Various, possibly connected, issues. A bit peeved.

[CRB]

I thought it was too good to be true, things are acting up now I have it at home. ?Am I able to leave some of these issues until more convenient, or will they give rise to bigger problems if left alone?

 

After using the tailgate four times, it is now permanently locked, no fun when loading shopping in through the rear doors.

 

All the windows decided to come down while locking the drivers' door, twice.

 

The flashing red light, does not always flash when locked.

 

Will try to lock from inside, but no noises when the 'unlock' is pressed on the drivers' door rest.

Now from what I have waded through so far, it seems that wiring woes related to the locks are common, but I really do not want to start stripping trim just yet.

 

 

Rear washer does not do what it says on the tin.

 

Rear wiper does not always operate smoothly. It does when selecting 'squirt and wipe' but not 'wipe' at which point it hesitates on the final sweep. It does not 'squirt' though.

 

Possible broken pipe, but I cannot find any dampness anywhere, I have seen the state of a motor and gearbox, lubricated by rusty gunge.

 

 

Gearshift will not always go into reverse, unless first is selected first. Apart from a small gate, relatively, all others work well.

This may just require adjustment, hopefully.

 

The starter was slow, but is better now after five days of use.

Possible sticking due to lack of use.

 

The idea was to have a car which I did not need to start faffing with. I know, too old and too cheap.

 

I am a capable chap, mainly MZs, Guzzis and the 1989VWLT28. The only cars I have had have been 'company cars', that is top up fluids and that was it. All this fluff I need to remove to get to the guts is a new experience, but by the looks of it, I am in good hands.

 

If there is anything else I should know, shout up.

Edited 24 February, 2015 by CRB

[YellowCar]

Hi, other than inspecting where wiring passes through door pillars and such you're going to have to remove trim to explore fully (unless there is obvious damage to the wiring you can see). This sounds like issues with the control module attached to the window motor. I'd start by inspecting the drivers door one, water ingress screws them up, as you've said there's loads of stuff around the forum on these issues.

Your rear wiper motor could be beginning to suffer with water effecting the internals, not totally gone yet so again, inspection, removal and opening it up will probably tell you all you need. Open it up, service, grease could well sort it. Your inspection would also reveal any hose problems.

How often does your gearshift stick? I occasionally have to go into 1st first, have done on many vag cars I've owned.

As for starter motor see how it goes, was the car used daily before you got it?

Don't be disheartened they're good solid cars when sorted and I'm pretty sure you're just suffering a few of the very common problems.

[dave190]

Has the car been in an accident? Any signs of accident damage? Sometimes looms and wiring can be messed with during repairs. I'm suprised there is so many issues with the car.

[CRB]

How often does your gearshift stick? I occasionally have to go into 1st first, have done on many vag cars I've owned.

 

Not every time. I thought it was just me, but then perhaps the position of the internals when stopped.

As for starter motor see how it goes, was the car used daily before you got it?

 

It was sorned for three months, and was not used a lot during the previous two MOTs, which is why I suspect useage is helping.

Don't be disheartened they're good solid cars when sorted and I'm pretty sure you're just suffering a few of the very common problems.

 

 

 

Has the car been in an accident? Any signs of accident damage? Sometimes looms and wiring can be messed with during repairs. I'm suprised there is so many issues with the car.

There are some small marks on the NSF bumper top and the indicator had been gaffered on, but replaced with a new one. It does not look like an accident, more like something falling on it ?Best way to remove gaffa glue?

 

This will look good if I have MultiQuote right.

[YellowCar]

How often does your gearshift stick? I occasionally have to go into 1st first, have done on many vag cars I've owned.

 

Not every time. I thought it was just me, but then perhaps the position of the internals when stopped.

As for starter motor see how it goes, was the car used daily before you got it?

 

It was sorned for three months, and was not used a lot during the previous two MOTs, which is why I suspect useage is helping.

Don't be disheartened they're good solid cars when sorted and I'm pretty sure you're just suffering a few of the very common problems.

 

 

 

Has the car been in an accident? Any signs of accident damage? Sometimes looms and wiring can be messed with during repairs. I'm suprised there is so many issues with the car.

There are some small marks on the NSF bumper top and the indicator had been gaffered on, but replaced with a new one. It does not look like an accident, more like something falling on it ?Best way to remove gaffa glue?

 

This will look good if I have MultiQuote right.

Peel the tape off then tar and glue remover, you'll probably find a bolt is missing where the top of the indicator assembly gets attached to the headlight assembly. It's quite easy for that thread to get stripped, mine are pretty precarious at the moment.

