Fabia Electrical Help Needed

[Supergrass]

Hello, I wonder if anyone can help please? I have a W-Reg Fabia 1.9 SDi Classic. I was having problems with a discharging battery and so I had an auto-electrician check the vehicle over. He found that the blue "exciter" wire into the alternator was broken somewhere which means the alternator only kicks in when I rev the engine up quite highly before driving off. I put the car into Skoda but they said it would cost around £500 just to trace where the break was and then more labour to fix the wire and put it back together. So I had a go at finding the break myself but I can only trace this blue wire along the front of the car about half a metre then it disapears? Does anyone know where it goes or is there a wiring diagram for the Fabia available anywhere. To make matters worse I had a poke around behind the instrument cluster and I now seem to have broken another wire as my airbag warning light is constantly on? I think that blue wire ends up at the instrument cluster though? Does anyone know what each wire going into the instruemnt cluster is for as well? Many thanks for any help.

[Lummox]

The DFM wire (the blue one) goes from the alternator to the engine ECU and dash board.

I would put £20 of my own money on that connector on the front of the gearbox (held in a bracket) there is the fault. Jack the car up safely and remove the undertray. Have a look at the group of connectors in front of the gearbox. You will see the blue wire in there. And if im correct you will find the connector is corroded. You have a choice either replace the connector or just run a bridging wire around the plug and solder in.

Good luck and keep us updated.

(nice clear description of the fault btw, thats what we like!)

[Supergrass]

Lummox, thanks very much - I owe you £20.00! When I got under the car I could trace the blue and red alternator wires to a connector just at the gearbox. The blue wire had snapped off completely! I just bypassed the connector with another strip of wire and am back to normal now.

Only problem now is the airbag warning light. Does anyone know which fuse is the airbag fuse? I cut through a (I think) brown/orange wire behind the instrument cluster in error and I think this has set off the airbag warning light. Warning light comes on as normal, then goes off when the engine starts as normal but then it comes on again. I'll probably need Skoda to check eh?

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help. Much appreciated.

[cheezemonkhai]

Oops, Did you repair that wire?

You might want to get somebody with VAG COM near you to clear the warning, then see if it comes back.

Also IIRC on my Octy I when the battery went flat due to the garage using it's radio all day the light came on, and needed a trip to a dealer to get it reset.

[clv101]

I have a problem like this, the battery warning light is on, and the battery is only showing 12V with the engine on or off. I tried reving the engine high and it didn't change the voltage.

It's an 04 Fabia VRS.

[ScoobyChris]

Originally Posted by clv101

I have a problem like this, the battery warning light is on, and the battery is only showing 12V with the engine on or off. I tried reving the engine high and it didn't change the voltage.

Might just be a knackered battery - in the Fabia mine only lasted 4 years.

Chris

[clv101]

Does a knackered battery cause the battery like to show on the dash and stop the rear window heater working?

The car still started okay today. It's got to start once before, to drive to garage tomorrow.