belvedere72

Have had the offside front side light bulb go on our Fabia MkII TDi. I recall my garage described this was difficult for them to access last time it happened but they just managed it without major disassembly. This time I was recommended to try Halfords bulb fitting service who charge a flat fee (£8) per bulb which presumably for them averages out across easy and downright difficult/fiddly bulbs to change. After approx. half an hour the most pleasant young man who attempted to change my bulb concluded he was unable to even get the old one out (by hand or even with bent nosed pliers). They refunded fully my bulb purchase and fitting (very fair) and suggested I may try their other branch 10 miles up the road which has full workshop facilities. I asked them to call and indicate whether they would attempt the bulb change for their usual fee but was a little taken aback when they said they felt the bulb may have got hot, arced and essentially welded itself to the light housing! Suggested the other Halfords may need to remove the front bumper to free the headlight housing completely to allow access and that a new light housing would likely be needed. Suggesting 1-1.5 hours labour plus the new light fitting. Around £80-£90 for labour and £180 overall! Suffice to say I think I may recourse to my usual garage and stump up their cost for a new bulb. Despite my standard man-sized hands and lack of dexterity/practical skill I am sure I will not be alone in this problem. The difficulty is caused by the positioning of the diesel fuel filter right where you need to be able to access the back of the bulb. Would appreciate any comments or suggestions as to how I may be best to proceed to get what should rightfully be a minor job done without a major cost

I would just like to add my comments and recommendation to Pete’s window motor repair service offer. I am a new member on this Forum and was surprised and delighted by the incredibly fast response I received. From the moment I made contact with Pete he was absolutely superb with the information provided, his support and communication. Once he confirmed my defective motor would seem to be one he may be able to repair, I sent him the motor on the Monday before the Jubilee weekend. I was aware he would be unable to look at it before the Jubilee Friday but even considering that, I had my repaired and fully working motor back to my door on the following Monday! A truly incredible service. At the same time it has been so much more economical to utilise this option and also to save a perfectly repairable motor being discarded, not to mention the considerably higher cost of purchasing a new, or even secondhand, replacement. Should any other member find themselves needing a solution to an electric window motor repair problem, I cannot recommend Pete’s service highly enough. He did me an excellent deal all round and he will be my first point of contact in the event I ever have any similar problems. Many thanks for your support Pete. 👍 An all round first class gent.

Thanks to those who have replied so far with information. Really appreciate this support. Will look to follow up the link provided. kind regards, belvedere72

Hi to everyone at Briskoda from a new and sadly rather non-technical member. Hope there may be some help available for my dilemma. My dear old Mum has a Fabia 1.4TDi 3 80BHP (reg. LC07 JNJ - registered May 2007). Both front electric windows have failed at the same time. Have checked all the basic things (fuses are fine, won’t even operate using the key in the door etc.). They are dead as a doornail. My local independent garage (decent people who would never fleece you) has had a look, checked wires which seem OK and believe problem to be OSF drivers electric window motor. I believe this is the master to both windows. Quoted just over £300 including parts and labour to replace motor but problem is they couldn’t 100% guarantee that would be the answer. Car probably only worth £1000 so not really wanting to spend that type of money unless certain it would be the answer. Have therefore been looking for a used motor and regulator (need both as a couple of bolts have broken in the process). The part number on our vehicle is 5J2837402. I ordered a used motor and regulator online with matching number but admittedly knowing it was from a 2010 model. My garage found it would not fit as the plug to the motor was completely different. When that part arrived I found that it was actually marked as 5J2837402J (so took it the extra J at the end and the fact the year didn’t match made the difference). Could anyone please advise me with what other possible problems could be causing this and also where I may find a replacement electric window motor and regulator which will be compatible with our car at a reasonable cost. Otherwise may have to bite the bullet and take it to a Main Dealer but currently have the door trim taken off ready to try a used part if I can find one that matches. They don’t seem to be very readily available. Not even sure if our car is a Mark 1 or Mark 2 so hope someone with a bit of knowledge may know how to discern that from the registration given above. Many thanks and sorry for such a long post. Happy to provide any other information if asked.