Danbury_Collins

Thanks, that sounds handy - I'm back in the UK with the time and space to do a bit of work on the car, so that'll be going on the list of jobs.

Filled the screen wash reservoir with summer screen wash fluid ( I *think* winter is over 🙂 ) Very nearly fitted SuperSkoda bonnet struts, but found that the bolts holding the bonnet on are non-standard. Ordered bit for strange bonnet bolts.

I travel 3 times a year, and have never had anything other than professional behaviour from them, and I always get searched* when leaving the UK. * not very well

That's true with my 2014 LED/Columbus equipped car - as soon as I exit the ferry, a notification pops up saying the lights have been adjusted.

Sorry all - it seems I caused some confusion with file sizes, on the portal I see the 2019 maps with a 25 Gb download size, which is for the Columbus. The advice regarding CRC failure remains - this indicates a file that has not fully downloaded.

CRC problem means you haven't downloaded the full file. The full download is 25Gb.

I know that connecting it to the 12v socket in the boot would be easy, but the chance of running down the battery means it is a non-starter for me. The front Garmin already gets used in parking mode.

I've finally got round to buying a 2nd Garmin 55 to use as a rear dash cam for my estate. Can anyone give some pointers as to the best way of wiring this up - I want a permanent, ignition live, connection. The supplied cable would not reach from the fuse box to the rear screen, even if I did have a spare ignition-switched fuse available. Can I tap into something like the rear wiper - would that be ignition switched ? Is there a good/accessible earth on the rear door ? Also, how do you best take the cable supplied and alter it - it is provided with a 12v cigarette lighter plug on one end.

I think you are right - there is a round connector coming from the base of the original phone box that is not connected after fitting the Inbay. Time will tell if that is an issue with phone reception, but I don't think it will be a problem on a modern phone.

That video is exactly* how it happened. ;-) * OK, there was a lot more fiddling and trying to use only as much force as was really needed when I did it.

I've finally got round to fitting this: https://www.maxxcount.de/inbay-qi-smartphone-ablagefach-fuer-skoda-octavia-5e-ab-2013.html .. and I am very happy with it, so thought I would share my views. The idea of being able to wirelessly charge my phone was appealing and I was surprised to find that this unit was available to retrofit. Fitting is pretty easy - it took me perhaps 30 mins, but as always with this sort of job, doing a second fit would probably take 10-15 mins. You need access to the fuse box for an ignition-switched fuse - 48 in my LHD model. Also, you remove the plastic panels to either side of the tunnel - a single torx screw on each side, the panels can then be dropped to gain the access. The rubber insert in the phonebox comes out, followed by the panel for the transmission - 3 cables need to be disconnected and the panel gently levered out. Then the old phonebox can come out. the base of this snaps off, and the new base with the QI charging coil snaps neatly back on it. There's an extra cable to run from the fuse box to the new base on the phonebox, then re-fitting is the reverse of removal. In use, it is very simple - a red light comes on with the ignition, it turns blue when the phone is correctly placed. If you have any questions ... just let me know.

The Garmin 55 has an optional parking mode cable, which allows you to record constantly when parked up, I fitted this, but instructions are basically the same for the normal cable. I fitted the cam behind the rear view mirror - can't see the screen there, but it is out of the way and won't be a distraction when driving. Tuck the cable under the headlining where it meets the top of the windscreen. Remove the A pillar cover - it unclips - run the cable behind that and down into the fuse box. To access the fuse box ( I hope this is right, my car is LHD ) remove the coin box from under the steering wheel. The panel on the end of the dash - half-moon shaped - can be pushed out when the coin tray is removed. Find an ignition switched fuse - 48 on mine. Remove the fuse, put in the piggy back fuse holder, with the removed fuse as the bottom fuse in the piggyback holder. For the parking mode cable - an extra power feed with a small battery - add this into a fuse that is permanently live. For the earth, there is a bolt / hex head in the fuse box - remove it, put the earth around it and then fix it up nice and snug. Put the panels back, make a cuppa. You'll need: a multimeter - for checking for live / ignition switched live fuses 10mm socket with extension

For a car doing short commutes, 3 times a week, amounting to 7000 miles a year, 1.4 DSG - what would be better - fixed or variable ?

Go to the Skoda update website, enter your Vin and download the current map: https://updateportal.skoda-auto.com/ You'll need a bigger SD card, 32Gb from memory.

The release of maps to the Skoda update portal will be in Week 45 - we are currently on week 44.

Downloading the Columbus - will update when it is installed. Interesting when you go to the Skoda update portal, the UK version says "November", the Germans get more information - week 45, which is next week. So if you want to download from Skoda itself you should only have a couple of days to wait.

It is great to get a ping notification when I am putting my lippy on and browsing Twitface. Saves the person behind me from having to beep their horn.

I have a Garmin 55 - more than just a dashcam, it has lane departure, speed warnings and speed camera warnings, alerts you when the queue of traffic starts moving again. You can also get a parking mode cable - it constantly records even when the vehicle is parked. https://www.digitaltrends.com/car-accessory-reviews/garmin-dash-cam-55-review/

So, the guy was looking for an overboost function, as was found on the Golf, giving a power/torque boost for a 10 second period, but didn't find it. He did however find the ability to tell the ECU which manufacturer was using the ECU (Seat/Skoda/Audi, etc ). When set to Audi it codes a quicker reaction to inputs from the accelerator. The increased sensitivity works across all driving modes ( Eco, normal, sport ) Making, for example Eco react like normal, normal like sport.

Would Xenon lights being on be enough to disable auto start/stop in normal usage ?

I've had this since fitting a dash cam - it seems to block the stop/start until you have driven a good distance - definitely longer than normal. Have you connected anything up to the car recently.

I think I have around 6000 tracks on my card - the Columbus works OK with a 128Gb card. Then again, I tend to stick the player on random and just skip any tracks that don't suit the my mood/the moment.

Yes, you can copy FLAC files with out any problem, if.... you have the right level of compression on the FLAC file. I found this out when some FLACs would play and some not. In Media Monkey I transcoded the failing files to compression level 4 ( Tools -> Convert Format, select FLAC, click on settings, change compression level to 4 ). After that they played OK.

An old thread, I know, but I have experienced the same issue. Upgraded the software for the Columbus to 411 and that did not resolve the issue. I checked the settings for the FLAC File conversion in Media Monkey and there is an option for the level of compression used int the file - I downgraded that to level 4, converted a known failing file... and it now works. So it looks like the Columbus can handle some level of compression in the FLAC file, but not higher levels - if you experience problems, convert the files and try again.

Folks, thanks for all your help - the firmware/software is now up to date and it went flawlessly, with the slight exception that I set it running Fri morning and when I came to use the car Sat eve the battery was flat as a pancake. A quick visit from the Dutch version of the AA and a nice drive round in the sun sorted that. :-)