get it repaired.

OP; From looking at the NCT Manual it will be a fail if the PS system is faulty....but the car will still be tested.

mgbgt1978 · 07-06-2015 9:06pm

visual wrote: »

Why would they be fine driving a car with serious defect through test.

Well, it's not a 'fail dangerous' on the NCT site. So it's obviously not as serious as you would like.;)

savagethegoat · 07-06-2015 9:16pm

you arent in a minority. The majority of people wouldn't take a defective car on the road. Unfortunately, some people always will, never mind the consequences.scary.

Darpa · 07-06-2015 9:21pm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Have you actually driven a car with PS where the belt has snapped ?

The steering just gets heavier....nothing else. It doesn't veer wildly into crowds of pedestrians. It doesn't take on a life of it's own and decide not to go where you point it.
It is simply very heavy to turn at low speeds, but feels fairly normal at speeds above 25mph or so.

If you are happy to continue with your 'death-trap' nonsense then fire away.

Driving a car that has no power steering is completely different to trying to steer against non functional hydraulic rams. Just because you can do it, does not make it safe or responsive enough in an emergency if a kid or car pulled out in front of you.

Why is it chancers like this think they have a right to be on the public road ?

flutered · 07-06-2015 9:28pm

how did we manage back in the day, before they became standard

JBokeh · 07-06-2015 9:38pm

It's a convenience not a safety feature. Every car on the road is designed so that if the power steering fails that it is still drivable, the electric PS in the modern ones still engages the steering shaft with the engine off so it can still be turned.

Most people probably learned how to drive in a car without power steering, any speed above a standstill and the wheels turn fine.

I had a LR discovery years ago and the pipe for the PS fluid failed at the union, and it puked the fluid everywhere, it was on 315 width mud terrains, and it took all of 30 seconds for the fluid to drain and the power steering to go. It wasn't in the slightest bit dangerous driving without it, only adjustment I had to make was not dry steering it while parking, which is good practice anyway. Only lesson I learned from that was not to take power steering for granted. I didn't veer wildly off the road into a bus full of kids

Darpa · 07-06-2015 9:48pm

JBokeh wrote: »

It's a convenience not a safety feature. Every car on the road is designed so that if the power steering fails that it is still drivable, the electric PS in the modern ones still engages the steering shaft with the engine off so it can still be turned.

Most people probably learned how to drive in a car without power steering, any speed above a standstill and the wheels turn fine.

I had a LR discovery years ago and the pipe for the PS fluid failed at the union, and it puked the fluid everywhere, it was on 315 width mud terrains, and it took all of 30 seconds for the fluid to drain and the power steering to go. It wasn't in the slightest bit dangerous driving without it, only adjustment I had to make was not dry steering it while parking, which is good practice anyway. Only lesson I learned from that was not to take power steering for granted. I didn't veer wildly off the road into a bus full of kids

As there was no hydraulic fluid, you were not steering against the hydraulics, this is completely different to steering against fluid filled hydraulics.

Darpa · 07-06-2015 9:50pm

flutered wrote: »

how did we manage back in the day, before they became standard

Easy, just a bit more effort when parking, because there wasn't any fluid fluid hydraulic rams that weren't working to steer against. A completely different matter.

pippip · 09-06-2015 9:08am

How did you get on at NCT op?

No Voter And Proud · 09-06-2015 9:44am

savagethegoat wrote: »

you arent in a minority. The majority of people wouldn't take a defective car on the road. Unfortunately, some people always will, never mind the consequences.scary.

What if the radio isnt working?
That's a convenience item same as power steering.

I dont even think my car has power steering actually. If it does I think its broken.

ameee · 10-06-2015 9:34pm

Op here

Hi all sorry I ment to update sooner but its been a busy fee days!

I see it kicked off a bit about the dangers of no power steering haha , anyway I decided to abandon the nct as id either have to take the m50 or go down some tight back roads and it felt stupid to take any risks for a 22 euro cancellation fee.

Miike you were spot on id blown a couple of fuses so thanks for the info. It cost 80 euro altogether. The mechanic told me I was a very lucky woman as I could easily have messed up my cpu

I kept a close eye on the nct website and got a cancellation for today. I failed on a few small odds and ends (handbrake needs tightening, one or two bearings need replacing) so nothing major thankfully .

Anyway thanks all for the help

pablo128 · 10-06-2015 10:02pm

Good to hear it was a cheap enough fix. As I said before, I replaced a couple of whole systems in the Astras. It included the complete steering rack, pump, and motor. Pricey enough too if I remember right.

CiniO · 11-06-2015 12:13am

savagethegoat wrote: »

you arent in a minority. The majority of people wouldn't take a defective car on the road. Unfortunately, some people always will, never mind the consequences.scary.

The main thing about taking defective car on the road, is to understand this defect and how it affects driving.
If power steering is gone, you can still drive exactly the same, only you'll need more force on the wheel.
Not a big issue IMO once driver knows it and is ready for it.

Nct and power steering

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