Power steering drains power from the headlights!

[woojah]

Hope you all can help me out on this one.

I was parking the car tonight and noticed that whenever I turned the steering wheel, the headlights would dim slightly. It doesn't dim by much, but it's defintely noticeable. I quickly figured that it must be the electric power steering 'stealing' power from the headlights.

My question is: is this normal? If not, it will be straight to the dealers for them to look at (I've only had the car for a couple of weeks).

It seems really strange for this to happen - a poor design fault maybe?

PS I have an Ibiza DAB.

 

[Fl@pper]

pretty normal usually just the drag from the power steering pump pulling a bit on the alternator in turn lowering the battery amps and dims the lights a tad - especially when parking or on tickover


try to replicate and then use a few more revs to see if it cures it is usually a key to checking what that is

pretty normal considering some small cars with small engines trying to run all the toys and standardish batteries

 

[Nath.]

yup, quite normal for the voltage in the battery to drop when a sizable motor is driven

you will get the same thing with the electric windows, especially if you press up when they are already fully up

also the same if you put the heater fan of full or the rear heated screen, both of these devices draw a fair bit of current

and it's not just the ibiza, I have seen this on countless cars

 

[woojah]

Thanks

Thanks for the reassuring replies. I've never noticed it in other cars before, but now that you've told me I'm sure I forever will!

Flapper - coincidentally I live in Cheltenham too. Small world huh?

 

[Nathanio]

Happens with leccy windows if you have them too. Noticed it recently before HID change but can't really see it now

 

[Fl@pper]

Flapper - coincidentally I live in Cheltenham too. Small world huh?

cool - whereabouts - theres a few others round here and closeish as well mind too

 

[gazjones]

happens with a sub as well, mine pulse to my music some times lol but anything electric will draw amps away from the lights!

 

[simon34]

Had noticed this on mine too it is quite normal though it does seem worse on the ibiza than any other car ive owned.

 

[muddyboots]

Mine did it too, very noticeable when parking.

The upside of electric power steering is that it's only sapping power when you're actually steering, the engine isn't driving a hydraulic pump all the time like "traditional" PAS, all helps contribute to economy...

 

[Nath.]

thats a good point, same as the electric cooling fan on the rad

 

[woojah]

cool - whereabouts - theres a few others round here and closeish as well mind too

Just outside town, towards the station. Where abouts are you?

I went to test drive the Ibiza at Amethyst SEAT over here. They didn't seem keen to move on the list price and offered a pathetic part-ex price for my car, so I took my business elsewhere!

 

[davels]

mine doesn't do it as much on the derv as it did on my petrol, don't know why? maybe a steadier idling RPM

 

[Nath.]

diesels have a heavy duty battery and alternator cos of the load from starting the higher compression engine

 

[davels]

yeah thats what i meant

 

[rashcupra]

diesel have up to 24v where as petrol cars have 12v

 

[dasmith83]

diesel have up to 24v where as petrol cars have 12v

Up to 24v!! Really?? Could this possibly be the reason why the led sidelights people keep fitting stop working? cos they will have resistors in them matched to a 12v supply

 

[rashcupra]

if it doesnt state on the led packaging that it handles 12v-24v then this could definatly be your problem! specially when car isnt started and led's are turned on with all 24v going thro them!

 

[Fl@pper]

Just outside town, towards the station. Where abouts are you?

throw a stone from GCHQ in the same direction and you wont be far off my place


24v diesel ?

 

[stoneyfordNI]

hmm was just thinking that fella , 24V my ar*e , aka jim royal ,
its down to higher AH battery and better alternator

 

[rashcupra]

only stated !some! diesels run on a higher voltage battery more trucks and stuff! at work we have to use two battery jump packs to get a some dead diesel batterys moving as takes more power to crank the engine over hense why there is a bigger alternator as the charge demand of a more powerful battery is much higher! i learnt this when i tryed to jump my petrol engine off my old mans diesel the amont of sparks from my12v battery when i connected the possitive! and no i didnt put them on the wrong way round but majority of cars have 12v batterys fitted. but you can get 24v car batterys