Common "issues" and solutions with Felicia/Favorit based vehicles

[Tech1e]

Felicia and Favorit front damper failure.

In short the damper as fitted to the front and the rear of the Felicia (as many others) is made of two essential parts. A damper body and a spring platform or 'cup'. This platform which is attatched to the damper body usually by means of a weld is together with the top mount responsible for retaining the spring in place. What has been known to happen on the Skoda Felica is the weld that secures this platform or even the platform itself corrodes away meaing the spring is then released and the vehicle ride height will drop dramitcally at that corner.

The dampers of course are checked on service and as part of the MOT, but it may be wise to keep an eye on them and replace any dampers that are corroded as a precaution .

Thanks for reading.

[auroan]

Please add all your "issues" and solutions to common problems regarding the Felicia and Favorit based skodas.

This sticky is non discussion based and any conversations will be removed/moderated. Also issues without solutions will be removed as well. (tom )

Edited 11 November, 2009 by auroan

[TeflonTom]

coolant temperature sensor.

common problem is coolant temperature sensor failing, sometimes manifests itself as making the car difficult to start when it's hot (especially on diesels), also may cause an erratic temperature guage. sensor can be removed by squeezing the spring clip to take off the plug, pull out a plastic retaining clip, then lever out the sensor with an old screwdriver or similar. you will loose some coolant in this process so be careful that you dont get scalded by hot coolant too. it is worth replacing the rubber o-ring at the same time and this is normally supplied with the sensor. essentially all it is pair of thermistors (resistor which is sensitive to heat) housed in the same unit, one part is for the temp guage, and the other is for the ecu

sensor location 1.6 petrol engine

sensor location 1.3 spi engine... thanks to philje123 for this picture

sensor location 1.9 diesel engine... thanks to AndyIoW for this picture

pin-out (1.6 petrol)

1. goes to ecu (pin 42)

2. goes to dash loom for temperature guage in insrument cluster

3. earth for ecu sensor

4. earth for guage sensor

pin-out (1.9 diesel)

1. earth for ecu sensor

2. earth for guage

3. to ecu pin 3

4. to temperature guage

pin-out (1.3 spi and 1.3 mpi)

1. earth for ecu sensor

2. earth for guage sensor

3. to ecu (pin 53 on mpi, pin 42 via air temp sensor on spi)

4. to temp guage

if you have access to a multimeter, typically you should get around 300 ohms across the sensor when the engine is at normal operating temperature. and approx 4k ohms when cold...

if anybody has a pic of the location of the sensors on the others i'll add them on

Edited 20 January, 2011 by TeflonTom

[TeflonTom]

Alternator voltage Regulator - 1.6 petrol engine

alternator voltage regulator, it's fairy common for the voltage regulator to fail on a felicia, it normally causes he battery to over/under charge and some people have reported that it causes the smell of rotten eggs inside the car where is it over charging the battery. other symtoms could be head lights getting brighter when the engine is revved, or radio cuts out when revving engine. i wont go too deeply into removing the alternator from the engine as it is just 2 bolts that hold it on... the centre brushes in the regulator are spring loaded and they kind of self-adjust, it is often not these that cause a failure, it's normally a diode that breaks down inside

1.6 aee engine, remove 3 screws and carefully prize the plastic retaining clips out and remove black plastic cover

voltage regulator is held on by a further 2 philips screws

be carefull not to break off the spring loaded terminal arrowed, also it sometimes needs adjusting so that it correctly mates with the contact on the voltage regulator... if by chance it does snap off i believe i cannot be renewed and the whole alternator is scrap

[Zeemon]

Wet footwells / under dash area

Often caused by water getting in through the windscreen seal.

Use lots of sealant and have a riot squirting it into every nook and cranny you can with the windscreen out.

There are also a few holes in the firewall / bulkhead (where the wiper motor and whatnot lives) that could let water in from the engine bay, fill these with silicon (bathroom) sealant. That should solve it.

(I've had my windscreen out and resealed 3 times to learn this... so you don't have to! )

Edited 15 July, 2010 by Zeemon

[myjalopy]

REPLACING IGNITION SWITCH

Recently had the problem of the car not starting unless I wiggled the key about or bump started it. Turned out to be a failed ignition switch.

It is possible to bypass this problem with a seperate push button start, but for £10 it can be fixed properly.

No need for pictures, it is all quite easy. Total time to do - 90 minutes. In the dark with only a small light.

