Fred66

I finally got the car back at the end of last week, a re conditioned steering pump was fitted and the steering is now lighter and quieter than it ever has been, which is nice. I've racked up some miles since and it seems to be staying fixed for now. It's disappointing to have this kind of thing go wrong on an 85k mile car, they don;t make them like they used to imo The broken pump was sent to the provider of the reconditioned unit to get rebuilt. I'd really like to know what was actually wrong with it but it's probably a trade secret also I'd not dare ask as in their small print they say that if water ingress is the cause of the problem they can levy a surcharge so I'm keeping my head down really hoping not to hear from them. Again many thanks for the information you all have gave me.

Thanks guys you all have been very helpful. The car is still at the garage. I didn't get a chance to read this before i went out this morning but I will speak to the mechanic on Monday about the booster/ battery and the possibility of a hairline crack on the split fuse. I'm relieved to hear that there should not be any coding issues if (when no doubt!) it comes to changing the pump. One question I have is why are there these coding issues in the first place, the mechanic told me he had a Golf that had some abs work done and now he was having coding issues with it. Is this a corporate ploy to force us to use main dealers and mess about small independent operators? As far as batteries go this seems a good deal https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-027-car-battery-3-year-guarantee-444770271

Ive had the car for 4 years, Not changed the battery yet. It always starts well. Pre ignition if the red PAS hazard light came on, it would not have power steering when the engine was started (before touching the steering wheel) If pre ignition the hazard light was off, it would start up with PAS which not fail until the engine was next turned off then back on.. if that makes any sense!

Hi Pete, The issue did start when the weather turned wet a few weeks ago, initially intermittent (the worse type of electrical faults I've heard) so I kept turning it on and off which cleared the problem for a while. When the PAS failed was always on start up, never whilst driving, a couple of times the opposite happened, when it wasn't working (whilst driving) it came back on. When it never worked (even with on multiple start ups) I took it to the garage, I thought that would make it easier to diagnose.

Hi JR, the car had lost all power steering, the red hazard on the dash appeared, I checked the PS fluid level, it was ok. At that point I took it to a local garage . The mechanic said (a few days ago) if I was lucky it would just be a bad connection, Today he told me he had checked the battery, some fuses, taken the bumper off to check the contacts to the pump, he said power is going to the pump and that he thinks the problem lies within the pump. He also said some stuff I didn't understand, possibly about a sensor, maybe the words can, bus, ecu I don't remember the word controller. Is it part of pump, or located somewhere else? He seems to be saying that because he can't get a code (from the pump) fitting an off the self reconditioned pump wont work because it needs coding, he thinks it would be better to get my one reconditioned. Western Power steering in Bristol contradicted this by saying there aren't coding issues with this particular pump. I have read elsewhere that there are. Hence me here.

Hi , I've got a 2012 1.2 TSi Fabia estate on a ramp at a local garage. The mechanic thinks the steering pump (one with green dip stick) has failed. He says the computer he has cant communicate with it at all, so he cant get any codes from it. He is concerned about re coding issues if we get an off the shelf unit to replace it. So the question is this this case? Do these steering pumps need a unique code to communicate with the cars ecu or are they 'plug and play' (his term) I've found a place which sells reconditioned pumps or they can rebuild the one you send in, so he's saying best get it re built if it avoids re coding issues or an a reconditioned one if not . due to time and storage issues I'd rather get an off the self one but not if there are more head aches when it's fitted pic is of the one in the car. Mant thanks for ant help

Finally changed that switch gear. Replaced it with a new extremely expensive OE assembly, in fact I pretty much did it twice as I fitted the lower cowling incorrectly the first time round, had it rubbing against the steering wheel, so had to take the airbag and wheel off again. Struggled with detaching the thing directly behind the steering wheel, which is attached to the switch gear assembly, 4 easy tabs and one silly clip on the left which took some time to release (by squeezing the body of that thing) I got it into my head I should push down the recessed tab, which didn't work. Full beam works properly now which is a huge relief. Next some work on the rear brakes to try and improve the hand brake then the dreaded MOT early next week. The torx M10 nut seems a bit soft so I can see why they recommend a new one Thanks all for the correct diagnosis regarding that switch assembly being the problem. I found this,though the assembly is different,remarkably an even newer model, my one looks like it too can be taken apart, so I'll have a go and see if I can fix it , like this guy did Skoda Fabia Windscreen Wipers Stuck On

Earth lead first, leave the live connected throughout? I try and do this myself, what could go wrong?, haha 😉

Thanks UrbanPanzer that doesn't sound too hard, Ignition off, the battery disconnected on the live terminal, then the above? You don't think there could be any issues elsewhere by disconnecting the power? Something somewhere demanding a code I don't have, the microchip in the key no longer being recognised? Camberly Skoda quoted an hour and a half at 165 plus vat p/h, perhaps they include their lunch hour in that!

