smudge

Hi Johanez Thanks for the kind words. I too have resoldered everything I can get to including the what I think is the main processor. I tried to get to as many components on the dial side as possible , lifting up the paper dials to gain access. I've noticed now that when they work , the rev counter dial 'steps' up . Its no the normal smooth transistion, unless it falls backwards. Now it could be sticking due to me moving the paper dial so I'll check later. Or it may be some damage resoldering the processor IC ?. I'm not to worried if we find out the main cause of this fault. That would be great Johanez, if you could make repeat measurements of the voltage regulators. My next plan is to lift the 5v output leg of the big regulator and inject 5v with a bench power supply. I want to be sure that enough current is getting through into the circuit. And logic would dictate to me that the big regulator supplies power for the dials ( ! ? ) . I hope to try this weekend 4th Jan. Keep you posted

OK, heres I think a bit more info. The intermittance of this problem is fairly regular , but I cant put it down to any one cause. I did think that the heat inside the cabin may be having an affect on any dryjoints ,expansion ,contraction etc. But I am beginning to suspect the problem is out side the cabin. During the last snap of cold weather , the clocks worked 100% with the cabin temp at a comfortable 18C ish ! Now its mild again they're faulty. Does any body know where the relavent sensors are as I suspect that one of these or the wiring to it is grounding the circuit and causing the problem. Cheers

Hi John Looks like the sender device for the speedo is at fault. Someone should be able to define it better than me. I've not progressed further with this problem yet but I want to get the cluster unit fully apart and trace the circuit of the Temp gauge until I find the common feed for all the dials. Just need to know how the needles of the dials come off. Good luck

I've soldered around both regulators and added wires so I can check the output voltage during the problem. Each regulator puts out 5v even when the problem occurs. So now I'm not so sure. It is interesting that my troubles started after a major service but that could be a coincidence. Does anyone know how the needles of the dials come off as I want to get to the other side of the PCB ?

Well, It seems I have a intermittant problem. I decided to leave the surround out and see what happens just in case, with the fuse out. I noticed that on switch off the dials would stay where they where until switch on. Then the tank gauge would crawl back down before poping back up. So I tagged some wires to the larger regulator to get some more info. With the fuse out there is no 12v getting to the input. 5v appears on ignition switch on which I think comes from the other smaller regulator. Next with the fuse out, I soldered a 12v feed to the larger reg input. Now it seems to work normally when it works! So still investigating.I need to tag some wires to the smaller regulator to see if its working ok . let you know how I get on.

Hi. Did you fix it? I've just realised that there are two IC's to solder up So its back out with the dash later on. Did think about changing the tle4276g but can only source a 1000 at a time ! Cheap though at

Its back! Last night this happened 3 times. switch on instruments ok . startup . went to zero! fourth time switch on waited 10s then started up . All OK . Now tonight , switch igniton on , failed . started up and drove off and put the cooling fan on to move air through the dash as it was hot sat in the sun. 3miles in and they start working . I may replace that IC completely as it does seem to be triggered by heat and maybe the regulator is after all these years a bit stressed. If I do I want to fix a heat sink to the top . Let you know how I got on. Smudge

£200 . I was lucky to find one on Ebay from a 2001 car. Mine is 2000. Worked ok though .

