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Nope. Just mjb complaining about his being too light Seems like they fail light? Don't know, apparently pulling the fuse should stop them being light but I can't actually find one in any of the diagrams I've got

Looking on Petrila it's run by the engine ecu (so no fuse then), pressure switch, er, somewhere, connection is to the pinion bit on the rack. Look at rack, find connector?

Ooops

My earlier thought was to look for motor/actuator/sensor on the rack to confirm or deny presence of variable power steering. Guess it won't be too easy to see but worth a punt.

Thanks - it might be a few days before I get a chance to get back into my garage so that I can get underneath for a look in relative comfort (it's too long to stay in the garage). Snow is its way up here........

I am very happy to report that my steering is almost back to normal - just needs a little more grease in the right spot - the steering column universal joints. The bottom one is easier to do by trickling the grease down the column. From underneath and from the top in the engine compartment it's a bit hit and miss.

So it wasn't the power steering pump after all but at least in replacing it I discovered that my drivebelt was stretched beyond re-use.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Good to hear you've found the answer.

Well done PeterN, go to the top of the class.

A postscript - the stiffness returned but this time I managed to lubricate the bottom joint more effectively from within the engine compartment by using a radiator paintbrush (long handle and angled head) soaked in cv joint grease. Simples!