1) Remove the bottom from the steering column shroud. This should be held by 1 x screw and will slide backwards and off once this screw is removed.

2) Prise out the plastic disc around the ignition barrel on the dash.

3) Disconnect any wires that may be pulled during the moving of the steering column. Usually 2 x brown wires, stalk block and the airbag wire. (The airbag wire has a large connector near the back of the steering wheel and is covered by a plastic lattice sleeve. If you can get away without disconnecting the airbag wire, don't do it. It will put the airbag into fault mode and will need to be cleared using specialist VAG equipment.)

4) Now there are 4 x bolts that need to be removed in order to move the steering column. 2 are located by the wheel and 2 further down the column. Undo the furthest 2 first and recover the washers and plastic spacer. Make sure you know which way round they are assembled. There will be a1 x bolt, 1 x spring washer, 1 x large washer, 1 x machined metal insert and 1 x plastic spacer on each side of the column.

5) Then loosen the upper 2 bolts. Make sure the column is supported when you remove them, again remembering how they were assembled if they come apart. There will be 1 x bolt, 1x spring washer, 1 x washer, 1 x rubber bush on each side of the column.

6) Now you will be able to drop the column away from it's position. Remove the upper shroud. You will need to manipulate the column a bit in order to get the ignition barrel to slide out from behind the dash.

7) The ignition switch is located on the back of the barrel assembly. In order to remove it you only have to remove 2 x very small grub screws. These are located on either side of the switch assembly at 180 degrees to eachother. They can be fiddly and easy to lose, so go careful.

8) Now you can simply pull the switch out from the barrel, with the wires in place to aid reconnecting them to the new switch.

9) Swap the wires over from the old switch to the new. Slide the new switch back into the barrel, making sure that the 2 x small holes in the barrel casing line up with the 2 x small holes in the switch casing. If this is correctly done, the key slot in the switch casing will line up with the keyway of the barrel casing and you will then be able to secure the switch with the 2 x grub screws.

10) Refitting is, as they say, the reverse of removal, but remember to fit the upper shroud before refitting the column. It may be a four handed affair when replacing the column bolts, remember to put the plastic spacers for the 2 x lower bolts between the lugs on the column and the bodywork. Connect all wire/stalks. Refit the bottom shroud, sliding it forward from the footwell, making sure the rubber stalk surrounds are properly loctated in the shroud slots and secure with the 1 x scew.

[Violet]

Had a look at the wet footwell thing, couldn't find anything that would suspect leaking into the car on the bulkhead ... I did seal the windscreen (which did continually 'seep' out water when I pressed hard on it) and those two holes in between the wipers.

[Ghia]

Sunroof leak and fix... atleast it worked on my 1998 Skoda Felicia Est.

I found shortly after buying my Skoda Est that the sunroof was leaking. Not just leaking but pooring through!

But... it wasn't leaking from the glass TO frame seal. It was leaking from the Sunroof frame TO metal roof.

To fix means a couple of hours, a good set of tools and some windscreen sealant... i.e. the stuff that is horrible to work with!

Remove the sunroof glass, interior trim and you'll find that the frame is held in place by many M5 philips headed bolts. Some of them will be happy to come out, some will not.

If yours is anything like mine, you'll need a pencil blow torch and a drill with a 4-5mm drill bit and some WD40.

First get the hump housing (obvious when you look at it - this is the outside of the area which the bolts screw into individually) hot with your pencil blow torch. If this doesn't release the bolt then move onto the next bit...

I ended up having to drill into the section just above where the bolts were in order to get some WD40 in from above (drill at around 90o to the bolt) and then work the bolt until it comes undone.

I managed to get all of mine out but it took a while.

Next clean up the roof where the original sealant was and the frame. It won't seal unless everything is clean and dry.

Now put some gloves on and put anything that you don't want black goop attached to forever a long way away or cover it up!

Apply a bead of windscreen sealant on the inside of the frame and bolt it all back together.

The ideal is to have the sealant squeezing out around the frame (not too much) as you tighten it up.

This stuff goes off in any weather so long as it's dry.

I've had a leak free Skoda ever since.

MG

[Ben99Felicia]

Throttle body on 1.3mpi engine gets a build up of carbon and oil over time the symptoms are

• Hard to start when hot
  
• Hard to start when cold
  
• Erratic idle/hunting
  
• Stalling
  

Cleaning the throttle body only doesn't solve the problem, the ECU also needs to be reset to eliminate the problem

To properly clean the Throttle body it is necessary to remove it from the inlet manifold, this is simple.

