Hi everyone, l have a strange problem with my 1998 306 1.4 petrol. It will start and tick over on the drive fine, but when l turn the steering wheel anti-clockwise, the fuel, temp, rev and speedo gauge needles all jump and flick. Some of the relays can be heard clicking, and it will start to misfire and eventually cut out. I've cleaned all the body earths, engine and battery earth. I've stripped the column to look for a rubbing wire. I've disconnected the indicator and wiper multiplugs. I've disconnected the airbag. Checked all the fuses with a multimeter, nothing makes any difference! Any help or advice would be very welcome! Thanks

its agood car

Something (most likely attached to the steering column) is pulling on the cables that run to the ignition switch .. and (maybe) simply resulting in a loose plug being pulled ..
.. you may have to dismantle the steering lock to get at it ..

Just a hunch but have you tried disconnecting the brake pad warning wires, l know they are technically not connected,but,weired faults sometimes require weired solutions.my reasoning is that the road wheel or steering control arm may be chafeing the wires somewhere in the engine bay.u seem to have covered averything else.

Your 1998 306 is a phase two model with 30 fuses in the fusebox. More complicated than the phase one, with 13 fuses.
l have the complete wiring diagrams at home. but now l am on vacation. l will look closely to see which wires can affect something in the steering column, & the spark plugs which u say 'misfire'.
By then, it will be too late to respond here, & u do not allow emails.
l will leave a 'comment' here in late October.

You said u disconnected the directional turn indicator multiplug?
My first guess was a faulty left turn switch, causing a short circuit, then affecting one of the main lines to the fuse box. These 12 volt lines r called A, B, C..G on a schematic. Try to find a 306, phase two schematic, & see the colour of the major wires to the fuses, not after the fuses.

Even though u disconnected the indicator switch, the problem is occuring before electricity reaches there.

My SECOND thought was..your ignition key switch. When u turn the key to position one, the fuel guage works, the teperature guage shows a cold engine (unless it is already warm). There may be a short in the 6 ? heavy wires leading to the ignition, more likely inside the ignition barrel in the steering column.

LATER: l just read the answer suggesting u replace ur ignition coil. This is certainly worth a try, if that person has seen & remedied the same problem before! It is a replacement u can do yourself in the driveway.

it needs to go to an auto-electric garage, they can tell from the code that comes up on there equipment exactly wot the problem is.. cost £30-40 but you will know whats causing it. sorry Peugeots and Renaults are terrible for electrical faults

Maybe something to do with the power steering???

The electrical problems you describe are probably caused by a voltage Spike from the Ignition Coil which is a common fault on the 1.4 engines, it will need to be replaced.
If you have a sagem coil then replace it for an electrifil unit especially if your car runs a Sagem sl96 management system as Sagem coils are rubbish and cause all sorts of electrical problems such as you describe.

there is an earth strap from the gear box to the body its broken.pull it the end will be frayed nr the gear box end.. get a universal one from a motoring store and away you go

Welcome to hell -- Peugeot electrical hell, that is. Since the demise of MG and Lucas Electrics, Peugeot has stepped up to be the number one vehicle make most plagued by electrical demons. You may NEVER get it sorted out completely.