Hi,

Have a MK3 TDCI Mondeo and it has been noted by the other half (she drives it) that she feels like its holding back a bit and that the steering is heavy. I randomly checked the battery voltage last week for another issue and it was over 14 when idle and 11.9 when off. Is there any chance that a battery can cause poor performance and heavy steering?

Thanks in advance.

 

No, it's hydraulic power steering?

But yes the power is a low, you want to see 12V+.

Martin

 

Thanks Marty. Would the battery have any effect on the cars performance?

 

im not an expert but i say not much really. your mainly running on alternator generated power on the move. if you had issues your battery light would at least flicker i would assume.
i think its nothing to do with battery.

 

Not really, if you had low power the electronics may be affected, as the ECU used voltage to perform computations, but then if this were the case you would notice it elsewhere.

When running all power comes from the alternator and it also charges the battery.

As I say that voltage suggests the battery may be past it's best, only other thing is, I expect you measured this as soon as you switched the car off? It's worth waiting say 30 minutes, reason being the computers draw power and after such time they go into "sleep" mode.

Back to the steering, are your tyre pressures correct, drive belt tight etc?

Martin

 

Im not 100% sure but my other car(VW golf) needed a new battery & when it was put on,the difference was noticeable for some strange reason.The car felt more responsive also.I know the alternator should be powering everything once car's running but for some weird reason the new battery did make a difference.SOMEHOW?!