1. Release the air filter cover clips
   
2. Remove the three allen bolts from the throttle body top cover
   
3. Unclip the charcoal canister hose from the tb cover
   
4. Unclip the wiring at the back of the cover
   
5. Unhook the vacuum hose from under the cover
   
6. Pull the large diameter hose off the rocker cover
   
7. Remove the tb cover along with the air filter cover
   
8. Disconnect the accelerator cabe from the tb by twisting the tb open and pulling the inner cable sideways and detaching the cable end
   
9. Unplug the wiring connector from the tb position sensor
   
10. Disconnect the vacuum hose and charcoal canister hose from the tb
    
11. Remove the four star bolts from the tb and remove the tb
    
12. Discard the gasket a new one cost £1.80 from Skoda (Feb 2012)
    
13. Using plenty of carb cleaner and a cloth remove all oil and carbon
    
14. Twist the tb open and clean the edges of the round valve, carbon builds up on its edge.
    
15. After making sure the tb is spotless put it back together again using 10nm on the star bolts
    
16. Using Vag-com a laptop and odb cable reset the tb by using measuring block 098 in the engine section of the program and entering basic mode. You should hear the tb whirring as it resets exit basic mode and Bobs your mothers brother
    

Hopefully I've remembered everything :-)

[TeflonTom]

[*]Using Vag-com a laptop and odb cable reset the tb by using measuring block 098 in the engine section of the program and entering basic mode. You should hear the tb whirring as it resets exit basic mode and Bobs your mothers brother

Thanks for that useful post ben99felicia.. I thought I'd just add to that, it's only group 98 on cars which have a Bosch motronic ecu, the cars which have the siemens simos (1.3mpi) and magnetti marelli ( 1.6) ecus use group 01 in the basic settings for the throttle alignment... There are certain pre requisites that must be bet in vag-com/vcds before you can perform the throttle alignment reset, like no fault codes being present, and a few others which I can't remember off the top of my head

[Ben99Felicia]

The strange thing is my mpi wouldn't reset with 01 it did reset with 098 and it uses a Simos so its not just the Bosch ecus. I can't remember the message when I used 01 I'll have a look tomorrow.

Quite right about fault codes though, those have to be cleared and ignition switch off and back on again.

• No DTC's in the Engine Controller (fault codes)
  
• Battery voltage at least 11.5 V
  
• Throttle must be at idling position (keep your foot off the gas pedal)
  
• Throttle body part must not be dirty (carbonized).
  
• Coolant temperature must be between 5 and 95C
  
• If fault codes were cleared cycle the ignition off and back on prior to running Basic Settings.
  

Also

• On vehicles that use Cable-Throttle systems, an over adjusted (or sticky) throttle cable can cause the TBA to fail, or symptoms like no CCS (Cruise Control System) operation.
  
• On vehicles that use Cable-Throttle systems the idle may be erratic after the TB has been removed and cleaned, even after a successful TBA. It may be necessary to drive the vehicle normally for a while until the system has re-adapted.
  

All the info is on Ross Tech's web site

Cheers TeflonTom

[Silver Bullet]

Thermostat housing 1600cc model, they are prone to breaking internally

I bought the following new parts and fitted them yesterday :-

Coolant Thermostat.........032 121 110 B

Round Seal......................032 121 119 H

Thermostat Cover............032 121 121 J

Refilled with anti-freeze/water took the car for a short drive, result!!!. One thing I noticed it always used to run with temp gauge needle on the 3/4 mark (just below the hot section). Now it runs with the needle mid-way on the gauge. Below are a couple of pics of the old thermostat housing. You can see the thermostat pin has broken through the plastic rib pin recess and punched out a piece of plastic. Thus, with no surface for the end of the pin to react against, the thermostat held itself closed regardless of water temperature.

After taking it for a warm-up run I was checking the hose temperatures and rad' (while the engine was running), with a infra red thermometer, the fan suddenly kicked in. At that time the rad' top hose temp was about 75deg C.

It certainly runs a lot cooler now so I guess the stat had been gradually failing for quite a while.

[jackmx131]

Rear tailgate brake light fails, on the felicia fun check wiring between tailgate and body as wires break there.

[juan27]

Probably worth adding the 1600 plastic thermostat housing here. There a rib across the housing internally with a recess where the thermostat pin sits and acts against. The pin can break through this causing the thermostat to effectively stay closed. This of course leads to overheating...

