Power steering issue and drained battery

[Victor91]

Hi,

I have a Toyota Aygo 2006 1.0 hatchback and one day when I turn the car on the P/S Red light went ON the dashboard and it was stiff to drive it. I left the car parked for 3 weeks and when I tried to drive it the Battery was totally flat, I tried using the cables to jump start but it didn't work at all. A mechanic changed the Battery and then the electric part was working once I turned the key but the ignition would not work, it kept "choking". I brought to the same mechanic and he said that there is an issue with the immobiliser as well but honestly idk. Does anyone want through the same issue??

[Vandals01]

Similar issue I would say. 

When car Battery is weak, it could create all sort of electronic problems, e.g:  Power Steering, Automatic transmission not engaging properly etc.  So the Battery could be already on is way out.  Leaving it for 3 weeks made the Battery deteriorate further.

When a battery is really flat, it takes a bit of charging before you can jump start a car.  (Unless you have a battery jumper pack that supplies 15~17 volts which overcomes the drain of BOTH charging the battery AND that power required to start the car.)  So if you use one of those Jump Leads, it may take 30+ minutes charging from another running car before you can turn it on. (From my experience anyway)

For the immobiliser, it is pretty common for OLD cars.  (More so with French car which is partly why French electronic fault is so famous.)  My 05 Renault Clio had the same problem, at the end, I brought an ECU / Body Module and Key set from eBay (£100).  Plug it in, the car starts straight away.  2 months later, the Ignition coil dies.  4 months later, more ECU related problem.  At that point, I had enough and just scrap the car.

In regards to the Aygo, it is not unheard of.  It may give you a B2799 fault code.   Solving this issue involves:

1. Tracing broken wires between the Ignition switch - Immobiliser Unit - ECU

2. Removing corrosion at electric connections.

3. Re-solder the immobiliser module.

In fact, a number of cars end up in scrap because solving electronic faults is such a pain in the butt.

Good luck.