No Power Steering after Battery Replacement

There is a GM corporate support person that monitors this forum. You can send them a PM with your name, contact info and VIN, and they will work with your dealer to resolve this issue.

GM Customer Care I believe is the handle. The search bar is near the upper right part of the page.

Model year- current mileage- and, what happened at the dealer that prevented repair?

Rob

2011, 102,800 miles

They performed the negative battery cable recall in hopes that it would fix the issue. When they found out that it didn't solve it, they called me and said that they were done and it was ready to be picked up. I went to leave with my car from the dealership and saw upon start up that I still didn't have power steering. So I went back inside and told the service manager about it and his reply was "well it must be something else then. We didn't look into it any further. Next time we can get you in is next thursday." And this was on the previous Tuesday.

Question - was the power steering working before the battery replacement? If yes then I'd say the dealership needs to fix it on their dime since they broke it.

Let's start with the basics. The power steering in the Cruze is electrical. Check the underhood fuse box and see if the fuse is blown. It should be easy to find - it's an 80 Amp fuse. Over time, fuses cope with a lot of stress and can open up just from fatigue. Don't just visually examine it, it might have a hairline crack. Either check it with a meter or just replace it. It should be cheap.

If the power steering is suffering from a malfunction, there should be a code. It may not light the service light, but hopefully the parts store code reader can pick it up.

It was working before the new battery, but I changed the battery myself. I visually checked the fuses but I can try replacing it anyway. Which fuse would it be?

BReyReal said:

Which fuse would it be?

Click to expand...

Hmmmm, I thought it would be in the fuse block - apparently not. It might be a fuseable link. I'm not in front of my manuals right now and won't be for nearly a day. But I'd suggest inspecting all the cables that connect to the battery cable and would have been "jostled" as part of changing out the battery. Especially anything headed for the power steering rack. Since it's fused at 80A, it should be pretty good sized.

Check the connections to the fuse block on top of the positive battery terminal. Something may have gotten loose. Did you loosen and remove the wire block on top of the positive post to remove the battery?

Or did you just loosen the bolt on the positive battery terminal and slide the old battery out from under the connections. I highly doubt something as big as 80 amp will be in a fuse box. It's probably one of those large wires on the positive battery block above the terminal.

I did undo the the bolts on top of the positive side. Everything is tight though. That was my initial thought too.

Ok, the fuse is in that block that sits on TOP of the battery. If you open up the entire block (and not just the battery section), you'll see it. It's the chunk of metal with a "3" on it. But I'd follow that metal over the side and make sure it's got a good connection to the wire. Because it sure looks like it would be easy to pull loose. It looks impossible to change the battery without moving that fuse block and pulling on where the wire meets the fuse.

Chevyguy-

Great description of the area. This is what I was posting about earlier. The OP mentions that he did have this disconnected, but has checked it. Or that was my understanding.

After loosening the snaps that hold this entire electrical block to the battery, the factory battery can be slid forward in the battery tray, and tipped out of the compartment.

You need a thin screwdriver to release clips on both sides of that large fuse block. Once loosened from the battery there is about 1/4" gap on top to slide the battery forward. Remove the battery top support, and lift the end support in the front out of the tray.

If you go to one of the larger diesel battery's and fill the tray, I don't know if this trick works. The factory battery comes up and out at a slight angle.. Not great but works. Removal of the wires at the top of that fuse block would be better, but I was scared to remove those bolts..

BReyReal said:

It's now been 3 weeks and I still don't know what is wrong with my car. After no help from my dealership and a complaint made to corporate about them, my power steering is still not working after my battery died and I replaced it with a new one. My local mechanic said that it sounds like it needs relearned, but doesn't have the GM equipment for it. Does this sound like what my problem is? Everything else is fine except no power steering. I've unhooked the battery numerous times to see if it would relearn itself and nothing.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Check the 100A plug (Power steering) and its leading wire on the battery distribution fuse box that sits on the positive post. These cables are fairly tight and so when you disconnect they can come loose from the clip that holds them into place.
mid it comes loose or disconnects you will not have power steering after changing the battery.