Cheapas

Thanks Wino for the explanation. I wanted to check the low speed fan first as what you suggested made sense considering I'd gassed it up in May 20'. Seemed pointless regassing before replacing fan. The 318 code as you say seems to be a generic code for low pressure. Is the result I had from the bridging test a firm indication the fan motor is faulty, or are there any other things to try? If that's the case I'll replace the fan first, then move on to the low gas quantity. On the issue of replacing the fan, a quick Google around and the likes of GSF are listing the fan either as a fan on its own or with a cradle/housing (with considerable price difference). Would you know if the fan can be replaced on its own , or would I need the complete item? There are plenty on eBay, but if they are as fragile as you mentioned, maybe best to swallow and buy new.

By heatsoaks do you mean the air con works up till it needs the fan to cool down the gas? How does the fan work in relation to the air con? By that I mean the radiator is between the fan and the condenser, so how does the fan cool the condenser?

Ok, update time. Finally got around to doing bridging test Wino suggested. Using a test light, with ignition on the high speed fan worked. Testing the low speed side, my test light lit up and there was an audible click but no fan working. Noticed the wires leading into the plug were just wrapped in electrical tape, and got excited when I noticed brown wire insulation was stripped/ chafed back. However presume thats the live one , and it still works the high speed. Had an idea that if I kept the high speed side of the fan running , the air con may kick in . Made a bridging wire, car and fan running, unfortunately no luck. Not plugged it back in yet and car still on axle stands just in case more suggestions coming from you knowledgeable people.

See I've never agreed with that way of thinking. What could you buy for £500 that doesn't have its own issues ? If the rest of the car is sound, and you've no plans to change it , I'd spend it. But then to me I'm not into cars for cars sake, it's just a tool like the hoover etc. Personally I hate the agg of changing cars, rather spend money on what I've got, if I'm going to get a few more years out of it.

£900, wow! How do they come to that price out of curiosity? Just had a look on EuroCarParts, with their never ending discount, condenser is £85. Think ideally your meant to change receiver dryer as well. Paid £22 for a Megane one, EuroCarParts don't list a Fabia one. Regas £50 ish, not sure how much pipe would be, and say 2 hours labour in a workshop with their facilities. Would have thought even with vat would come in at less than £500 ish. Do you have maybe a mobile air con specialist who could quote you?

Ok, thanks, bridging time it is.

Thanks Wino. Just looked on EuroCarParts . Stupid question, is it the radiator fan switch I'm looking for? Listed at £ 14 ish so worth a punt.

Thanks everyone. So did the climatronic test with wife operating buttons , me by bonnet. Fan went full blast straight off, no slow speed demonstrated, during test. With the engine running , compressor is turning , complete with middle part. Unfortunately they're not doing that in my part of the world. Still thinking of buying the top up trigger with guage, just to see if it indicates how much gas is there.

By the way, found a link on here you left to a You Tube video of a chap fixing a customers 2005 Polo's air con. Broken wire in the end. Watched it all the way through, very interesting especially his perseverance and knowledge. Just need him to move near me......

Thanks Wino, was just about to dig some spanners out to take aux belt off. The compressor is easily visible on my car, so when and if the Mrs ever gets back from the shops, I'll go and check it and the fan.

Thanks Sepulchrave,, that's a useful tip. Presumably you mean if it's broken the pulley would have no resistance , be easy to turn by hand?

Sorry, just seen your edit. The fault code (318) was the same as last year, and a Google around says it's a generic code across VAG for low pressure . The 02 on the right maybe means 2 faults. After gassing up in May 20 the climatronic reset itself and codes disappeared. I read a thread on here where MRGF had the same fault codes , not sure if he resolved the prob. Mulling over for £20 can buy the trigger with guage from Halfords for the refill cannisters, then hopefully with a bit of You Tubing work out if it's low on gas. As I said it got me thru last summer /autumn, so maybe if it needs a slight top up every year the cannister is way to go. Descicons, descicons.......

Thanks , as soon as she returns I'll jump on it. The car that is. Had another thought re the compressor. On our 06 Megane the compressor has a clutch , which you can visibly see working . As the Fabia doesn't have one ( clutch,) although it's turning when engine running , how would I know that it's actually compressing and not just turning?

