Roofrack

Perhaps Skoda cars are used in less hospitable places than VWs, so need more electricity to keep going. I am thinking of cold, eastern european countries here. In the old days, when cars had weedy electrics, having your headlamps and heated rear window on in standing traffic was enough to kill the battery and cause a breakdown. Come to think of it, it still happens. take a look at any motorway jam. There will always be one or two on the hard shoulder (usually French or Italian in my experience).

Too many spiders can be detrimental to the health of your car. The extra weight can seriously affect fuel consumption, also, the spiders web gossamer is stronger and more electrically conductive than steel. If it gets near a wire it can short it out.

YES - The POLICE should always proscute - running out of fuel is completely avoidable. A broken down vehicle on the hard shoulder poses unnecessary risks to it's occupants, other motorists, the police and the recovery operators. Why should numpties be allowed to do this without some form of sanction? WRT to HATOs - Their reason for existing is to remove network management issues from the police. Their job is to keep the carriageways clear and free running - They are, as Jeremy Clarkson said, Wombles of the motorways (and coming to a trunk road near you soon). They do not have any investigative or enforcement powers. I doubt they will get anything like this in the foreseeable future.

Wibble.

If your car is registered in Germany, yes. If it is registered in the UK, no. If you want to know more about registration and licensing, read the link I posted earlier and it's amendments, of which there are quite a few. The law governing registration marks will be enforced with greater vigour in the future, so why put yourself in the frame with a dodgy plate?

Selective quoting of source documentation is always interesting, as the quotation usually, as in this case, omits other important information that undermines the argument. If you read the full Statutory Instrument (Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 561) there is plenty to go at before you get to part 1 of Schedule 2, which you have outlined. You will undoubtedly commit offences under character size and spacing, not to mention the inclusion of any stickers you may add to give it that essential 'German' look. The cops will concentrate on those issues before getting embroiled in the performance of retro-reflective backing, as they are easier to prove and only require a rule or tape measure to obtain the necessary evidence.

The number plate regs have been around for a long time. With increasing use of ANPR, enforcement will become more of the norm than has been to date. So, why attract attention to yourself by fitting illegal plates? They scream out 'Stop me - I am a twit' to any observant police officer.

Have a lookat this thread on the Felicia Forum; Felicia airbag light & voltage regulator - Common fault, easy fix.

Is the airbag warning light illuminated? If it is, your voltage regulator is worn out (70,000 miles or thereabout). As stated above, they are about £20 each and need the removal of two screws on the back of the alternator. Once you have done that, find a friendly Skoda garage or VW specialist. They can reset the airbag light and you are OK again.

Hi rachris, just go for it! Nip to your local Maplins (Domestic Tester with Protective Holster ) and buy a digital multimeter, they start at £5.99 - you may need a battery to power it. Then test the car battery as outlined above. If the reading is 13-14v, you just need the ECU fault code resetting. Any half decent VW/Audi/SEAT/Skoda garage should do it for not many pennies. It may cost a bit more if the regulator is goosed, but for an outlay of £6 to £30 you should get a car that is working properly and you will be confident with a prospective buyer. You will also be able to sleep peacefully at night, not worrying about an irate owner waiting to do despicable things to you!

Final update on the Airbag light and voltage regulator problem: My wife took the Felicia to the non-franchised VW Centre in Kendal. It was plugged into their computer and the fault was re-set in next to no time. The light is extinguished and 'normality' has returned. So, it's a big 'Thank you' to Briskoda, it's contributors, David Ian Skoda of Morecambe and the VW Centre, Kendal. All of whom provided part of the solution to the problem. FWIW, I was alarmed by the £600 invoice stories from some contributors. These prompted me to take immediate action, rather than ignore the problem or remove the light. A lesson well learned by me and, I hope, others who have the misfortune to suffer this problem. So, to recap; If the airbag warning light comes on, measure the voltage across the battery terminals at tickover. If it is around 17v or more, buy a new voltage regulator. If you have a 1300 cc engine, it should be about £23. Fitting is simplicity itself. Just undo two 'Phillips' style screw and unplug the wire. Extract the regulator from the back of the alternator and fit the new one. Connect the wire, start the engine and check the voltage across the battery terminals. It should be between 13 & 14 v. Then go to a VW/Skoda franchise or specialist and ask them to re-set the ECU fault code. That way you don't have to suffer a complete electrical disaster and have to buy hundreds of pounds worth of new kit. It really is a case of 'A stitch in time saves nine'

Hi SeaKayaker, Thanks for the tip on fault code reading. There is a friendly VW specialist in Kendal who will probably be able to do the necessary resetting. I will give him a ring tomorrow morning.

My Felicia recently suffered the ignominy of an illuminated airbag warning light. I have read the airbag light and voltage regulator sagas on the Forum. This morning I checked the voltage going into the battery, on tickover it was 17v. Bingo! I thought, and gaily trooped off to my local* Skoda dealer (*only a 70 mile round trip) in my wife's Fabia. I bought the voltage regulator (£23.00) , came home and fitted it. The voltage at the battery is now 13.88v, which is nice:) . But, despite this leap forward in voltage management, the damned warning light refuses to extinguish itself :( . The symptoms of the problem are also a tad confusing; when I turn the ignition key, all the idiot lights illuminate, then the airbag warning light goes off, for a second, then back on. When the engine is started, all the idiot lights go off except the airbag light. Does the ECU need to be interrogated? Or, is there something more sinister at work here? Your comments are welcomed.

Was that an electrically operated sunroof, or a manual one?

Simple, find the gearbox breather, block it up with blu-tack and go for a long drive. The gearbox oil will work its way up the speedo cable and lubricate it all very nicely. But, don't forget to unblock the breather hole before you get a boot full of oil QED