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Felicia airbag light & voltage regulator - Common fault, easy fix.


Roofrack

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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.

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I had the same happen to my '97 1.3 MPi

I didn't fit a regulator, but complete alternator (because that's all I could get on the day i needed it): it solved my voltage problem. The airbag warning light was now on all the time.

The Skoda MainDealer wanted something like £60 to investivate the airbag blight "fault" for me.

A local non-franchised VW garage plugged in his fault code reader, and found it had gone under voltage then over voltage, and of course airbag light. He "reset" my car, solving the problem, all for the sum of £10.

Hope this helps,

SeaKayaker

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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.

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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'

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I have this exact same problem on my 1997 Felicia I am about to sell, Just wondering whether I should just get the airbag light reset as I had an exchange alternater last year, I don't have a meter! What does anyone think on this one!!

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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!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Guys,

My 1.3 1998 Felicia must have been one of if not the first to suffer from this problem. I had the airbag warning light come in heading south from St Lo in France in 2003. As I had holiday insurance the AA was contacted as advised me to 'Carry on as it cannot be anything serious'. The consequences were disastrous as the overvoltage blew the ECU and also the radio. The French garage changed the ECU but not the alternator or voltage reg. The AA informed me that the car was OK to drive but I was not happy as the alternator was pushing out 17V on tickover and 24 at 2000rpm. I got home from La Rochelle on 3 batteries after disconnecting the alternator.

The replacement alternator from Skodas wouldn't fit!!!!! Cost me £240 for repairs and another £600 from a Skoda dealer in Southampton (no names please) to try and sort out the problem which they did by taking out the indicator bulb.

I've been running around like this for the last 4 years, as even Skoda at headquarters would not give me any advice.

This is the only time that I've ever felt like torching a car.

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  • 2 months later...

I just wanted to add my thanks to the people here for describing this symptom and it's troubleshooting/remedy in such detail. My airbag symbol came on yesterday and has been exactly as described since. I'm going to get the battery tested and take it from there (following the advice on this page).

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  • 1 year later...

HI I have a slightly different problem - the air bag light did come on then inflated and the car stopped ! Having got it recovered the garage put on new alternator abd battery but it won't start - they are suggesting it might be an ECU fault? Anyone had this and/or suggest how to get my felic back on road please? thanks

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Dan thanks. I don't suppose anyone knows if I get secondhand ECU whether it will work straight away or if I have to get it programmed or something - and do I need to get something for the airbag as well - sorry not quite sure about these bits - my mini was just plugs and damp distributor cap problems!!

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There have been so many problems with this unit, i.e. the voltage regulator that I am surprised that Skoda have not come up with some sort of compensation scheme for sufferers. My ten-year-old VW Jetta was recalled as there was a fault with the heater radiator. There was no charge for this.

I do not understand why it was necessary to fit a 90 ampere alternator to a 1.3 litre engine. The 1.8 VW had merely a 55 amp.

A colleague in the trade suggested that Skoda's got hold of an 'end of line' batch.

Comments please.

Perplexed.:confused:

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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).

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  • 6 years later...

This is brilliant my airbag light is illiinated constantly and the previous owner just took the bulb out after a bit of investigation the air bag has been snapped off at the steering wheel so it's not making a circuit does any one know any one selling the steering heel airbag collar?

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  • 1 month later...

HI All,
Looking at this tead I think my Felicia may have succumbed to the same fault.
I'm looking for some help and advice to pass on to my friend who is more spanner friendly than I.
Had no problems with the car then after a hard frost, went out to start the car and it was dead. Thought I'd left the radio on and run the battery down, so put the charger on for an hour and got it running. Let it run for 10 minutes and then switched on the headlights and the engine cut out. I noticed that the airbag light had also come on. It then wouldn't even turn over and the clock had set to 0:00. Thought the battery had decided to give up the ghost, so put another fully charged battery decent battery on it and got it running with no problems starting. Took it out, did 16 miles, the airbag light came on and then went off, the radio cut out and it started running a bit lumpy. I pulled over and turned the engine off, and then it wouldn't start, like when you have a flat battery even though the idiot lights were on. Heard some clicking noises as well coming from nearly the fuse box like a relay was stuck. Left it for 2 hours and it started again, ( no airbag light coming on) got it running and decided to try and get it home. As it was going up the hill, the airbag light came on again and this time the engine didn't cut out dead like before, more like it was just losing power like it had fuel starvation, until it finally just died. I'd had enough of it this time, so got a lift home to arrange recovery. The following day it started and ran for a bit enough to get it out of harms way and into a car park where it promptly decided it wasn't going to start again ( making me think that it was more of a charging issue rather than a battery issue). Dragged it back home on the back of a mates straight bar, and it started with a jump start but only ran for about 5 minutes before it just gave up. Its full of fuel, and the alternator looks new. I've had the motor about a month and I only bought it because it was a tidy car with low milage for the money with a full ticket on it and by the looks of it a full service, low insurance and tax and roomy on the back with the seats folded out of the way. I've now got next to no beans left in the pot, but have a very nice friend who will help if we can figure out whats wrong as he's not much experience with Skodas.
I'm gonna put a brand new battery on it as the replacement one I used had been sitting around for a year even though it hadn't done many miles and was only three months old when it came off the car I scrapped.
Any ideas please?
Thanks peeps :)
Lou

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  • 4 years later...

Huge thank you to these pages for the advice.

My lovely Felicia had the same problem, airbag light on, needed a new voltage regulator, I have followed the advice and it is mended and back to normal again. Hooray!

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