AndyPandy

I always use a good quality DC current reading clampmeter for this situation.(It doesn't have to be a Fluke,which are very much overpriced!). The advantage is that no cables need to be disconnected when looking for leaking current, and fuses can be pulled to notice any changes.With a lowest range 0 to 100mA full scale low currents can be read. Also a clampmeter can be clamped on most small cables when needed.

Try using a magnetic telescopic reach tool

I would think the black plastic pegs on the contacts fit into the rear of the knob.The 4 non movable contact pads on the square black plastic part are the out connections to the wiring. THe large silver contact pad in the black plastic part is therefore connected by the contacts (which in your case have fallen out) to the 4 contacts in turn depending on the switch position. This switch would be known as a 1 pole 4-way out switch.

They are the switch contacts for the fan speed switch.They both need puting back into the rear of the knob.Then the knob should carefully put back into the middle position where it came from.

The melted plug and socket shows signs of poor connections. It is not always a sign of excessive current flowing through that circuit. When the metal contacts in a plug and socket become tarnished and loose some of there tention a resistance is present across the area where the male part of the plug is pushed into the female socket. Because of this the plug and socket pins heat up which in turn melts the plastic. In an ideal world all of us would pull the plug and socket apart ,and reconnect every so often.

Try changing the steering sensor which is mounted on the steering rack lower end.The other end of the cable has a plug,and fits into the top of the power steering pump. I have had to replace my steering pump ,then the sensor about 5 years later on my 20 year old Fabia.

You mean resistance of the cable,impedance relates to Alternating Current,Resistance relates to Direct Current.Because the cable you mention is a large copper core,the only way to measure its resistance would need a special instrument, using a multimeter would not show any meaningful value.Puting it simply the multimeter leads have a much higher resistance than the cable you are trying to measure. THe actual cable will not be faulty because of the amount of copper conducter used.The end connections as 'Wino' mentioned are where faults are possible. Possibly putting the multimeter leads on both ends of the cable,setting the multimeter on the low end of the DC voltage range.Then starting the car will give a reading,and comparing this reading to another car would be useful.

Inside the original Fabia aerial is a small printed circuit with various components to amplify the signal.The power for this amplifier is supplied from the radio up the same inner cable that carries the signal from the amplifier to the radio. The voltage is not measurable,but can be seen on a oscilloscope as a trace. My car is also 20 years old. When faulty the radio becomes less sensitive to find stations,and a lot of noise when the engine is running. Moisture gets onto the printed circuit shorting out the signal etc.I estimate I have changed the aerial base 5 times !. My setup is an original fabia radio,and original cable and aerial. If you have a booster fitted and different radio your problems are not the same. A booster has a 12 volt +ve supply normally on a blue cable. I am not sure if you are using the original Fabia aerial or not? Be careful buying replacement aerial bases,some do not have an amplifier fitted.I have attached a photo of the inside a faulty aerial base showing corrosion.Hope this helps you

I don't know why I bothered answering your post! Your reply to me was rude. A simple question like 'Do Fabia front speakers Mk 1 fit a Fabia Mk 2?' would have been sufficient. You did'nt need to include how much you know (or don't know) about speaker construction which nobody want's to know on this site!. I answer few posts on this site because of this.

It is a very difficult decision. Say the older car belonged to a retired next door neighbour who always had it serviced ,and repairs done,and the newer car was an ex taxi .Then it isnt hard to make a decision. I bought my Fabia 1.9 sdi in 1982 when it was 2 years old from a private seller,it had done 25263 miles. The only things that have been done to it other than tyres are both front wheel bearings.Both front springs. Front antiroll bar. Power steering motor and sensor.Two tailgate struts.Front bake discs and pads Rear Drum,Brake shoes and hand brake cables.and Four new batteries. The car has now done about 54,000 miles. The car has not been used much,because I used to ride a motorcycle to work,and have been retired nearly 21 years. I would say the most important thing in buying a car is how it looks overall,and its history. I would suggest buying a high mileage car could be a problem because you need to remember every moving part on the car has done this mileage.

.A few years ago I had to replace my antiroll bar. Replacement later antiroll bars are fitted with two fixed metal collars to keep it located in its correct place

Any make of speaker will fit as long as it is the same total diameter (no Lugs),The same impedance (4 ohm), and the total depth is no more than about 45mm. Any deeper it will foul the winder mechanism,and the door card will not fit flush to the door surround. No speakers are reconed nowadays except high end ones like those fitted in a Vox 30 Guitar amplifier,because no originals exist.

A 90ahr Alternator will give maximum of 90 amps when the engine speed is above 3000rpm.If the battery is fully charged it will not take any current. So two 100watt spotlights will need 2 x 8.5 =17 amps.So there should not be a problem,BUT if the engine has just been started, battery will take about 50 amps.If other high current items are switched on especially in cold weather, like rear screen heater about 10 amps,heater fan on high say 5 amps,and headlights on full say 10 amps.making a total of about 75 amps will be required. Once the battery is charged up (about 30 minutes driving) will leave about 30 amps available which will allow your 100w spotlights to be used, leaving about 13 amps for other ancillaries like the radio and wipers.

Wino is quite right,most automatic chargers cut out before the battery is fully charged. Sometimes you can't beat a non electronic charger.That is one which has a transformer to lower the mains voltage to about 16 to 20v ,which is then rectified to change AC voltage (and Current) to DC. The battery is directly connected to the rectifier output.Even better if it has an ammeter to show the charging current at any time. Also it has been said many times before really cold weather sorts the good and the bad batteries out. It is no good saying it reads 12-14volts when measured with a multimeter which takes a very very small amount of current.Try leaving the meter connected when turning the starter over (300 to 600 ammps load).You will be in for a shock it will read about 9v if the battery is OK,and next to nothing with a faulty battery.

Be very careful when buying a secondand item.Mk 1 cars normally have had a lot of door opening and closing.This can cause wear on the plastic cam which engages with the microswitch.Before fitting a S/H one make sure the microswitch is operating in both positions correctly by using a multimeter on the ohms range. I bought a S/H one on Ebay.which looked OK on first sight. But it had a worn cam,so I got a refund. The locks are quite involved to remove and fit. On my car the lock barrel had corrosion which made it hard to remove,and you cannot get the whole lock out without removing the barrel.