bprman333 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 I was pulling into my driveway and when i was about to go up it the power steering went out. The battery light and the brake light are both on. Any ideas on what is wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proflatlander15 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 Did a belt break? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 bingo. is the abs light on and the gauges not working? what year is yours? if the battery and brake are on, you're not getting any power from the alternator. it's a funny thing to think about: battery is bad, you must brake. but yeah, mine was like that where things started dropping dead. but my power steering didn't go first; it was the abs light. then the gauges. then the hvac controls...then I stopped because it was freaking me out haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprman333 Posted May 14, 2010 Author Share Posted May 14, 2010 Mine is a 98. Everything else is still working besides the power steering. I still drives and the gauges still work. It weird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amp27 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 leakage? and why would a bad alternator cause this. the power steering works of the belts. the name power steering dont mean what most would consider power. it should be called assisted steering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 Fluid level is full? Any major leak that you can see around the power steering pump/reservoir. This is kind of a common problem to see a leak on our cars in this location. Is the pulley seized up? You would probably hear the belt squealing and smell burning rubber if this was the case. I don't know much about power steering but figured I would make sure you checked the basics first. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 yeah that's what doesn't make sense; the psteering is all off of belts. I know that code with a battery and brake means that there's a bad electrical issue somewhere, but it might be for more than one thing too. hmm...maybe the pump just went bad. it's happened before, but I'm not sure if when it goes bad if the pulley seizes or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amp27 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 idk, but these guy is not replying so... i am assuming he got the problem fixed or forgot how to log back on here. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprman333 Posted May 14, 2010 Author Share Posted May 14, 2010 I did not see any leaks but ill check the belts and stuff and let you guys know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amp27 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 ^wow^ just ate my word 10 minutes later haha. well checking the belts be sure to take it all the way off. then try turning the pump by hand. wait. can you even turn a working pump buy hand?? also check for bearing play in the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subikid90 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 Yes you should be able to turn the pump by hand. Remember only a belt spins the pulley using friction. -Subikid90 1997 Legacy GT 5spd & EJ251 w/EJ25D heads ~10.5CR 1998 Legacy GT Limited waiting for EJ22T hybrid swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amp27 Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 yes but those belt have more grip then you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 they're under a good amount of tension. what else could it be? if you know there's no power steering, those two dash lights are on...hmm...are you still driving it around places? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 It must be the belt. The belt runs around the power steering pump and the alternator. Without the alternator the battery is slowly running down causing the battery warning light to come on. Without the power steering the brake booster isn't working causing the brake warning light to come on. Everybody's first guess was most likely correct. This issue must be the belt for all three of these symptoms to have happened this close together. In your quest to fix this problem have you even tried popping the hood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 BTW the belt is about $12 and takes about 15 minutes for anyone with a pulse and a very simple set of metric tools to do. I'd replace it anyway just because. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 takes about 15 minutes for anyone with a pulse and a very simple set of metric tools to do. :lol: many people don't realize the simplicity behind it; for some reason I found that really really funny. but yes, now that Platinum brings it up, all those symptoms seem to relate back to a belt being out. I'll bet if you keep driving it, the rpms will drop and you'll start losing the abs and other stuff like I was talking about. check the belt, make sure it's spinning everything on that system, and get back to us with what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprman333 Posted May 15, 2010 Author Share Posted May 15, 2010 So is it ok if i drive it before replacing the belt. will it damage it at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz98gt Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 so you haven't driven it since you noticed power steering was out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bprman333 Posted May 15, 2010 Author Share Posted May 15, 2010 i drove it a little last night and it seemed fine except for the power steering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 If the belt fell off or broke you don't want to drive it. The brakes will be very squishy and non-responsive, and after prolonged trips the battery will run down causing the car to either die while driving, or not start in a parking lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT_Boxer Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Just had this same problem on my 2005 Legacy GT (~80,000 mi). Noticed yesterday that when I left work the powering steering seemed to be working intermittently when I first took off then worked fine. Left work tonight and had the same problem. I got about 20 miles down the road (luckily, almost home) and the Power Steering went out completely. Also noticed on the dash that the Brake Light and Battery Light had come on. Made it home and pulled into the garage and then noticed a burning smell. Popped the hood and found that I had a broken belt (part of it was still in the engine compartment)! Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailman Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I had a wonky alternator pulley that kept breaking belts, see if you can see what caused the break before spending money on more than one new belt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.