Thanks wino , The first photo has what looks like a plastic rivet will I need to do anything with that ? I was wondering if the second pic is what i need for removing air bag, there is a tab and what looks like a spring attached to it. Presumably Press the tab toward the spring? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks wino I'll contact Mike, and have another attempt with a different skoda dealer, in person this time. Auto doc e mailed me with this morning saying this cheap valeo wasn't compatible, Here https://www.autodoc.co.uk/vemo/13855090 as you suspected, they linked me here,(below) saying this is the part, also confirming it is out of stock. "These spares are out of stock. We have requested all our suppliers regarding their availability." https://www.autodoc.co.uk/metzger/14548951

Then with the revised number 6R0953507C 9B9 this https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-search?keyword=6R0953507C+9B9

Thanks fawnrush, With the code on the part 6R0 953 501 C This comes up, will e mail them as they seem to offer quite a few for that part number https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-search?keyword=6R0+953+501+C++

Thanks wino, it's a complicated business.

Did you Fawnrush did have any luck with yours? Those lose wires? I'd like to put up a picture of what's behind the wheel, doesn't have the two screw holes, seems to have a couple of tabs.

Me again, that 'fix' didn't last long, so of course I sprayed some more contact cleaner into the switch. Ahhhhh! the problem is even worse. Now the full beam won't turn off!! Comes on and stays on with the headlights in the dipped or full beam mode. Mess about with the stalk just turns it off temporarily. With headlights off, the flash option (pulling against the spring) works correctly as before. Wino and or UrbanPanzer I was wondering if the part number i'm after is 6R0 953 501 C (which is what I pictured a few posts back) or was there another option like the 6R0 953 507 C which was mentioned . Is it right that which should be the same part in a different color? Perhaps if I have a few codes I might have a better chance of locating something soon. I notice that the back of the steering assembly isn't the same as the one featured in the video posted by fawnrush, mine has no screw holes. Would fitting still be essentially the same? Disconnect battery before removing air bag ?

Fawnrush, they look short, so it ought to be to somewhere fairly near, perhaps it's worth using a small compact mirror and shining a bright torch into any concealed areas?

Oh Happy day! 😃 to my complete and utter shock a few squirts of contact cleaner fixed the problem!! Full beam without without vast expense, and no further headache all round! What a relief. Anyway as promised for the record here's a pic of the part under the cowl. I huge thanks to all of you for you patience and help, removing the cowl allowed better access for the spray, a component I'd never have guessed could by removed so easily, furthermore it has has also provided a pic of the part number which also appears to claim it was made after the car was sold (06/2012) , again yet another anomaly. I didn't mention but when I bought the car (Oct 2019) DVLA had it listed as a diesel, the seller sorted that out. A Skoda dealer gave a ball park figure of £300 to fix this issue, it makes you wonder how many poor souls needless;ly replace the whole unit. That said the contact cleaner has probably dissolved years worth of lubricant that should be in the switch, so longer term I might get a problem on that stalk.

So cowl first, then contact cleaner. I guess I better wait a while before testing as the cleaner is very inflammable, so I'll spray some in ,work the switch ,spray more in repeat, then wait half hour before trying it live (with power) ... then use fire extinguisher and tears to put out fire!! At least in that order I'll have the correct part number for the molten mess left behind 😲

Again thanks for the responses. I'll tackle the cowl tomorrow, but had an idea when I was looking at the leaver today. I'm now considering spraying in some contact cleaner into the switch, there seems to be a tiny space where the leaver travels to for full beam that I should be able to get the straw close to. The downside could be it could dissolve any (silicone) grease in there, but the upside might be that grease could be the problem anyway. Full beam on an urban car is so rarely used that maybe its gummed up with grease due to lack of use, surely a switch that is virtually never used can't be worn out yet. At this point I wonder what I've got to lose by trying?

wino, I'll try the cowl. fawnrush's part doesn't have cruise control, so no good for me. Thanks very much for your help, sorry my car has been such a pain. Will contact the garage that sold it originally, maybe they ought to know when it was made.

UP Sorry I thought you were addressing me

Struggling to re size pictures, as I can't see any edit facility

Thank you for all the responses. I DO have cruise control. In fact I bought this model primarily for that function alone. Regarding the video previously posted by fawnrush, I suspect it is NOT applicable to my car , As I haven't yet managed to find the two holes in the back of the airbag shroud. will try with a mirror, but can't feel them. The ebay links seem to show the unit as 2 individual sides, (one side, one stalk) I'm after the left hand side, the cruise controls, lights, fullbeam , flash full beam, indicators, and something that's on, off, cancel. On the other side (right) is wipers and computer stuff like average MPG oil temp etc.

I have pics of the stalks, headlights etc but it will only allow me to upload 10 MB of data. Is that a day? on this forum? ever? I've partially obscured the vin, wino said it was recommended for the introverted. What ill will could be done with the a strangers VIN details?