Recently had a problem with my car my alternator sense wire snapped or one of them so I soldered them back together and it fixed the problem. Although it started happening again I scanned the car and it came back as steering assist short to b- fault code 01290. I resoldered the wire but still got the error. Last night it went for about 5 minutes. Then came back. Sometimes I have a problem with starting it up. It takes longer than usual. And I do have a battery sign on the dash before I turn the engine on. So I don't know what I can be. Anyone know?

Thanks Alex.

Just vagcom'd it and the steering angle is constantly at 0 degrees. :/

Unfortunately, I have no idea why you should get a steering fault code when you had a charging problem.

I'm not quite clear about what you mean when you say that the sensing lead to the alternator snapped OR ONE OF THEM? Do you have more than one wire going to the sensing terminal on the alternator?

It is a bit unusual for this lead to snap, did you ever investigate why it snapped?

It is important that there is no high resistance in this lead, so are you sure that your soldered joint is a good electrical connection and not a 'dry' joint?

The 'battery' sign should show when the ignition is switched 'on', and stay lit until the engine is running. The wire from the 'battery' sign terminates at the alternator through the wire that you have soldered.

If the light tends to stay 'on' when the engine is running, it would normally indicate that the alternator was not charging, but as you have had problems with this wire, it would pay to temporarily disconnect it from from the alternator, insulate the wire terminal and switch 'on' the ignition. If the light is still 'on', it is telling you that there is a short circuit in the wire somewhere between the light itself and the point where it connects to the alternator.

Does the power steering seem to be affected? if not, maybe there is no need to bother too much about the fault code.

Does the engine seem to turn over on the starter at normal speed? or is it just that the engine turns over for longer before it fires?

Sorry for all of the questions!

Regards.