asteconn

Thanks for the replies, chaps - I had it up in the air, and couldn't see any obvious damage in the system. I've had it checked at a garage and they've confirmed the compressor has gone. I'll take a look at that link, thanks Liverpool-Lad!

How would I test for a compressor failure? Are there any obvious exterior clues or would I have to disconnect the thing to find out?

What a day to have ones air con fail on one, with a puff of smoke, a bit of acrid burning smell and some oil-y rubbish on the floor afterwards. 200 miles from home in today's heat. Not fun. Anyway, my air con has failed on me. Parked up, was searching for an address on the sat nav, turned off the engine for a few minutes, turned it back on to get the aircon going again when it got too hot in the car. First symptom was a 'wet' smell, kind of like how a wet dog smells, or wet clothing, something like that; next was a burning smell, like singed oil; and after that smoke came out from under the bonnet; lastly an oil-y patch on the road afterwards. Thankfully nothing was on fire - the smoke was coming from down amongst the accessory belt area in the bottom left of the engine bay as you look at it. I have an ASV engine, if that's pertinent. What troubleshooting steps should I undertake to diagnose the cause of the issue?

After 2012, yeah. The scheme was brought in in 2008. I've had a look online and gotten more familiar with what DPFs are and do, and it's looking quite infeasible to retrofit a DPF to a Euro 3 engine which I believe that mine is.

Actually I went over the Øresund bridge, the only boat I needed to take was from the UK to Holland.

As I'm going to Stuttgart in a few months, I need to retrofit a DPF in order to be compliant with the LEZs that just about every German city of respectable size has. Similarly to the London zone, I'll need a certificate of fitment, so one assumes that this isn't a DIY job. How much does retrofitting cost, and at what sort of venue would I get it done?

As I haven't figured out how the gallery on the forum works yet, have an imgur: https://imgur.com/a/c9l5k Total mileage was around 3500, with an average MPG of 64.9 for the whole trip. That included a very spirited 180kph on Autobahn 1. Absolutely awesome experience it was.

I would guess that the button is simply worn

I know about my rear eye, used it a few times to tow broken down vehicles with. Is the front a screw-in like on the Mk 2 Fabia or is it permanent, just hidden behind something? Regardless, I've ordered one off ebay for pennies, even if it's not needed for my car, if I need to tow someone else's I have a spare. Having the 2 screwdrivers is quite useful, I daresay - one of them has a hex-bolt in the handle that's handy for screwing in the wheel nuts before tightening them with the bar. I reckon the large space in the middle is for a tow ball, perhaps?

Obtaining a plate online is very easy. Bought my new plates for my road trip (with EU strip) on ebay, didn't need to provide any details, and are very good quality. Bummer that your car's been cloned though. As suggested, add an identifying feature or two: I'd go with perhaps a couple of pieces of reflective tape - they look innocuous and also serve a small safety function. My own car I've retrofitted with DRLs front and have other easily identifiable items.

Hello all - quick question about the stuff that should come with ones spare wheel. Whilst I had the spare out yesterday to look for something that fell under the boot floor, I noticed that I've got a few spaces in the foam equipment holder, including rather worryingly the hole where the towing eye should go. Here's a photo of the thing - what else am I missing?

I have this same issue - for me it seems weather related, so is likely a dodgy seal somewhere. You can test by emptying your washer fluid via the rear wash-wipe - if your boot is full of fluid after this, it's an issue with the rear wash wipe somwhere, either a hose leak or a problem with the rear wiper assembly. If not, you've probably got a dicky seal.

I can't recall if it's possible or not, but you could try swapping the pumps around on the tank to see if it's a pump issue. Or grab a multi-meter and test using that. If you're motor's good, it could be a blockage in the pipe. Take off the pipe at the rear wiper and (ideally with an assistant) activate the pump - if you get jets of washer fluid coming out you know that your pipe is good, so the problem is in the rear wiper assembly somewhere. If nothing comes out of the pipe, it's likely you have a blockage.

Hello all. I wish to make an adjustment to my rear lights. On a set of post-facelift hatchback rears, the lowermost red is a dual bulb for the rear sides and stop lights, and the topmost red is used solely for use as fog lights (iirc). What I'd like to do is alter them so that the top and bottom reds can both be used as rear side lights. I've acquired a spare pair from Ebay so that I can mess about with those and not compromise my existing lights. As far as I can see, my two options are either to wire in another bulb on the topmost red, or convert the topmost bulb to be a dual filament like the lower. Does anyone have any thoughts / experiences / other advice for this, please? Thanks.

I do know that there is a difference in dimensions between the pre- and post- facelift Mk1. Tried installing post-facelift headlights on my old S-plate, and although not detectable at first glance, there is enough of a size difference to have made fitting it impossible.

I know the cambelt is fresh because I ripped my fingers to shreds in the engine bay doing it myself lol. My friend and I replaced the cambelt as part of the waterpump change we did a couple of weeks before the garage had it.

Already had the fuel timing done by the garage when they replaced the head gasket problem I had a couple of months ago, thankfully.

Haha yes - I'm not too worried about driving on the incorrect side of the road the entire time. Do you know which episode that was? Edit: Found it - Series 6, episode 6. If the Norway Ferry still existed, I'd take that instead, but alas I must road-trip.

Hello all. I've decided that I'm going to take my Mk1 Octavia on an ultimate road trip to Norway this easter. I've never driven outside of the UK before, nor have I undertaken a roadtrip that might take more than a day to complete. My plan is to catch the overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland, and drive through Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and then to Norway. I've decided to go over the Øresund Bridge rather than take 2 ferry crossings so that I'm not juggling the timings of both. As a total noob to continental driving and very long-distance driving - what do I need to know and watch out for on my trip?

Hello all! I'm going to be servicing my Mk1 in the coming week or so at around the 130000 mile mark. I'm planning on replacing the oil, oil filter, air filter, and brake fluid. I've already replaced the cambelt with a friend a month or so ago. Is there anything that I should know, or watch out for, whilst I'm doing this? Thanks!

Whilst deciding to avoid tolls, weigh up the costs of not doing so - avoid them if it works out cheaper do so, pay them if there's not an economical alternative.

I've not gotten a quote yet, but the garage chap person guy said that it would be wise to get the head skimmed, especially the number of times that the thing has overheated.

How do I go about doing that? Can't see any smoke from the exhaust, although when I got the MOT done it needed a fair amount of running to pass the emissions. I'd had it sat for about 10 days after realizing my MOT had expired. The tester suggested that was likely from it being sat for so long, but now I'm not so sure.

Hello all! Back with status report: Just today changed the cambelt and waterpump. The old waterpump was intact, and seemed fine, and the old belt looked to be in fair condition. Also found out why my temperature reading wasn't working - I'd forgotten to plug it in after replacing it a while ago. Drove home and the car is still overheating. Temperature reading dropped off a couple of times on the journey and when it returned it was hovering between 90 and 110, with steam coming from the bonnet. As an added bonus, it has also gained a really fierce boost leak. One of the gaskets on the turbo -> intercooler pipe was buggered. Not having the replacement handy we shoved it back on to test if it overheated still. My accomplice that I did the job with is thinking that it's the head gasket.

Oil looks clean, no emulsion of any sort that I can see on the underside of the oil filler cap. Oil level is a little low, at the bottom of the acceptable range.