Former

You should do what's appropriate to your vehicle, I don't know Felicias (others here know them very well) just that on other older cars the gauge, depending on how it's wired can shows full or empty (or full) if the earth connection is broken or poor. A wiring diagram will show if the gauge/sender is earthed or you should see the earth wire/connection. You can disconnect this or piggy-back its connection to a direct connection to the battery earth and if the gauge needle moves you know the earth is poor or missing (subject to having sufficient fuel in the fuel tank). Some items don't have earth wire wire connection but earth through the items body being connected to the car's body/chassis which is the earth but I have no idea if this applies to your sender/guauge.

Hi, welcome Dave. You might find more traffic and answers by looking at and if required asking on the 'Škoda Yeti' section of the site and its forums. Good luck. 'Škoda Yeti' - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/170-škoda-yeti/

Battery and how it's checked is always my first thought on electirical and/or engine starting issues. Also forgot the GT85 details. - https://gt85.co.uk/

Did you try the clean fresh new temporary earth lead directly from the the battery negative to gauge and/or sender?

Just to add to above, forget WD-40 GT85 is better all round but cleaning lubricating electrics with sprays is best done with battery disconnected, all battery disconnect and reconnect instructions are in the car's Owner's Manual. Time of day clock is generally the only thing tht needs resting if you switch off all electrics and fully close windows/roof before disconnecting. Disconnection of the battery also means you can check the battery terminal clamp are/were tight and inside (and outside) of clamp connectors and battery terminal are fully clean, also check main cables, wire, earths are all clean, secure and protected. Ignition barrel/switch and their connections were a second thought of mine (after battery and its connections). If you haven't got the paper printed copy free VWŠKoda pdf versions are available from the following VWŠkoda site. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models You may need more than a code reader, an appropriate level VW scan tool may be required, do ensure its program for your model and year of VW model and year on the scan tool is fully up to date before using the scan tool or you can get errors with what the scan tool tells you. Let us know how you get on.

I can't remember if the lights and/or switch were entry or exist points but there are a couple (IIRC) threads about rust in that/those areas on the Fabia MK3 forum, you could do a search on this forum or just Google that will bring you back to forum posts/threads. Good luck, let us know how you get on (obviously I have even more interest than usual given the age and type of Fabia). cheers.

Unfortunately I don't think those members using phones see the nameplate thingy anyway but don't know for sure as I don't use (so-called) "smart" phone or other "smart" devices that connect to t'web. I'm not a Luddite just that I got sick of mobile phones in late 1980s and in 1990s and Twa*Nats a bit later, they all improved and then went not so-good again and a lot worse in many ways, reception problem, screens you can't view in daylight (particularly bright days), - progress. 😆

The following (assuming you have images/photos? switch on to view.) -

If you are going the LED route then do check you buy from a good reliable source and check with them what is required for VW cars, one such source I can recommend is Classic Car LEDS Ltd. (21w incandescent bulbs are "classic" technology). - https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/ This is yet another example of German engineering quality of the 21st century, had the same with my wife's 2015 Fabia car so I just turned of the DRL lights off via the Infotainment menus (you can only do that if your 2018 car was first used before 1 March 2018) and my wife to turn the side lights on if wanted instead which also light up the rear sides lights which are very good on the 2015 Fabia. - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-2-1 If you go the LED route I'd be very interested to know how much a PITA it is to fit any ballast resistor as I loathe doing much on cars and particularly on my wife's VW. Cheers.

You could have a look, perhaps remove the numberplate lights and door switch/lock/latch as I think I've seen some get rust there, perhaps the door seal though I'd have thought that would cause a leak to inside boot area. You don't say if you have an estate or hatch or what year it is, and no details at all on your name plate thingy, such as an example only.-

From just what you've put i don't think a lot of your auto-electrician, sexy scan tools are very handy but they're not the only tools needed or can be used to check and diagnosis. Cleaning the throttle body isn't difficult but I would recommend using good quality specific throttle body cleaner and I would remove it from the car to do it properly, you might want to replace the o'ring seal and battery connections to do this and may have to use a scan tool to reset or put up with the car learning (if it does on your mum's model) but a physical sticky plate might not be the issue or only part of the issue. I'd be looking at multimeter testing and wiggle tests of wiring and connections (after checking all wires and connections on throttle body/sensor and pedal are all clean, secure and protected. First result on Goggle search . - https://forums.ross-tech.com/index.php?threads/16150/ For proper diagnosis generally, not just relying on a scan tool, have a look here, there's a recent vid that applies loosely to your issue but I forget which and don't have the time to look now. - https://www.youtube.com/@mrautoservices7354