It was the pump. fitted 2nd hand and cleared codes with vag-com all ok now

ok heres hat happened since may. wheel bearing done

Hi Tony What you need is an iron from maplins like this one. Maplin > 30W Soldering Iron I used Maplin > 48W LCD Screen Solder Station= at 350C ,but its a bit more expensive.The trick is to have a fine tip to be able to reflow the solder joints and not create a bridge across the pins. The IC is has 5 pins on one side and a large terminal on the other . The TLE 4276 chip is black beside what I think is the black 'left your lights on buzzer'. Its clearly marked up . Well you might need a magnifying glass. About 10mm square. Also to be on the safe side use an earth strap Maplin > Anti-Static Computer Wrist Strap and plug Maplin > Antistatic Bonding Plug when handling the PCB. And as I say reflow one pin at a time by adding little more solder with flux in it. standard electronic pcb component solder ( Maplins again ! ) The chip should be able to take the heat of all pins being done at once but I like to play it safe I should work as a Maplin salesman! Other points You might think that the connection looks good but as you are this far ,reflow anyway Try checking fuse 15 for tarnishing and clean it up first. Might do the trick . The bottom part of the surround is the worst bit. I nearly gave up here , but realised that to get these clips undone there mustn't be any tension on them. I struggled for 20mins with the top part out and pulled forward.Wasn't until I pushed the top in loose was I able to squeeze and unclip the bottom. Did mine yesterday so hope its fixed. Hope this helps and again thanks to Csblazso for the fix:thumbup:

Heres my experience of checking the TLE ic. removing the instrument cluster ( Guage ) Pulled the steering wheel out and low Removed fuse 15 to take power off ot the instrument cluster. Removed the screw caps and screws from the surround. They are the top underneath. Pulled out the top of the surround easily. Used a credit card to push in the clips and pull the surround on the sides and bottom left and right. There is a cloth cover over the steering column which is held to the surround by plastic push fit fasteners.Use aa screwdriver to lever this down and pop it off. The lower surround in the middle is the worst. I found that you need to push the surround back to the top as a loose fit to take off the strain on the lower clips above the column. With thumb and forefinger of both hands,grip and squeeze and pull the lower surround out.Then when unclipped the surround should come away ,bottom first. Phew. Undo the two top securing screws for the cluster and pull forwrd.Unclip LH & RH loom. The small hinge clip needs to be raised up and this pushes the plug out. Now you've got the cluster in your hands. Remove the LH RH screws and unclip the clips round it to release the front cover. Unclip the two clips beside the screw holes to take off the back and to access the PCB. Take an small electronic 25W soldering iron and some solder and reflow the joints of the TLE 4276g.I did one pin at a time and waited for the heat to come out the IC. If it gets too hot it could fail. I put it all back together ' refitting is reversal of removal ' !! Dont forget the fuse. Thanks to Csblazso for the idea. I just thought I'd add some info on how to do this fix. Hope it helps.

And I've got 160K.1.9 Octavia SLX 1999 No major problems so far . Just had major front wheel wobble taken out by replacing the tie rod ends . Still making a loud front end noise which is like metal on metal which I think is due to the wheel bearings in need of replacement. Also needs cambelt change now. So what to do ? trade in or have the work done and go for 200k ? Hmmmm:confused: Its a great car as I travel 80miles a day to and from work.

An update. My fault is no power steering on start up with warning light , 99% of the time . 1% of start ups , no warning light . Power steering is fully functional. I've already changed the angle sensor to no avail and now I've taken off the pump. Has any body taken one of these apart as I'm convinced its corrosion inside across the PCB of the ECU (?) .why else would it work sometimes. Can any body tell me what make this pump is ? So far I have a quote of £360 +VAt for a new one. Indentification based on my engine code. Thanks Smudge

I've got no power steering . Thanks for the help so far from everybody , changed the angle sensor. Got Vag com working ( EBAY version , interface must be plugged in for it to work, use a com port , so instructions a bit wrong) but I have 01309 Power Steering control module(j500) , 49-00 - N0 Communications which returns as soon as i clear it. Angle sensor = no fault codes I've found out from this forum that the pump has the ecu fitted within it ( please correct me if I'm wrong ) and can be acessed from behind the grill beside the passenger near side fog lamp. Looking at the cables through the removed grill, Left hand side data coms bus , middle is main power and right hand side is the angle sensor. So can any body help with these questions. Can the ecu be seperated from the pump for inspection? :confused: Is the large brown cable ground and where grounds onto the chassis? Any idea where the com cable goes as maybe i could check the other side. Any other ideas Did have these cables unplugged and found a bit of dampness within them , maybe there is water in the ecu. Thanks to everyone who's helped so far , but I need just a little more.

