bazD

HELP !!!! My trusty old R reg Felicia had to have a new alternator fitted as the old one quite rightly died after 93000miles. Since disconnecting the battery, fitting the alternator (which works fine) and re-connecting the battery the darn airbag light stays on. Sequence goes like this; ignition on, airbag light on for appro 6 secs, goes off for 2 secs then back on and stays on. Have tried an OBD2 reset via bluetooth adapter and software but cannot connect the adpater to the ECU - one of those weeks agggrrrhhhh !!!!! and help greatfully received - hope this dosen't cost too much as the car is to be sold this month. Cheers - Barry

Yes the sensor lies under the thermstat (so to speak) but is mounted on the gearbox housing. If nothing else remove and clean it as it may have a build up of dirty on it. My problem occured once the car was warm not after a first start. I wonder when your fuel filter was last changed ??? Good luck with your issues - Baz

mine had similar problem - was a very blocked fuel filter, fitted a new one and back came the performance !!

very true Alex - even I leave things like CV boots to my local garage, can't be bothered with the hassle when they only charge £30 all in !!!!

hope you got the job done eventually - it's a pig of a job and was designed by a numpty !!! I'm a qualified time served industrial electrician and things like this drive me mad - there's no need to make it so difficult. hope you (and I) never need to do it again - and again sorry my 1st post was wrong thinking the job was easy!!! Baz

My initial reply was so wrong !!! I think I replaced the illuminating bulb in one of the switches before by just pulling off the front cover - this is not the same as changing one of the switches. There's no way the switch will not just pull out (as I found out today when I also replaced the headlight switch), and part of the dash/instrument assembly needs removal. The Haynes manual isn't 100% right but gives a good idea how to do the job - I didn't need to remove the steering wheel myself. Hope you get the job done OK - the design of the dash and removal of parts of it just to replace a switch is a totally naff design!!!! good luck !!

easy job - just pull old switch straight out of the dash and remove old switch from electrical connector. then fit new switch to connector and then push switch back into dash.

Cause of my problems was the crank angle sensor - mounted on the gearbox casing. cost £40 and easy to replace. Baz

My local garage belive they have found the fault - the hall sensor (located on the gearbox housing) which senses engine rotation. Either the wiring or the sensor is playing up, they are changing the sensor in 2 days when a new one arrives - will update once I know more.

seems you have the same issues as I now have (see my post under user bazD) - I've spent the whole weekend to no avail trying to fix, car goes to the garage wed am. Will post the outcome on here Baz

forgot to add the cars now done 80,000 miles and the timing chain is original but not noisy. Baz

happens after about 2 miles driving then can happen at almost anytime but more frequently under acceleration. Baz

Can anone ofer an help with this prolem - my Felicia 1.3 MPi (97 R reg) has developed what is best described as a 'cough' in as much the engine suffers from a jolt - appears to be the fuel pump switching on/off/on again all in a second or two. When the engine missfires a relay can be heard clicking in the fusebox - I guess it's the fuel pump relay. I've chaned the coilpack as I thought I was HT problem - same as before Also the temp sender (mounted in the thermostat) has been changed a this did not read well on an ohmeter test. have checked all the engine management connecors/plugs which all appear ok and cleaned off the hall sensor that checks he flywheel rotation. For the record the car starts on the button first time every time no problem at all. I'm a qualified industrial electrical engineer so this ones a headscratcher for me!!! Any help/experience of this before very welcome !! Baz

Felicia's are famous for having thermostat problems, with this problem the gauge never rises in normal use - however you can check the thermostat by driving the car for about 10 miles then pull up somewhere and leave the car running. after 10 mins or less does the gauge start to rise ??? if it does it's the thermostat - it's stuck open and the engine is cooling too much due to the airflow through the radiator when moving. If the car sits still and then warms up this is because there is no (or a very small) airflow through the radiator and the cooling effect isn't happening. With a failed thermostat the car/engine/heater etc.... will still get warm - around 60 deg C - so people saying 'do the hoses get hot' are off the mark on that one. normal opperating temp once warm with a good thermostat will be 80 - 90 deg C (mid position on felicia gauge). see ebay (Jorily skoda parts) for a new reasonably priced thermostat. hope this helps !!!!!

If following the Haynes manual instructions for valve clearance setting make sure you remove the oil splash plate BUT then refit it's bolt as this will cause you to set them incorrectly else. I have mentioned this on a post about checking the clearances before so you may of already seen it. My wife's 1.3 LXi is also heavy on the steering - thats because there's no power steering. to make it easier you must keep the tyres pumped up - I set them at the 'fully loaded' pressure on the front even though there's only ever us 2 + the dogs (westies) in the car. The pressure setting should be on the fuel filler flap. you will also find that worn tyres (especially those nearly at the minimum tread depth) can give a heavier feel to the steering at low speeds. enjoy your new car - you've choosen wisely !!!!!!!! Baz

problem now appears solved - the strong smell of petrol on hot starts made me think the car was overfuelling thinking it was doing a cold start. I had a spare coolant sensor from when I changed the thermostat assembly a few years back so I warmed the engine up and tried a hot start with the suspect sensor still in - no joy at all. Then fitted new one and bingo ! instantly better ! The thermostat now reads warmer than before at just below middle reading too. Thanks pinkskud for your reply and advice .........

Hi - I'm having grief with the wifes usually trusty Felicia. If you stop and then want to immediately restart the car (for instance if stalled) the car really struggles badly to start. From a cold start or 'semi warm' (ie: left for 20 mins) it fires fine first time. Engine is a 1.3 MPi 1997 R reg. For the record it's got the usual thermostat issue of running cool, but has had good regular servicing otherwise. Sometimes it feels a bit sluggish/hesitant when pulling away from a cold morning start, but otherwise it's been as good as gold. I've a few ideas - I'll change the stat for a start, check the plugs and air/fuel filters. Previously the intake manifold gasket leaked making the mixture very weak but that never caused a starting issue - but I'll check that too. Any help/ideas very gratefully received. Cheers !!

the boss (wife) has had her 1.3 MPi LXi for the past 9 years - it's a R reg. No massive problems but here goes it's lifestory.......... The CV boots (outers) have needed replacing (

here's a little warning - the haynes manual has got 1 point badly wrong when setting the valve clearances. It tells you to remove the oil splash shield to get to some of the valves - but you MUST then refit the bolt that mounted the shield and torque it to the correct setting. If you leave that bolt out you won't set the clearances correctly as the shaft that has the rockers on it won't be in the correct position !!! Once all the clearances are set remove that bolt and refit the splash shield - again bolt to the correct torque setting.