power steering failure

[saleas93]

have a a3 8p 2.0 tdi 2003/4. my batt died and as it was an old batt i decided to change it but ever since this i have had a fault with powersteering. turn on ignition beep beep beep red light power steering light comes on drive it for 10 20 min turns off and i have power steering again (YAY) . when i then turn the ignition off and back on within about half hour still works if i leave it for about an hour and start it up i get beep beep beep and it does not work again

first i thought it was my alarm running the batt flat but managed to stop the alarm going off and it is still happening.
i have read lots on this and most say need a new rack i cant afford a new rack and reprogram and how can this happen from just changing the batt.

i know it has been posted before but i cant belive it has gone faulty by changing the batt any help would be much appreciated.
this is my first car and have out alot of work into it and it still has a long way to go

thanks in advance

 

[fangio]

Usually puts itself right after a drive. Try turning full lock left to full lock right a couple of times (with the engine running of course!). Hold it at each side for a couple of seconds.

 

[saleas93]

i will give it ago tomorrow and let you know how it goes thanks .

 

[Artimus]

Have you checked to make sure there's enough fluid in the system or that it's not leaking under the car? put some cardboard down under the engine overnight and check for spots of red oil in the morning.

 

[saleas93]

i checked power steering fluid thats fine. i also tryed turning the wheel ful lock eachway holding it doing it in a variety of ways and no joy.
i started using the car more often,longer trips and it was taking almost no time at all for the steering to kick back in even staying on over night. i went away for the weekend drove about 2 hours there and left it unused for three days and when i went back to it the steering was still working nearly a week without the steering going off. affter getting home it was still on then i left it for 2 days without using it and the steering had gone again and is taking about 7 miles before turning on again.