Alasdair1

Have a 12 plate 1.6tdi octavia and yesterday dreaded click click click from starter when trying to start in town. AA came out boosted battery and got it going no problem. Guy said the battery was down to about 20% capacity holding and suggested get another before winter. Had a good battery in old Octavia. Put on charge over night and fitted this morning. First try went click click click from starter then second attempt started no bother. Have started and stopped about a dozen times without problem since then. Usual lights on after removing battery steering,abs, etc until I ran it up and down the road. Problems remaining since battery change are Fuel guage isnt showing full tank (just filled to brim) Gradually increasing as I drive but seems to have stopped at 300 miles Car wont rev past 2500 when stationary. Feels like limp mode but revs fine when driving. Not sure if this is normal?? Windows seem to work ok but with long press on switch windows dont automatically go fully down. If I use fob to unlock then long press all windows go down If I lock car then long press only drivers window goes up. All other windows still operate from drivers buttons. I'm hoping due to flat battery and replacement things will eventually sort themselves out once ECU gets it together Whats worrying me is that it didnt start first time with good battery. Thinking maybe bad earth but checked and seems good and no probs since change Hope the above makes sense. Alasdair

Had a look at a superb when I was looking for another Octy. Very nice car indeed with all the add ons and more. I went with an Octavia mainly as I have a few that I canabilise for parts. May well go for a Superb next time as my donor cars are gradually getting stripped of decent parts. Its if I remember slightly longer than the Octavia but as said very nice to drive. Enjoy Alasdair

If you lose any more I reckon you could just apply a clear top coat. Never seen one that bad. Alasdair

Cant think of any other way to decompress engine. Hopefully if its brake cleaner it will eventually evaporate or drain down.

From your description of 'only turning once if that' .something maybe jamming a piston or pistons in one or more cylinders One may be full of liquid/gunk and not reaching full stroke before either hitting something or trying to compress liquid. It may be worth loosening the injectors or glow plugs to cause some decompression and see if any liquid comes out . I would turn over by hand until you check out inlet etc. Alasdair

When you say it doesnt turn over but cranks once do you mean that the engine actually turns (pistons are moving) but doesnt start or does it turn and then stop turning at a specific point. I wouldnt use starter until your sure there is nothing gone down air intake that could jam pistons/valves etc. Try and turn engine over by hand and see if there is any resistance at any point. Hope that makes sense. Engine cranking to me is the same as engine turnover but not the same as starting. Brake cleaner should evaporate quickly so doubt its hydraulicking Alasdair

If it turns over then any fluid may come out anyway unless its hydraulicking. Wonder if you have blocked the cat with gunge and fluid as there is no dpf as far as I know on the BXE. Removal of glowplugs is better done when engine is hot and also better to put some penetrating oil around glowplugs for a few days beforehand. Check the butterfly is operating in the air intake. Alasdair

If the wire is broken I normally just solder the wire together but if its at a point where it gets flexed if near a door hinge I tend to replace a section so the join isn't getting stressed. I generally solder a new section in and use heat shrink to cover the joins pus some insulation tape for extra protection. A lot cheaper and easier than replacing loom. Alasdair

Check you replaced all the electrical connectors and vaccums etc and there secure and making contact. Weird it wont start after it being cleaned unless you dropped a lot of gunge into intake. It could also be stuck open but car not noticed as it was completey blocked Alasdair

From memory I think its on the opposite end of pump from drive wheel end Alasdair

Spend the money on good quality new brake discs and pads etc if needed. Rear drums work very well as previousy said but have problems. Check and replace the rear wheel cylinders depending on there condition as well as the small plastic discs the shoes sit on plus adjusters Did that on my sons fabia and made a big difference as his were worn out and had slight imbalance plus slight weep of brake fluid. A decent set of tyres as well and see how it drives. Check the suspension arm bushing for wear as well. Sons car is like new to drive after changing front swing arms etc and a lot more positive on the road. A new exhaust system plus discs on rear won't give you any real increase in power or improve handling. Better spending the money on something else Alasdair

Came accross this on here. Seems to be a wwiring issue between EGR and ECU. Appologise its just a link. If its not the wiring then maybe new EGR