I prefer to check battery voltage (at terminals with a multimeter) as many hours as possible after the car has been run (allowing say 0.2-0.3v if the car is running stuff and computers doing their stuff) and when required to recharge the battery with a charger maintainer after reading the instructions in the car's Owner's Manual and for charger, I charge to full on the battery charger. Better to do a preventative (full) recharger with charger before the start/stop makes itself inactive when it would normally be active as the more often and longer the battery is below that level is chipping away at the overall useful life and its longevity. I always fully charge any new battery to 100%/"full" on a charger maintainer before fitting it to the car regardless of its type or going on to a VW car or not, that way I know the battery has the best start in its working life I can give it. Getting a battery as fresh as possible from manufactured production is a good idea but good sellers I think tend to have a good turnover of most batteries of most car batteries so good stock turnover. SwatCat, I personally would want to get your battery to about 10 years old with the simple, easy, clean-hands occasional, when required, use of an appropriate battery charger maintainer, it doing its work while the car is parked up unused while I doing anything other than farting about on a car.

I've been trying to promote the idea of preventative charging but some insist it's not required and the alternator can take care of things by itself, despite statistics and lots of info and users' experience often showing otherwise. I like to charge the battery to fully charged on the charger regardless of what VW have things det up for. VW had to changed the battery at previously 5 years and now I believe 4 years, personally I think this id wasting materials and continuing to make the car 12v battery one of, if not the, most oversold car part with it premature replacement. There's also the finical cost to the owner of the expensive battery and the 'coding'. I would hope to double VW's battery life expectance by the simple, easy, clean-hands very occasional when required preventative use of a battery charger maintainer when the car is parked up and not used and I can do any other than farting about with a car. The battery charge is not just about journey length it is also about the use of electric consumers on the car whilst driving and particular when the engine is not (thus alternator is not working) and when parked up. Some users/drivers use more electric than others meaning more battery power is used up. In Poland when it is cold I expect you take advantage of all the electric heating devises on the car and possibly the air conditioning then some may use added devices to the car in addition to what the car has available, the power for these has to come from somewhere. Bit like those not paying the electric bills at home leaving lights on (inside and out) unnecessarily, fridge and freezer doors open too long, (over) heating rooms they are not using or left and not returning to, etc., etc.. 🙃 Does that mean you have disconnected the battery monitor connector at the negative battery terminal, done some sort of 'coding'/setting with a scan tool or just push the deactivate button every time?

Removed to save confusion.

Well done. The auto-electrician can do a "report" on his initial scan (off the scan tool to you via email or wotever) this is useful as different scan tools can throw up different anomalies at times as they all have their good and bad points. You'd hope VW specific programs would be most accurate but those and the car's computers can have brain-farts/glitches/programming errors. If he's a good auto-electrician he won't just be relying on a scan tool and will check, double check and cross check information he gets from his various tools and his knowledge, experience and training. Ask for a "report" on the battery 'coding' too for future reference, again it's easy for him to do, especially after already having your details from the first "report", takes seconds to do, no reason not to (altho' I don't know about the ancient system that is VCDS or current VW one. A poster on here had an auto-electrician that put his 70 Ah battery in as 7 Ah and this caused issues later, why a computer program would allow this input error is beyond me but it did. Hopefully the new battery will bring good gains now, it certainly will in the near future if the previous battery really was 5 cells down out of 6, and let's see what Thursday brings. At those quoted prices you can see why you want to be sure if the throttle body is fully at fault, if it is it's a really poor show on the quality and longevity of the part VW use but not a huge surprise given the overall quality of VW ,and other German marques this century/millennium. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Have you put the 3.2v battery back in the fob to see if it works or not after the second battery worked, if not you don't know if it was the 3.2v at fault or not? Tests need to be repeated to check the outcomes are consistent, I've know a (Vauxhall) Dealership installed battery have the remote play up (not work) a good number of and days use after it was installed, I done no more that than take the battery out give it a quick wipe with the inside of my sweatshirt and put it back in (properly) and battery and remote both worked fine for a very long time after. I don't really know the cause and just speculated that the battery might not have been fully seated correctly but it was a quick, easy, no cost, clean hands "repair", the only type of farting about on cars I like and my wife was very pleased with the result. She could have easily done the same but the car stuff is my job.