Hmmm, thinking about it no I didn't. I had the bonnet open and as soon as I took my fingers off the buttons leapt out of the car . By then the fan was running at full blast, but it's possible it started slower briefly which I missed. It only ran the fan briefly, then moved on to blower fan, think the whole test takes a minute tops. As soon as ' her indoors ' gets back from the shops, I'll drag her down and get her to start test while I stick my nose next to fan. Sorry Wino, do I understand by what you said that with air con on the fan runs at the slower speed , therefore if it's not working at that speed the air con wouldn't kick in?

Thank you sir, it's an age thing. Must admit when I read your post thought you'd solved my air con prob ! Oh well , saves me asking my personal IT adviser ( sarky daughter).

Thant is actually meant to be Thanet, as in East Kent. Small typo when registering, didn't get around to correcting it. Moved out of the smoke 14 years ago, now 10 mins walk to the sea, lovely. Just tried the climatronic test again, guess what, the first thing it tested was the radiator fan ! Working fine it seems. Spent an hour trying to get my hands down there earlier...... Still flagging up same code 318 and 02. On the up side, air con may still not be working, but at least I've learnt a few things about the car today. Back to the drawing board.

Jeez Wino, is there nothing you don't know? !! Need you as my next door neighbor ! Just had a thought. When you do the climatronic diagnosis and it runs through a few things , wonder if it starts the fan? Should have checked. Thanks for the thought re the condenser, I'll check the fan before thinking of changing that. Keep saying it's got to be something simple.......! Actually found some info on here where you gave advice on the connectors, chap with a constantly running fan. Trying to think logically, had it gassed up May last year, and the climatronic unit only started flashing 3 weeks ago. Lasted over a year , so maybe just something simple. Thanks again.

Ignore above, poxy tablet. Anyway , thanks Wino for info. Tested fuses under bonnet for fan, all good. Also has separate air con fuse on battery, that's ok. Checked any air con related fuses in car, ok. Next tried to get to fan thermoswitch to bridge wires, cannot access from above, even after removing air in pipework. Going to have to remove undertray, but as I normally change oil in August mulling over leaving it to then, or bringing oil change foward. While groveling about did notice the bottom of the condenser is not in the best of conditions, so wondering if it has a small seepage of gas. Tapped the refill valves with screwdriver, got hiss of gas, so still some there, but maybe not enough. If I sprayed soapy water on bottom of condenser would this highlight any gas leaks ie bubbles? Got the complete Skoda service history from new from previous owner, no mention of any condenser change. If I had half a clue what I was doing, would maybe try the Halfords top up cannisters , just to see if a small amount of gas would make a difference.

Is this a Skoda thing then across all their cars?

Had this argument somewhere else on here. Point is, in the crowded south east where I commute, and particularly around the poxy Dartford Xing , on a hot day like yesterday stuck in near stationery traffic for an hour , would presume the temperature guage would creep up. Hopefully then if the fan is working I'd notice it kick in and the guage needle stabalise. This has been my experience on other diesel cars that didn't consider said guage a waste of space. Also granted on diesels does take awhile for guage to start rising , but thanks to Highways England in my part of the world it's a regular occurrence . See by your location that maybe your not stuck in traffic regularly, lucky you !

Ok , thanks Wino, appreciate your time in sorting advice. I'll have a go tomorrow. Annoyingly was stuck in massive jam yesterday, 1 hour to do 5 miles, so presume fan would have come on if working. So annoying car doesn't have temperature guage.

First registered 30/05/2008 Engine number in log book is BMS 112808 Thanks

Hi Wino, you posted this: I can help you to check out the fan operation if you want. First thing to look at is the fuses on top of the battery. Strip fuse 6 (50 Amp) does the high speed fan operation on your car I think - assuming it was built after May 2008 -, and blade fuse 8 (30 Amp) does low speed. If both are intact, you can try triggering each speed via the radiator thermoswitch connector to see whether they both work. With ignition switched on, link pin 1(brown wire) of the thermoswitch loom connector to pin 2 (brown/blue wire) for low speed operation, and to pin 3 (brown/green wire) for high speed. Edited 2 August

Thanks Wino, funny enough just reading some advice you gave to MRGF a while back over the same prob. You advised him how to test fan operation, mine is same car but 08 plate. Would that be the same trick?