56 replies to this topic

[Bobbybiscuit]

OK - had car serviced today - full service including change of fuel, pollen and air filters plus new glow plugs. The problem with EM unit coming on was that the pipe came off. I had to do a running repair but now repaired properly. Error message was cleared as was glow plug light flashing.

All but one of the glow plugs were knackered and he had awful problems getting them out. Obviously not been changed for a long time.

Went to start car (warm engine) - would not start. Bear in mind this is my normal garage and he can be trusted 100% - he was gob smacked because he said when engine was cold(ish) he just started engine and it went first time. Lent in window engine and it started first time.

Then the glow plug flashing warning light came on and the engine management unit light came on like before. He was astounded.

He wants me to go back Friday to let him know if Ok on cold start and how I got on with warm starts.

I have tried some more warm starts and to be honest it a variety between starting on second crank to not starting or winding engine up until its starts.

Contributor Kblackburn suggests above that it could be battery so will address that on Friday. Mind now with new glowplugs in car it flies! Even the garage owner was well impressed with the car.

Just another oddity, when I was driving back from Peterborough to Plymouth I could not get the MPG to work. Then when back in Plymouth it started to work, but still no average MPG. Now car serviced its stuck on 42.0 which I assume is the average miles per gallon but cant get it to move. I take it that the unit that works out your mpg is knackered?

I am not fussed about it really, so long as it does not affect the starting. Any comment anybody?

The garage owner told me that the car is generally in very good condition which is good news.

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[MarkC-VRS]

Have you tried fully Resetting the on board computer , not suggesting that will fix it but sometimes the average mpg takes a while to change if it hasnt been reset for a long distance/period of time.

[Bobbybiscuit]

HOW DO  you reset on board computer please?

[Longyear]

MarkC-VRS, on 06 June 2012 - 13:44, said:

Do you find the handling as std id better on the octy vrs though??

Mine was brilliant at cornering as std, i agree the furby mk1 vrs is great in terms of power and torque and accelerates harder than my octy did bit i do need to get the handling right on my fab as i do miss the cornering potential my octy had .

Sorry for the late reply..... yes absolutely, the petrol cars are far superior in roadholding and all aspects of handling ..... the diesel lumps are much heavier and change the CoG a bit, so do kill the handling a bit.....   but I still love the PD lumps!

MarkC-VRS, on 06 June 2012 - 18:16, said:

I wish they did the mk1 octy vrs with the option for the pd 130 and pd 150 engines. That imo would be a nr perfect combination. Ideal car i think.

Absolutely! ..... I was amazed when the Octy VRS first came out that it was 1.8T only, with no option for the PD130 (or 150)... but similarly couldn't really understand why the Fabia VRS Mk1 was diesel only ........ don't know why both cars didn't come as 1.8T or PD130 variants.  

[MarkC-VRS]

Bobbybiscuit, on 15 June 2012 - 07:15, said:

HOW DO  you reset on board computer please?

On the wiper stalk where at the end you can navigate through the computer. Well if you look/feel under the stalk there is another button, press and hold that in for a second or two, that resets it.

[MarkC-VRS]

Longyear, on 15 June 2012 - 09:53, said:

Sorry for the late reply..... yes absolutely, the petrol cars are far superior in roadholding and all aspects of handling ..... the diesel lumps are much heavier and change the CoG a bit, so do kill the handling a bit.....   but I still love the PD lumps!




Absolutely! ..... I was amazed when the Octy VRS first came out that it was 1.8T only, with no option for the PD130 (or 150)... but similarly couldn't really understand why the Fabia VRS Mk1 was diesel only ........ don't know why both cars didn't come as 1.8T or PD130 variants.  

Couldnt agree more, i do miss my octy mk1 vrs for that, i kept to the sport contact 2s that they came on from new and it was great at cornering.

Im with you on the confusing decision to only release the octy mk1 vrs with the  1.8t lump , and again the furby vrs with pd130.

The other things to bug me are why on earth do the fab vrs mk1s not have climate control or rear elec windows??? This is confusing considering octy vrs mk1s come as std with them and imo so it should but why oh why doesnt the furby mk1 vrs lol

Anyway rant over haha

Might have to get another octy lol get the bug everytime i think of them.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Ahhhh I wondered what that was - makes sense now.

had battery checked on car and it is in tip top condition - starting problem - had it checked re error codes - specialist garage thinks its the crankcase sensor or at worse fuel pump. In garage on Monday.

[MarkC-VRS]

Bobbybiscuit, on 15 June 2012 - 16:59, said:

Ahhhh I wondered what that was - makes sense now.

had battery checked on car and it is in tip top condition - starting problem - had it checked re error codes - specialist garage thinks its the crankcase sensor or at worse fuel pump. In garage on Monday.

Did you not disconnect the crank sensor mate?

I mentioned that to you in an earlier post, if you disconnect it and it turns over better you know it will need the sensor changing. You can reach it down the back of the block on the side by the air box.

[Bobbybiscuit]

I have only just got the car and because I dont know what I am looking for, I am reluctant to pull anything off. I read on here somewhere that it was underneath near the gear box and awkward to get to.

As a matter of interest, if it is disconnected and it starts better then why do i need one at all? It may be a silly question.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Also how long would the garage take to fit one of those sensors?