I wouldn't be too surprised by these issues, when I got mine the rear wiper was gone, soon after the n/s front door stopped locking and my interior lights gave up when opening the door. All fixed now but when you pick up one of these of this age this is all pretty common. Chances are the car was getting sold on because the previous owner couldn't be bothered to sort them out thinking it would be too costly. But I've managed to fix most things myself very cheap with guidance from this forum and asking the right people.

[mac11irl]

Nothing unusual about any of your issues...

water getting into that rear wiper motor can cause many many fun things to occur.

try pulling the fuse for it, and see if anything else changes - depending on how much water has gone where in/out of the motor it may be playing with the boot lock mechanism too.

get the boot trim off and have a goood look, if the bungs have been pulled out of the bottom of the hatch the water will free flow out, and its hard to tell its happening.

[KenONeill]

Extra general hint for screwing things into plastic - Turn the fastener counter-clockwise until you feel it drop. At this point it has found a pre-cut thread, and will follow that down if you do it up normally.

[CRB]

Peel the tape off then tar and glue remover, you'll probably find a bolt is missing where the top of the indicator assembly gets attached to the headlight assembly. It's quite easy for that thread to get stripped, mine are pretty precarious at the moment.

The tape is off and a new indicator fitted, just the gunk left behind.

 

Thank you one and all, just as well I got my manual then.

[YellowCar]

You don't need a manual on this forum lol. No they do still have a use. As said get some tar and glue remover for the gunk, works quick and kind to the paint.

[kentphil1]

The Haynes manual is good for basic stuff like door trims, service items etc, but does have varied gaps or even missing information as regards wiring diagrams etc.

 

If you want to have a dabble in the wiring, post up on here the previous night, and one of us should have access to accurate information for you to use the next day.

 

You may want to get yourself a tube of non conductive silicon grease from Maplin, so that as you check a connector you can seal it again and reduce the risk of water ingress dramatically.

 

Oh, and please excuse my bad manners, welcome to the forum and Octavia motoring.

 

Hope it helps,

 

Phil.

[CRB]

The Haynes manual is good for basic stuff like door trims, service items etc, but does have varied gaps or even missing information as regards wiring diagrams etc.

 

If you want to have a dabble in the wiring, post up on here the previous night, and one of us should have access to accurate information for you to use the next day.

 

You may want to get yourself a tube of non conductive silicon grease from Maplin, so that as you check a connector you can seal it again and reduce the risk of water ingress dramatically.

 

Oh, and please excuse my bad manners, welcome to the forum and Octavia motoring.

 

Hope it helps,

 

Phil.

Thank you too Phil, a manual does not mind getting dirty, and I do not have a portable device, so this computer has to stay clean.

 

I usually melt Vaseline and dip the connectors in, when the opportunity presents itself, but a trip to town would not hurt.

[kentphil1]

I agree about the manual can get dirty bit, but when I first had mine, I started trying to diagnose a cooling fan controller only to find that according to the Haynes electrical wiring diagram, my car didn't have fans or the wiring fitted.

 

I now have access to the proper VW service manuals and the ETKA parts system, so that can be quite useful, however, this can be a useful resource for information too. http://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk1/chassis/technical_data/technical_data/

 

I know it keeps prompting for donations, but it is not mandatory, just depends how much you think it helped you. . I just print off the pages I want for the job I'm doing on that day and stuff them in the Haynes manual ready to be rendered unreadable by my dirty sausages after I've done the job.

 

I must admit I've never tried that trick with Vaseline, only thing is I'm not sure if it is non conductive or not?. Window control modules can be enough of a PITA without introducing outside problems. I would think someone will be on later to confirm or deny whether it is conductive or not. If it turns out not to be, this is the stuff I use - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/servisol-multi-purpose-silicone-grease-50g-tube-re90x

 

Phil.

[dave190]

Those Haynes manuals try to cover about a dozen different cars in one. It's hard to sometimes follow them for your particular engine etc.

[KenONeill]

 

I must admit I've never tried that trick with Vaseline, only thing is I'm not sure if it is non conductive or not?.

Phil.

Genuine Vaseline (brand name) is conductive; most petroleum jelly (generic name) isn't.

[CRB]

Genuine Vaseline (brand name) is conductive; most petroleum jelly (generic name) isn't.

?Really? I did not know that. It is petroleum jelly I have....just could not remember the long generic term.

 

Those Haynes manuals try to cover about a dozen different cars in one. It's hard to sometimes follow them for your particular engine etc.

Too true, I have paper-clipped the unecessary pages together, there are a lot.

 

I agree about the manual can get dirty bit, but when I first had mine, I started trying to diagnose a cooling fan controller only to find that according to the Haynes electrical wiring diagram, my car didn't have fans or the wiring fitted.

Phil.

That sounds about right. The LT manual does not have the diesel variants covered, so only half useful. I am disappointed that the photography has not improved.