More info here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/251708-felicia-1600-glxi-overheated/page__hl__%2Bthermostat+%2Bfelicia

[juan27]

Probably worth adding the 1600 plastic thermostat housing here. There a rib across the housing internally with a recess where the thermostat pin sits and acts against. The pin can break through this causing the thermostat to effectively stay closed. This of course leads to overheating...

More info here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/251708-felicia-1600-glxi-overheated/page__hl__%2Bthermostat+%2Bfelicia

 

And of course the facelift model 1300 plastic thermostat housing which has plastic clips internally that fail causing the thermostat to fail open. This will lead to the car taking an age to warm up. Whilst the car will go on running without a thermostat it will have an adverse effect on fuel economy and the heater/demister will take a long time to work.

[Marios]

I have a Skoda Forman 1994 and the safe starter intermittently (not always) turns the engine slowly. 
I have been to various technicians here and no one seems to actually find out what the problem is.   

 

can you help?

[Sansen]

Fan Seizes and then blows a fuse. I do a lot of motorway miles so the fan hardly ever comes on. Eventually all the salt and other rubbish on our roads get into the bearing and seizes the motor. I chose to get one from a scrap yard for £25 (Sept 2014) and replace it. Be warned that there are 4 bolts securing the fan to the radiator. I strongl;y recommend soaking these in penetrating oil - plus gas or similar NOT WD40 - for at least 24 hours. They are exposed to the elements and round off very easily :-(

 

Phil

[mercedes124]

Hi, Iv'e got a problem with my fuel pump fuse blowing all the time on my 1600 Felicia Pick up, I have had a look at all the obvious places including by-passing the fuse box and trying the fuel pump which worked perfectly without any issues, but when I put everything back together it blows the fuse again. Iv'e put a new fuse back in and turned on the ignition,all is fine but as soon as I tried to turn the engine over the fuse popped straight away.Has anyone got any ideas what the problem could be. Any help would be appreciated       

[RicardoM]

Typical cooling system failures

1. The engine does not reach a temperature of approx. 90 C

• faulty thermostat - the bracket cracks causing a large circulation permanently. The engine temperature then stays at approx. 70 C. Third party thermostats are often leaky and fail rapidly. Check if the thermostat is good by starting the engine and letting the temperature reach 70 C then touch the upper radiator hose near thermostat. If it is warm the thermostat is leaky and has to be replaced. The thermostat has to open at 85-90 degrees.
• faulty coolant temperature sensor. Check can be made by comparing the values indicated by the temperature gauge with the values read with VAG-COM or by starting the engine and waiting until the radiator fan switches on (usually at approx. 95 C). If the fan switches on at let's say 80 C, the sensor sends wrong values and needs to be replaced. Third party sensors are generally not accurate so it's worth buying an original sensor.
• faulty temperature gauge - very rare

Note: driving with less coolant is not indicated. If the level is too low, the temperature sensor may not pick up correct values.

2. The engine is overheating

• faulty thermostat - jammed in the closed position or damaged housing worn in the middle where the shaft of the thermostat butts (the latter is quite often in 1.6 AEE engines). This failure is causing the big cooling circuit to not open and the engine to overheat. Sometimes a partial blockage of the thermostat is manifested by engine overheating when driving at higher speeds (the temperature increasing significantly with speed). In this case, you must replace the thermostat.
• water instead of coolant.
• the radiator fan not working - damaged radiator fan switch, fan motor (rare defect), fuse. The fan not operating can have other cause through which the heated liquid does not go to the radiator (jammed thermostat, zapowietrzony układ, clogged radiator, damaged head gasket)
• damaged expansion tank cap - cooling system has to work at the appropriate pressure. A damaged cap causes a pressure escape or a pressure too high. If the cap does not release the pressure, the coolant begins to boil.
• clogged cooling system (most often the radiator) - the thermostat opens properly, the radiator is cold and engine temperature is rising. Diagnosis is best done by removing the thermostat to exclude its possible failure as cause. If the radiator will not heat up. it is probably clogged. Clogging the radiator is usually accompanied by high pressure at the opening of the thermostat temperatures and higher. A similar symptom gives a damaged head gasket.
• damaged head gasket - This damage is usually accompanied by loss of coolant, white smoke, a significant increase in the pressure in the cooling system, the lack of heating the interior, bleeding system. Damage can be confirmed or ruled out with special hardware to detect CO2 in liquid or homemade: fire up a cold engine, let it run for about a minute, turn it off, check the condition of rubber hoses (should be soft) and unscrew the cap of expansion tank. If unscrewing is accompanied by a lot of pressure, as described previously, the engine tests passed successfully and probably the gasket head is damaged and needs replacing.
• damaged copper gasket below liners. This causes similar symptoms to head gasket failure. It is quite rare and repair requires dismantlng the engine (cylinder head, pistons, liners and other things along the way)
• faulty water pump - engine quickly reaches temperature, usually coolant does not return to expansion tank, and there is no heating. Coolant may be leaking from water pump and the radiator can remain cold.
• missing plastic shroud directing air to the radiator.

