MijIsTired

Reviving this old topic to ask: this shouldn't happen to the sheathed lead, even no 3, in under two years (about 20k miles) should it..? Not touching shield but very close, and that's routed and clipped correctly, as far as I can tell (ie there's nothing else available to hold or support the lead to be further away). CBZB 85hp engine, 2011.

Good to know! I’ve just completed the first fix (Fabia), got to do the SEAT now. If I hadn’t decided to remove the blade from the new case, just in case the old one fitted (it didn’t, I should have remembered from last time), which was an absolute bugger to get back in, it would have been a 20 minute job. It definitely helps to have a pry tool and the teeny little punches I got with a previous kit, which make the delicate parts of the operation less risky.

Thanks folks, slow replies as I thought I’d have more time to work through suggestions last week, but life had other plans. I will have a rummage in the apps/live data in my OBD. It’s no substitute for garage level dx but it can often help to narrow down the source of an issue. Thanks, will find out more about this too. I’ve seen the fuel pump mentioned in other threads so definitely worth a look. Thanks, may need to, though it did have a new chain around 18,000m ago. Still good going for the first one, but it’s the reason I think it is (or should be) something else this time.

I've got an OBD11 (I know it's not proper, but it was all my budget could stretch to), which I plugged in since I noticed the change. There are a couple of error codes as I've got electrical gremlins again (assuming the rudimentary boot loom repairs need redoing and have a cracked earth) but I didn't see anything new. I'll plug it again this coming week, see if anything's changed.

I took the plunge because the old one couldn't be more broken that it was, so other than being extra careful with the pin (and I'm a bit of a klutz, so always a bit risky doing delicate work), I didn't have to worry too much about causing further damage. I did get myself a decent pry-tool (also useful for other tech fixes), and a couple of the key-fob guys sell kits that include tools. Not trying to persuade you - you've got to do what's safest for you! Would be interested to hear if that service is any good, if you go with it.

Audio of idle & a few revs. Recording didn’t work first time so it’s not as cold as it was, and the start up itself wasn’t noisy at all today, typically. This is with the phone as close to the engine - with bonnet open - as I could reach with my foot still on the pedal. As a recording device it’s not subtle, and the ticking actually sounds way worse than I can usually hear, even with my head over it. But then, when it’s at its most noticeable, it almost sounds like an air cooled Beetle. Not quite that extreme, but reminiscent of that sound. Skoda tick over & revs.m4a

@Alasdair1 just been doing that. It’s defo the chain side of the engine, and appears to be higher than lower (ie around top cover area) though as I can’t get my ear much lower in the bay it’s hard to be sure. My brain is particularly bad at isolating sounds (auditory processing disorder), even tho my ears are fine, and with so much else going on it’s hard to be more specific than that.

Hi Briskoda-ites I know there are acres of posts about timing chains, and other mysterious rattle/ticking noises, and I’ve read a lot of them (some way beyond my technical level) but would be grateful for thoughts on my specifics. Current Fabia 1.2 tsi combi (2011) always had the customary 2 second rattle on start up. I don’t remember the 2009 one having it, but I noticed it when I test drove this one, which was 4yrs old when I bought it. It was consistent and caused us no trouble tho til about 20 months ago, when a perfect storm of issues (including an elusive oil leak) meant a lot of garage work required, including chain replacement. A few weeks ago I noticed a new ticking noise. It didn’t sound like the chain at first so I was convinced it was something else, and read a lot of posts about pipes and pumps on this forum. It was present at start up, would continue for a few minutes if engine cold, and was definitely engine- related as followed revs rather than road speed. But now the character of the noise seems to vary between chain-like and ticking/something else very hard to describe. I’ve tried twice to record it but it’s like it knows I’m listening and refuses to perform on demand. I’ll keep trying. Extra info, which may or may not be related or relevant: engine occasionally sounds like it’s hunting a little on idle Fuel consumption has dropped/is inconsistent, though I feel that started before the noise. I’ve read up on replacing the tensioner, as I could do that myself, but I don’t feel it should need it less than 2 years after chain replacement. What does anyone else think? It’s got over 180k miles on the clock so I know things will wear out and drop off.

Oh and @Catwoman it’s almost impossible to get properly into a case without breaking a bit of it. If memory serves it’s around the wee pin (that it’s also possible to accidentally shove into the electronics and bork those). It’s not difficult as such, just a bit booby-trapped as an operation overall :-/

How to do the swap / fix videos; The Car Key Man on YouTube was useful: I think I used this video too (I tend to watch a variety for all repairs, as there’s always something you can’t quite see on one). And the supplier I used is an EBay guy but seemed good. I can’t vouch for him beyond the fact my replacement is still going. https://ebay.us/m/p36y5u Worth saying, for future readers, that not all key cutters will cut a blade they’ve not supplied, and also that not all blades are exactly the right thickness, so you’ve got to be careful when you buy.

Hello hello! Yup, have done a successful key fob replacement when the key snapped off at the flip-point, another VAG group Easter egg, I discovered. And I’m about to do two more, as we need a second key for a new to us SEAT, and other half’s original Skoda key has broken in exactly the same way. Gimme a mo and I’ll be back with links to suppliers and videos.

Hi @K3Chick sorry not to have seen your post before now. And I’m guessing you’ve fixed it or got someone else to by now. But for future visitors, I’ll answer anyway 😊 The loom/lights themselves aren’t the issue, it’s the broken or dodgy earth that causes other electrics to play up. And when I do some electrical revision I understand it, but not well enough to explain to someone else if I haven’t thought about it for a few months, so I’ll leave the more proficient members to help you with that. An important thing to note, though, is that there are other earths to check. It may not be the tailgate loom that’s the culprit. I went into that one because I had several electrical poltergeists, all at the back end of the car, so it was the obvious place to start. if you’d still like some tailgate bellows intel, give me a shout. I think I have some photos of my more, ahem, creative ways to keep the bendy bits out of the way so I could at least see what’s broken.

This is really helpful, at least I know what I’m looking for now if I can get the angles right.

I really appreciate this recce, thank you!

Thanks, bulb defo works - I swapped the reverse and tail light bulbs over to be sure. When I took the light cluster off I didn’t have my trusty multimeter so haven’t checked yet, but the bulb swap felt like sufficient evidence that no power was getting to the fitting, but I should look more closely at the wiring that’s visible there anyway.