[CRB]

No photographs, due to the camera giving me a white screen last night, but a start has been made.

 

The inner panel came out with our God given trim removal tools, and it had been off before judging by the torn membrane and the blob of gloop around the plastic washer connection. Overall though, quite clean, with very little corrosion on the connectors.

 

The lock was solidly fused to the housing so I have that soaking, in the hope it can be freed. It is possible that this was brought on by the washer leaking.

 

The inside of the wiper gearbox is mint, apart from the slightest tinge of marking around the joint where the plastic hose connection is pressed against the wiper arm.

 

The plastic connector came out easily and there were no blockages, so the water pressure was being forced out somehow. That became evident when I looked closer at the plastic connector, a short piece of brass pipe with a ragged end. I think that this pipe should continue to the jet, and thus create a single route for the washer water. I am going to see if I can repair this, though having a fixed end on a reciprocating tube is never going to end well, when the joint is in the gearbox. May try an Oring.

 

Regarding the first/reverse problem, it was worse yesterday. If not in first as I come to a halt, it was more difficult to select reverse, meaning edging forward, not always easy.

[CRB]

Lunchtime update.

 

No Orings around, so I turned a nylon bush to fit inside the arm and around the brass tube, tight but it moves freely. Wiper is back on and the mechanical lock is still soaking. I might just give up on it and refit without attaching the quadrant to the locking mechanism.

[mac11irl]

Failure usually occurs within the actual motor as the washer pipe passes up through the axis of the unit.

The pipe corrodes in the middle of the unit and shorts out the motor, which is a pita to sort out.

Im really unsure exactly where you are talking about with your though.

[CRB]

The lack of squirt was down to a blocked jet, though even when each separate section, black pipe, blue pipe, and jet had good flow, the back pressure was enough to show a tiny, tiny break in the black plastic connector on the gearbox.

 

?Are the black and blue pipes usually glued and mechanically fixed somehow? It seems so. but nothing left now.

 

The lock is sorted for now. The return spring for the handle only had one side, so I have probably caused it to jam myself. I left the quadrant off, just in case,and the central locking is working there again. No mechanical lock though.

?Why on earth is everything rivited together? Rhetorical question. The whole lock section is one piece of wobbly pressings which stop you gaining access to the back of the lock.

 

Failure usually occurs within the actual motor as the washer pipe passes up through the axis of the unit.

The pipe corrodes in the middle of the unit and shorts out the motor, which is a pita to sort out.

Im really unsure exactly where you are talking about with your though.

The motor seems good, no external signs of water ingress, but when I tested it again, it was still stuttering every now and then.

The brass tube running from the black plastic connector to the jet had snapped, so I put a bush around it to stop the water running back down to the gearbox.

I would not mind finding a better solution to this, playtime I suppose.

[YellowCar]

The lack of squirt was down to a blocked jet, though even when each separate section, black pipe, blue pipe, and jet had good flow, the back pressure was enough to show a tiny, tiny break in the black plastic connector on the gearbox.

 

?Are the black and blue pipes usually glued and mechanically fixed somehow? It seems so. but nothing left now.

 

The lock is sorted for now. The return spring for the handle only had one side, so I have probably caused it to jam myself. I left the quadrant off, just in case,and the central locking is working there again. No mechanical lock though.

?Why on earth is everything rivited together? Rhetorical question. The whole lock section is one piece of wobbly pressings which stop you gaining access to the back of the lock.

 

The motor seems good, no external signs of water ingress, but when I tested it again, it was still stuttering every now and then.

The brass tube running from the black plastic connector to the jet had snapped, so I put a bush around it to stop the water running back down to the gearbox.

I would not mind finding a better solution to this, playtime I suppose.

Mate if you find a solution to the inevitable failing of these rear wiper motors you'll be able to retire in 2 years time haha. Glad you're getting there though.

[CRB]

I had a look at the parts picture last night and, it reminded me of the shroud shape. The jet does not move hence the shroud has a clearance arc as the wiper arm moves. This means that the jet end of the brass tubing has seized into the steel wiper arm, and with the arm moving, resistance increases with the corrosion and eventually snaps the tubing. Thus the water is then able to travel into the gearbox.

 

You may think that was obvious, but I have not seen a working one.

 

Not a stupid design, but far too easily screwed up by standing water. Typical you can buy the jet,or the motor with the brass tube inside.

 

I think a brass 90* connector and jet tube is another project to do.

 

 

Mate if you find a solution to the inevitable failing of these rear wiper motors you'll be able to retire in 2 years time haha. Glad you're getting there though.

Might be more than two years, but if anyone has a spare knackered arm, I would like to have a proper look at one, to see if my thoughts are feasible.

 

I could just blank off mine though.

Edited 28 February, 2015 by CRB