Hi All well , got a sensor today and fitted it , so now I know how to do that but still the problem exists . Start engine and power steering light stays on with no 'power steering ' . Turn engine off . Start again then repeat this process until finaly it goes out and power steering is present. Looked at the other cables in the unit behind the fog lamp on the pump. found a little dampness within the plugs which we cleaned away. Problem still exists. Checked the main red/black which I assume is the main power feed , at the battery . OK. Would like to check the brown , I assume ground to chasis connection but cant find out where it goes. Any body help ? I'm coming to the conclusion thats its the Pump or ECU ( which I assume is the big siver box mounted on the passenger side on the wall . Has anybody got any other ideas ? Thanks for the help smudge PS The one thing I haven't done is clear any fault codes as Fabia-vrs.com - Replacing the Fabia PAS sensor (thanks good info) states . Does this realy have to be done ie it doesn't clear the fault itself with a new presumably new sensor fitted ?

Thanks , I'll take a look this weekend .

Hi All . Same problem with mine (fabia 2000) today. Does any body know if this cable :- " The power cable was wearing out and sending incorrect signals to the ECU, which caused not only the failure but inaccurate fault codes! " , can be repalced DIY . And also the sensor ? Cheers

Thanks All. Thats what it was . Had trouble removing the skuttle panel ( passenger side ). I managed to unclip it ok but couldn't maneuver it around the bonnet hinge . Any tips ? Any way I could push it up to gain access to the void underneath where I could see leafs etc loads of water(!) but no hole . So using some tweezers I removed what I could see. suddenly, Woosh as as the water drained out through the hole. I was amazed to discover that only a small amount of debris blocked it :eek: . Did a similar thing on the driver side also. So thanks again guys.

Thanks for the replies. Posted too quick last night as I should of posted in 'Octavia' and not 'new octavia' . Mine is a T reg 1999. Talking to others suggest that the drains just under the bonnet could be blocked so I'll check tonight. I'll let you know. Thanks again

Hi Guys Looks like the rubber/panel at the bottom of my windscreen on my octavia has perished :( and one side has lifted leting in this rain. Does anybody know if these parts are easily replaced . Thanks

OK , sensor fitted . Took about 15 mins. Test drive next . Although I did seem some white gunk underneath the oil filler cap which may explain my coolant loss :eek: . I'll keep an eye on this thread . http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/head-gasket-failure/66431/ keep you posted smudge:)

Thanks Sarah. I've since found out that the sensor I was on about is the connecter to the electronic ignition system. Its a solid state distributor . So its still always possible that there could be a problem with it but i doubt it as the car runs fine after its started. The temp guage , this morning , worked for 5 miles then shut down. After I got to where I was going , I turned off then turned it over again. The car and the temp guage , started and worked ok . This problem occurs after its been left for 20 mins or so. Thanks again for the help:D smudge

Hi Thats great. I'll try that this weekend. The only maybe coincidental thing is that it started up after moving the plug which is shown at the bottom of Pic 2A on the guide on how to replace the sensor, on a cover(RHside) which goes over top of the plugs. What is that ? I assume that there is a colour code on the switch which I must match in this case grey, but I'll check Thanks for all the help ap0gee & AwesomeSarah . Smudge

Hi . Can sombody help me with this problem which has just occured on my Fabia 1.4 8 valve? Its w reg, 2000 I think :confused: . It only starts when cold . When warm it fails to start. We took it to our local garage who changed the plugs and gave it a simple service but the problem still exists. We do know that if we 'wiggle' the cabling which goes into a block over the top of the plugs then, it fires up. Is this a temperatue sensor location and which is maybe at fault ? We also have no temperature gauge information displayed at anytime. As a side topic, my Octavia SLX is the best car I've ever bought . Cheers Smudge