I am 64 so I can remember when Volvos were Volvo and SAABs were SAAB (and even Škoda wasn't VW) and was thinking of then rather than GM and Ford products. Good to hear you don't have our lower consumer/customer standards that the likes of the car manufacturers and their Dealerships are able to take advantage of here. Although it sounds like that Skoda salesman would be at home in an English Dealership. I am not in Sweden but I still use a better quality oil than the standard Dealership/garage/mechanic/DIY and certainly would in somewhere as cold as Sweden, certainly if I was intending to keep the car for a number or good number of years for the better performance and protection in the very cold (and hot) ambient and running temperatures though I don't think it would make any difference to the warming you want. Good luck with your search.

On that AL301 code reader(?) it shows "1 / 2" so does that mean there was a second error code? For the battery as Warrior193 has put exactly how it is presented depends on the scan tool used and not all may be able to do it for your mum's model and year (depends what programs are on the scan tool). Below is an example from when a Briskoda member 'coded', using OBDEleven, the replacement battery for my wife car a number of days after I fitted it ( I fully charged the battery to 100% before fitting as that is my preference). I changed from a EFB type of battery to an AGM type (without the additional insulation for engine bay fitment, a bit of maverick risk taking), VW call AGM "fleece" (just because they can?). 😁 Personally I'd not loose any sleep over getting the 'coding' done immediately on a change for same type and near enough Ah battery, I think it's better to have it done than not and sooner than later, just in case, but others have reported that they've not bothered with 'coding' and no issues, perhaps the (like for like) battery may (or may not) have a shorter (or bit shorter) life if not 'coded' as new or as soon as possibly but it may depend on hassle to reward ratio of benefit overall. The battery could have lasted more than 6 years if a battery charger was also used but that might be more than your mum (or family) want to get involved in. An 08 car is a new car to me (too new), I now drive my wife's 2015 Fabia, a neighbour's 2023 Ren-No! Nissan Cashcow and another neighbour's 2016 Corsa and until recently another neighbour's 2005 Kia Picanto and by far the best car for me was the 2005 (28k-miles on it). Another neighbour has asked if my wife would sometimes drive their 2016 Suzuki Swift as she has insurance and I don't (I'm a named driver on the other policies) so I know about pensioners and cars and particularly cars that aren't driven often and/or cars that only generally do very short journeys (if that), I'm not sure if that applies to your mum given how long the battery has lasted on that VW. Even my wife's car sometimes only does two 2 mile journeys on a work day. That has led me to the even greater importance of the 12v battery in modern cars particularly with VW's complex computer programs, an experience I am very, very ungrateful about. Until a couple of years ago my one and only car and "daily driver" for the previous 16 years was a 1973 MG Midget. I never had battery problems, every other but never battery. 😆 ETA: Something AI doesn't seem to know (yet?) is that there isn't a code on a new battery, well in VW terms anyway and as you see from my example above VW didn't bother with it at the factory for my wife's 2015 car and I've seen the same for other posters, I guess it was all about statistics for VW originally and warranty issues and parts stocking level plus perhaps potential for VW to blame the battery manufacturers for any ****-ups with their system on to the battery manufacturers, such is the motor trade. My wife's car had a recall "about the battery" CU97 IIRC.

OFF TOPIC I am always surprised at anyone in Sweden buying modern VW products with their history of past marques like Volvo and SAAB, I guess VW must offer your market more than in England and treat its customers better than in England (though generally English Dealerships for any marque can be poor quality). In Australia apparently Škoda new cars get 7(?) years warranty we couldn't dream of 5 let alone 7, yet some "cheaper" marques are able to offer 7 year warranties in England, been that way for decades that "cheaper" car manufacturers can offer longer warranties than the established "better" brands. I only put England as that is my personal experience from decades of the English motor trade. Doesn't help with your topic just my curiosity.

I have no idea if or how much more complicated a 1.0 TSI cooling system is than a Mk1, though a diesel generally takes longer to warm up than a petrol as I was reminded last week when I drove a hired diesel.

It might be that the Green Flag man had a fully updated scan tool, checked all error codes, checked battery and other connections and state of charge and health of battery and it is a throttle body or throttle body sensor error but there's not enough information to confirm that in your posts and things are always worth double and treble checking when so much hassle and cost is involved for your mum, and you. Usually I'd not suggest buying a new battery (but recharging as I suggested) but having lived among and dealt with people well into pension age for four decades I do understand they can have very little patience or understanding sometimes so a new battery is a good choice (personally I'd fully charge the new battery before fitting so I know I start at 100% charge with the new battery in case I need to check the battery only a little later in any episode or end up using a lot of battery charge on diagnostics and testing.. Going through the list on the link, at 6 years old if the car is reasonably serviced I can't think the throttle body would be that dirty, pedal or throttle sensors or connectors or wiring could perhaps play up at any time particularly if other work has been done around them, or accidents or water, that interferes with them, modules you'd hope not. The overlord computer programs always have potential to throw wobbles. Other than draining the battery I can't think what your mum could do to cause the car to behave like this and I don't blame your mum for having zero patience with the car going faulty otherwise. See how things are after fitting the new battery, after fitting try starting the car then turn the headlights on, air-con on, blower on to 4, turn the steering wheel full lock one way then the other, let it tick over for a while. Hopefully the heavy electric load will help "learn" the battery monitor bit. Leaving it to tick over and then going for a short drive might convince the computer overlord that the throttle body is OK (if it is). If not a scan tool is best used to get nearer to the cause of the issue or on to other checks. Good luck.