3. No heat from heater

• clogged cooling system
• faulty water pump (usually when accelerating you can feel some heat)
• clogged heater or internal damage (cracks occur in the middle of plastic case causing a lack of flow of fluid through the entire heater, running at a higher speed results in its proper operation)

[RicardoM]

4. Incorrect readings on coolant temperature gauge

 

If the temperature stays too high and the fan t kicks in above its rated temperature, the cooling system:

• has a leak
• has trapped air below temp. sensor

or there is a  decalibrated

• temp. sensor
• fan thermoswitch

If the temperature stays too low, the thermostat is stuck open.

[yorkshirecoble]

The last posts by RicardoM on cooling system problems are a timely addition to this thread...

 

In the last few days my 1.3 Mpi has had an interior heater problem with the temperature varying between stone cold and hot (all of it's own accord). The interior facia temp control has felt stiff sometimes and jams, but with a bit of pressure clicks past the 'obstruction' and resumes normal operation, so I thought nothing of it. I've had it in mind to get into that assembly to sort it, but suddenly the problem has got much worse.

 

On lifting the bonnet yesterday I noticed the coolant was down to the low level mark and there was evidence of leakage at the expansion tank. With a top-up and a wipe clean I fired the car up:

 

The heater temp was still sporadic and once warmed up I checked the hoses in the engine bay; all were warming up nicely and the top hose from radiator to themostat housing was easily squeezed, therefore I assume that coolant flow is fine, the heater matrix is not blocked and the thermostat is likely to be working well, and there is no evidence of leaks anywhere except the expansion tank cap.

 

Driving today however, the heater temp not only fluctuates but is reacting strongly to engine rev levels (speeding up and slowing down with throttle speed). The temperature gauge is also fluctuating as well, rising (only once thankfully) right up near the red before dropping steadily to about 70, then half-way, then down, then up and so on...

 

On stopping the car and raising the bonnet, the expansion tank cap was hissing and there was quite a lot of coolant sprayed around the engine bay in that area. The tank level eventually settled to the minimum mark. I'm thinking there could be air in the system or the temp sensor may be faulty, but am concerned about the head gasket. What do you guys think?

 

I'll have to get the spanners out now for a bit of tinkering, but in the meantime, any thoughts, ideas, suggestions etc much appreciated.

[RicardoM]

Thank you for your kind words. If you don't mind, please create a new topic with the same text so that we keep this topic exclusively for technical guides. I promise you will get a quick solution to your problem. Thanks.

PS

It would help to know the time in seconds for each temperature variation described.

Edited 30 November, 2015 by RicardoM

[RicardoM]

Possible signs of a failed head gasket

Note: some of the symptoms could be attributed to other parts failure too

 

1. Cooling system related

• constant overheating
• excessive pressure - constant bubbling in expansion tank, very stiff hoses, constant coolant spill out from expansion tank
• oily residues in expansion tank
• smell of hydrocarbons in expansion tank
• outside leaks

2. Lubrication system related

• emulsion residues in oil filler cap or on oil dipstick
• oil level above normal limit
• outside leaks
• excessive pressure in crankcase, smoking

3. Exhaust system related

• white smoke out the tailpipe, sometimes specific smell

4. Combustion related

• misfire or rough idle
• lowered compression

Edited 1 December, 2015 by RicardoM

[RicardoM]

Correct temperatures for the radiator fan switch ON / OFF

 

1.3 l ON at 97°C +/- 3°C, OFF at 88°C

1.6 l ON at 95°C +/- 3°C, OFF at 88°C

1.9 l ON stage 1 at 95°C +/- 3°C, OFF at 84°C

       ON stage 2 at 102°C +/- 3°C, OFF at 91°C

[Santa2512]

If you change the thermostat unit.  Is a pattern unit ok, or must it be OE only??