[MarkC-VRS]

Shouldnt take long tbh . Half hour tops. Its accessible from the top towards back on the right hand side. I ll take a pic tmrw if i remember and post it for u. In short the sensor tells the injector when to fire. So if its better without then its cutting the sensor out of the equation hence faulty sensor. It wont be great without it as its not firing at the right time but will just be better because if the sensor is faulty the ecu cant read the signal efficiently.

[Bobbybiscuit]

This may sound a silly question - how many times would you expect the engine to crank over before it starts ( or time wise). I also have a mitsubishi delica which when cold starts instantly. When warm a couple of engine turns and it fires. Strange yesterday I had a damn food day in general with engine staring on the Octavia and started very well this morning but not instant. But they improved starting happened after the flashing glow plug light decided to go out for no apparent reason.

Thanks

[MarkC-VRS]

Tbh my fab vrs starts instant. Like a petrol in honesty.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Very interesting Mark - there is a fine line when starting my car - if i turn the ignition key very quickly it wont start even when warm. If I wait until
a) fuel pump has finished clicking
and a click has made somewhere in the engine compartment
but before all lights go out on dash -
then I can usually start it after two cranks of the engine
But if I miss that exact point after I have to wind the engine up to start.

Anyway, I am off to the garage tomorrow and will pick it up on Tuesday. - this saga will hopefully come to a close then. Fingers crossed.

Strangely the previous problem with the glow light flashing has suddenly decided to stop flashing (now disappeared all together) - how odd.

[Bobbybiscuit]

the smiley = B - did not know it would do smileys

[MarkC-VRS]

Keep us informed mate. There is a place nr me called feather diesels that are known as geniuses in the diesel world that if all else fails would be worth a go but they do cost and i cannot see ur location to know if ur local or not.

Like i say i ended up doing the crank sensor and starter motor and it was perfect ever since but without seeing ur car its hard t say

Edited by MarkC-VRS, 17 June 2012 - 22:36.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Success at last - resolved - not crank case sensor but heating sensor for glow plugs. Now starts when i turn the key, don't have to wait for glow plug light to go out!!! And, car runs smoother for some reason.

I am no where Halifax Mark - down in the West Country - near the bridge in to Cornwall. Now have a telephone number of a guy who does private work on Skoda, VW, Audi - works for specialists in Plymouth.

Thank you so much everyone for guiding me through possibilities and offering advice. Learning all time about car. Loving it, love the gutsy engine!

[MarkC-VRS]

Glad its sorted mate. Happy worryless motoring ahead.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Mark you spoke too soon mate - had a 4x4 Nissan go in the back of me today at a roundabout - he admitted liability - need a new bumper and a tail gate has small dent - more damage to his car than mine - got whiplash and spent over 4 hours at hospital having xrays etc.

When i went to start car after accident - very very hard to start and glow light came on again and engine management light came on and stayed on - such a nuisance. Obviously shook something up in the car.

[MarkC-VRS]

Bobbybiscuit, on 19 June 2012 - 21:03, said:

Mark you spoke too soon mate - had a 4x4 Nissan go in the back of me today at a roundabout - he admitted liability - need a new bumper and a tail gate has small dent - more damage to his car than mine - got whiplash and spent over 4 hours at hospital having xrays etc.

When i went to start car after accident - very very hard to start and glow light came on again and engine management light came on and stayed on - such a nuisance. Obviously shook something up in the car.

Jees!! How bad do I feel!!

Hope your ok mate?

Cant believe how unlucky a month youve had.

You will have a good run of luck soon im sure.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Thanks Mark - I will survive - tell you what the car stood up really well to the impact :-) His bull bars are pushed back in.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Only had car 2.5 weeks!!

[MarkC-VRS]

Ouch , bet he is gutted

[Bobbybiscuit]

Not him, me - I have car 2.5 weeks and yes I am gutted but the bumper done the business and absorbed alot of the shock on impact!

[MarkC-VRS]

Oh right sorry mate. Well at least its not too bad . Is the starting issue still playing up or have you resolved it again.

[Bobbybiscuit]

Well alot better starting when cold. Usually  a couple of quick turns of engine and off we go! Warm engine can be such a hit or miss affair. Will either fire up quickly or may take a number of turns of the engine - if I have difficulty and I keep cranking over the engine for about 6 seconds or more then the glow light warning light comes on and the engine management light comes on. BUT then if I am able to start the car fair easily after about a dozen attempts during the day, the glow plug warning light goes out and so does the engine management light goes out! So what i try and do is if it down start after after 3 cranks of the engine then I turn of engine and start again. I try and turn ignition key as quickly as possible rather than leave it until lights go out. Seem to have  a better success rate.

The start motor was replaced by former owner in 2010 and battery has been tested and is OK. Although it is Bosch I am wondering whether its the right battery although the battery centre aid it is. By the looks of it there are batteries with higher cranking output and I wonder if thats the problem. It will never fire first time.

[MarkC-VRS]

Seems odd but i do know they need to turn over quite quick on diesels in comparison to petrols before they will fire so could be that i suppose. Best way to find out would be to hook a booster pack up or maybe hook up some jump leads to another motor.