I replaced my sons but I was also doing the bearing. The other side I managed to use a long sharp chisel to tap it free along the edge of the bolt then some long nozed vice grips. Weird thing was the one that was difficult to get was the most rusted on both sides. Luckily it wasn't seized in just rusted head so I managed to remove it. I replaced them with stainless steel bolts I got a packet from toolstation. They were allen type with a rounded head. I used a bit of heat on them with penetrating oil. Alasdair

You will be hard pushed to find a diesel without DPF unless its fairly old and in good condition. If its a Fabia then my folks had a late MK1 estate 1.9tdi BXE. Think it was an 07 plate and it fairly shifted when you wanted it to and 60-70mpg long run. My old Octy was the same engine as well as my old Seat altea. No dpf or adblue nonsense. Engines are generally bomb proof but road tax is higher and no where near Ulez compliant. Will be following this as I now have a 1.6tdi Octavia 12 plate with dpf and don't do many long runs anymore so may be looking for the same as you. Alasdair

On my old Seat altea 1.9tdi BXE (same engine) there is an egr cooler at the rear of engine. On the cooler there is also a vaccum unit. Its plastic. On mine I kept getting EGR flow errors and limp mode. EGR was working fine. I tracked it down to the plastic vaccum unit. It was sticking and not opening fully. It could also be the egr cooler thats choked. The plastic vaccum unit looks like this

Maybe a dirty or failing accelerator pedal sensor thats sending wrong info to ecu. Think they can be cleaned but never had the problem.

The in tank fuel pump should operate when the drivers door is opened/unlocked after being locked for a while plus also when car is running. I assume its to prime the system. There are I believe 2 fuses for the pump. One for the priming and second for ECU. If the pump is running check the voltage to pump in case its low. Think there will be a relay as well. I had a quick look and on my sons 1.2 mk1 the fuses are number 14 and 52. Sorry no idea where or which relay. One fuse does ECU and the other I think does fuel pump. Why they make modern cars so complicated I don't know. Years ago things were simple without ECU etc. They either ran or didnt. Just fixed my ancient tractor with a 3 cylinder perkins. Fuel starvation problem due to diesel bug in system. Cleaned and new filters etc. Hand primed via lift pump. Released air from injector pump and number 1 injector and started no probs. Took about 20 mins. Alasdair

If its better from cold I would assume there is less air/more fuel(not sure how modern chokes work) until it warms up. If its being starved of fuel it might explain why its better when cold and your getting better combustion ratio. If there are no codes via VCDS then it may be a fuel problem. Is the intank fuel pump working ok? Alasdair

If the EPC and engine symbol are there and go out when car is running I assume the system is working. I remembered I got similar symptoms on my sons 1.2. I always put a rag in air intake when removing engine cover/air filter just in case I drop something in it. I forgot to remove rag and car idled but died under power due to lack of air. Luckily didnt suck rag all the way in. Try running it without air filter and see if it makes any difference. Hope its something simple and an easy fix. It may be worth seeing if anyone near you has VCDS. It may ping up something that the other scanners have missed Alasdair

ESC I think is electronic stability control. It will go off once car is started. As said not sure what a MK1 engine management light looks like. It could be an orange engine block looking symbol or EPC or both. Either way it should illuminate at preignition and go off once car is started unless theres a fault.

Sorry EML is engine management light. Normally comes on when in limp mode on my cars. I think its linked to emissions as mine came on due to EGR problems. There is also EPC which is also engine management. Not sure if the Fabia has both but they should light up at pre ignition and go off when car is started. Alasdair

On all my cars I have had the dreaded EML and limp mode for various reasons. Does the EML light on yours show at pre ignition? Just wondering if someone has disabled it. I would have thought it should come on when in true limp mode. Alasdair

If it starts and revs but dies under load it could be a fuel problem. Maybe fuel pump down on pressure or perhaps clogged fuel filter? Its weird that there are no codes if it went into limp mode. Maybe its not actually limp mode but fuel starvation. You could try it without fuel cap in case the vent is clogged and also check airfilter. Alasdair

I think your better removing them whe the engine has been run and is hot. Thats what my old mechanic friend always said. He reckons its less likely to snap them. As yours have been replaced it shouldnt be a problem. Alasdair

Check the wiring to number 4. I think the ground circuit is the path taken back to the neutral side of battery from glow plug. It could be a faulty plug,wiring isssue or the glow plug control timer unit itself. If they have just been replaced they should come out fairly easily for testing. You could always swap 4 and say three to see if the fault code changes cylinder to rule out glow plug or confirm fault in wiring. Alasdair