You are jumping the gun with replacing a throttle body or sensor just based on an error code and the error code could be from elsewhere in the line. P0638 - https://www.obd-codes.com/p0638 Green Flag AFAIK (but I could be wrong) use sub-contractors so their scan tools may vary, so to the diligence of its operator to make sure the scan tool program is fully up to date for your mum's 2018 Fabia. For diagnostics including using a scan tool the car battery needs to be in a reasonable state of charge and health and all electrical connections in good order. So the first thing you need to do is check the battery terminal connections and main cables, wires and connections are all secure, clean and protected including the earths. Start/stop errors and not be active when it should be can be aa parts of other issues but also if the battery is in a lower state of charge than the computers like, this can be before dash warnings and lights with the headlights seeming bright enough and well before the engine presents difficulty in starting. I would check the connections as above, fully charge the battery with an appropriate battery charger maintainer following the instructions to do this in the car's Owner's Manual and chargers instructions. Free VWŠkoda download pdf or online version of the Owner's Manual from this link. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models Whilst the battery is being fully recharged (this could take many hours, the lower the battery state of charge the more ours obviously) I would seek out someone with a VW appropriate scan tool and get more information than just that (one) error code. Error codes normally are just part of diagnosis not the solution in themselves (though sometimes they can be). There may be ways of testing the sensor without a scan tool but a scan tool should show (or help to) if the throttle body is operating properly. There are Briskoda members with VW appropriate scan tools that can at least provide a report of error codes and other information if not fully diagnosis, some for a beer token or two others perhaps fully professional services. See the opening post here and link to availability map at the end of that first post. Good luck.

I think you might be referring to a preheater or prewarmer, I am sure there used to be 'external' types for heating the coolant pipe for classic cars but I can't find them now here is just to give, or confirm, the idea an (expensive?) 'internal' type example for race cars. - https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/automotive-plumbing-solutions-thermostatic-engine-pre-heater-3kw-kit-dtmeph3kwkit/ I expect you already have a coolant thermostat fitted suitable for cold climates also using a better quality engine oil than the Dealerships and general garages that operates better (and offers more protection for longer) at lower ambient temperatures will help with cold starting and running. The days of radiator (grille) blinds has gone of course.

Being used to very old cars and driving back in the very old, and nearer, days I'm used to the habit of driving using the tripmeter as a fuel gauge, means always filling the tank on refills if the gauge is inaccurate anywhere near the full mark or not working at all. If the sender and guage aren't directly linked and go through one of the overlord computer program then personally I'd turn the computer "off 'n' on agen" by depriving and depleting it/them of power (in two both senses) as I prefer the computers working for me and not the other way round. There must be some kind of switch around the fuel filler to let the overlords know when the car is being refuel so perhaps checking that area is clean and unrestricted (there's also often a drain for water to keep clear. I can't remember if I've clean that on my wife's Fabia or not, certainly did on her hire SEAT Arona that was full of debris in the filler area behind the flap.

As my wife has owned a 2015 1.2 TSI from 10k-miles at about 18 months old, so 6.5 years and (another) 56k-miles I personally would not buy a 2017 Fabia Mk3 with 195k-miles on it (then I'd not buy a Mk3 Fabia or other VW or the other two German marques). The probably high annual, mileage in itself isn't a bad thing, better in many ways than very low mileage and use vehicles but it's just about 200k-miles of use and wear, I'd expect to see a service history longer than my arm (s and legs) and history of lots of other work and maintenance, in addition to the car's condition and drive of course. From what I've read on this site and generally heard the Mk3 doesn't seem to be as robust as the late MK2 let alone earlier Mk2s and it seems Mk1s might have easily the most robust. Other models perhaps and certainly other marques of cars at that age and mileage would personally probably less concern and I personally would look at older cars especially with that sort of use.. Other opinions and experiences are available. Plenty of information and experiences of 2016/17s on this forum also. Good luck.