Junips99

Before I go any further I am not an Audio boffin and am not seeking the best possible audio experience. I have a 2012 Superb 2.0 Tdi 4 x 4 just about to clock 200K. It has been an awesome car for the last 11 years and I intend to keep it as long as I can because I can't replace it for anything anywhere near as good without spending a fortune. However just recently the Columbus Head Unit has started to play up. It randomly switches on and off losing both the audio and the display at the same time. It is only off very briefly before coming back on again. This however is annoying when wanting to listen to anything whilst driving. Up until now it has been used for occasional listening to the radio as well as streaming from my phone via bluetooth (Please correct me if I have that wrong) I believe. Today I have been to a trusted auto-electrician who assures me that the head unit is not showing any faults and all connections / earths are good. Whilst looking at this he contacted an Car Audio specialist who said that the he has come across this type of problem with many different cars and that the fix is a software upgrade, something that only SKODA can do. A short visit to the local SKODA dealer was made where I was told that it is not a Software issue otherwise the unit would not start and that I need to book it in for a diagnostic check for which I will be charged £156. No guarantees and who knows where that will go. A pop back the Car Audio specialist for a further chat revealed that he could repair the head unit by replacing the board within it for £490 or could offer me a new head unit complete with Apple Car Play etc etc etc for whatever I wanted spend. Clearly the car is not worth a huge amount and therefore I want to spend as little as possible to return to where I was before the problem started. On Ebay there are identical used head units some from sellers offering warranties from between £140 -£210. This appears to the best route to go down without spending a huge amount because I should get the same functionality as before. However I would greatly appreciate any advice from the collective. Will buying a second hand head unit lead to issues of it not being recognised? Will it need coding? (I do have VCDS but is this enough?) Will I need PIN numbers? Are there any other potential pitfalls to avoid. Even looking at new head units some speak about losing some of the functions that I currently use like taking phone calls etc. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

@leolito All I can say is that my struts never leaked any oily substance. As I said in previous post they just gradually deteriorated.

Just thought I would add my experience with replacing electric tailgate struts to my 2012 Combi. The originals had lasted 12 years and had gradually given up. First not working in the cold but only in the warm. Then not working at all requiring manually lifting and closing the tailgate. Like others I arrived at eBay with plenty to choose from ranging in price from £113/pair to more than double. Most came with a 1 year warranty, the one seller who was double the price was offering a 10 year warranty. Having read the small print the warranty was with the seller and not the manufacturer. The T's & C's stipulated that they had to be fitted by a registered garage, fully receipted etc etc. There was plenty of small print giving the seller a way out if the terms were not met. One that basis I decided to take the punt on a pair at £116. I choose a seller with a long history of trading (10+ years) and good feedback. I must say they were easy to fit taking no more than 30 mins for the pair and worked straight out of the box. No coding required, no fault codes to reset, easy peasey. Only time will tell if they are a good buy, but after a month they are working just great. I can't remember them being as quiet even when I bought the car when it was 3 years old. As far as I am concerned a success story. As I said an anecdotal experience for those undecided as to which way to go.

on the laptop at the moment. would a mobile number help?

@varooom Thanks for your reply. Sorry to be a numpty but what are TPI documents and what are and where would I locate PR codes?

Thanks too @varooom Took a 20 minute drive down the road today with some live data logging. Coolant temperature at the radiator outlet was rising from the get-go. Engine Oil temp maxed out at 84. Coolant temp maxed out at 73. I would say that the Stat is open all the time????? Coolant Temp Trip to Stamford 6 Jan 2023.xlsx

Thanks @DrCorbyLee. Have purchased a days access to ERWIN. Do you know if there is a parts listing anywhere on the system? looking to download as much as possible.

Not too sure if this is the best place to post but here we go. I still have a problem where the car will not get to a coolant operating temp of 90 degrees. I took it out for a 12 min drive this evening outside temp 5 degrees C. Before I left oil temp was 77.5, coolant temp was 75.0. During the drive the coolant varied between 76 & 68. The Coolant temp at radiator outlet - actual varied between 68.7 & 76.6. Oil temp varied between 77.5 & 82.6. The highest coolant temps were when I was idling and the lowest when travelling the fastest. When I was idling the temp gauge rose to nearly 90 whilst during driving it sat at around 75-80. Something to also note is that the "Coolant temperature at radiator outlet ; specified" is set at 80. Is this correct? Any observations would be appreciated. Thanks

Thanks @chimaera & @varooom Didn’t get chance to run a scan before leaving. The findings of my run this afternoon are as follows; 38 miles each way. Maximum speed 70mph for approx 5 miles. Typically 55mph. Numerous roundabouts enroute. Outward journey, ambient temp 6.5C. Maximum oil temperature 81C. Sat mostly around 78C. Water temperature only reached 90C once (after dual carriageway when slowing down), sat around 80c most of the time. Return journey, ambient temp 5C. Maximum oil temperature 80C. Sat mostly around 77/78C. Max water temperature 85C , sat around 80c most of the time. My conclusion is the thermostat is stuck open. Whilst driving the airflow through the radiator is cooling due to speed of the car. Greater speed = more cooling hence a rise in temp when slowing down for roundabout etc. If correct is changing the thermostat a DIY job or a trip to the mechanic?? Engine type CFBG.

Thanks. I have a 35 mile run out later today mainly on single carriageway. I’ll observe the oil temp and report later.

Thanks guys for your suggestions. I have temporarily carried out a repair using aluminium tape which is both corrosion and heat proof. Made thoroughly sure that it wouldn’t come in contact with the exposed copper of the sensors. Finally chose not to put back in the clip that caused the chafing. The constant trying to regenerate has stopped. Have rerun a scan and no codes coming up. I still have a suspicion that the thermostat is not working correctly as it struggles to get to working temp (90 degrees) and will drop back from 90 when idling. Is there a simple way of checking if the thermostat is working correctly either with or without using VCDS??

*Sleeving not sleeping.

Thanks. Are you suggesting just repairing the outer sleeping with a heat resistant tape. I’m assuming heat resistant rather than electrical insulation tape because of its location.

Had a look this afternoon and noticed that on one of the sensors (the one with the green marker tape on it in the image) there clearly is chafing on the lead with exposed copper. This most likely has been caused by the edge of the metal clip (top right of the image just passed the removable protective sleeve) that keeps the leads together. Do I now clear all fault codes and then rescan? If no fault presents, can I just apply a suitable protective tape to the lead? Do I just replace the sensor? If so what is the part no.? Do I go used from well known auction website, go new genuine or new aftermarket alternative?

Thanks for your reply. Very much appreciated. I’ll investigate further.