Hey All,

I'm experiencing some issues with power steering gets hard after a couple minutes after driving. I've had it cut out mid corner (steering suddenly gets hard) which is quite scary. It will stay hard until I restart the car where it will become light again for a short time. Now I have the correct atf fluid and the reservoir is full, so I'm thinking it is an electrical issue as I believe the power steering has connections to the speed sensor (and potentially other power steering circuits). My speedometer hasn't worked for quite some time, which I assumed to be a cluster issue as its been broken for about a year now with no power steering problems.

What I did notice today is that the odometer and trip meter was also frozen. I did some experiments which I found that when initially re-starting the car the odometer works again until the steering gets hard in which it stops. Maybe this means the speed sensor is bad or the connections to it... Have any of you experienced a similar issue?

Thanks!

You've got it figured out. The speed sensor controls the variable rate at which the steering provides power assist. If your Odo isn't working, and is stopping about the same time as the steering gets tight, then I'd say you've found your problem.

Thanks Ace - I'll try the connections first could be that something is loose/corroded since its intermittent. Otherwise I'll fork out the dough for a new speed sensor.

You can also check the wires for short to ground or open connections. If you're already having electrical issues, that's an avenue I would consider.