GrahamM

Well, thankfully I've managed to get the reverse switch light connector off eventually by using an old wire coat hanger that I'd straightened out and then bent the end into a short hook that enabled me get to the catch on the connector which was on the underside. It may be different on other people's cars, I suppose it just depends on the final orientation of the reversing switch when it's installed. (If you're not sure how these catches work, look on top of the cylinder block, there's another one there which works the same way.) My only other option would probably have been to get a set of wheel ramps, drive the car up onto them and try to get at it from underneath which would have been a massive PITA! The plastic on the switch is pretty worn, but, as far as I can see, the serial number is the same as the one that Thud linked to above, certainly I can read the 1699 in the bottom right corner and the rest of the number appears to be 1J0973702, so I'm going to buy one of those and hopefully it will fit ok. As for putting it in place, I've never really liked butt crimps, and, especially given the lack of space I've got to play with down in the depths of the engine, the idea of being able to get the tails of the wire in place in one of those and get them secure doesn't strike me as the easiest option. In the past I've used spade terminals to extend the wires on my motorcycle's rear indicators (when I installed a top box rack) and I added a liberal spray of Duck Oil before wrapping them in electrical tape and they've been working fine for years in what is, after all, a very stressful environment (open to the elements with lots of vibration). So I'm going to give crimping spade terminals a go, but make sure I leave enough wire that will enable me to cable-tie them to either a fixed point or, failing that, one of the other cables which I think should give enough support.

Yes, that was my thought. Far better to replace the connector with a new unit and crimp on a couple of spade terminals than risk fixing just one side, only to find the other side or the OEM connector fails a little further down the line...

Ah, now that looks perfect for the job! I certainly didn't fancy trying to crimp a connector onto about half an inch of wire, but there appears to be plenty of spare lead going to the red plug on the left. I'll have to try to get the connector off tomorrow to find the serial number and then pick one up off eBay. Thanks very much for the help 🙂

I've finally managed to find the gearbox reversing light switch and the problem, as you can see, there's a broken wire. (Great bit of design, Skoda, putting a thin piece of wire like that in a place where there's going to be a lot of stress and vibration... 🙄 ) Now the idea of trying to get a soldering iron down into there to fix it does not appeal but I'm not sure what else is feasible. I could (possibly) get the connector off the switch, I think there's a catch I'd have to push down which is, of course, out of sight on the underside (another great bit of design!), however there's not much wire to strip back if I were to try to crimp a connector on to it. Also I'd probably have to unwrap some of the covering to get to the rest of the wire on the loom side for the other half of the connector which is going to be fiddly. If anyone else has had a problem like this, I'd welcome suggestions on the best way to proceed from here.

Thanks, I'll have to find somewhere off the street so I can take a look.

I'm not getting the reversing light coming on when I select reverse gear on my Fabia Mark 2 HTP. I've checked the bulb and the fuse and both are OK, so I think it has to be the switch. Do you have any helpful advice on how to replace it (for a start, where do I actually find it! 🙃 )

For various reasons, including being busy, crap weather, being ill and simply not getting off my backside, I've not had a chance to look at this until now, except I've just found that the reversing light is not working, so there's no point in installing the sensors until I've sorted that. I've checked the bulb and that's fine, so my next guess is either a fuse, faulty switch or duff wiring. The fuse is the easiest to check, but I don't know where to find it. Please can someone point me in the right direction? Mark II Skoda HTP 2012

Noted, thanks. That should help me figure out which end is which 🙂 I'll take a look at this in a couple of days when I've got the time...

Ok, thanks. Before I start taking bits off, this video (starts at 4'36) shows a guy fitting sensors and refers to the "boot wiring plug". Is that the one I'm looking for? https://youtu.be/pTAC1XrKXqc?feature=shared&t=286 Also, where you say "Position 3" is there a way to know which is position 3? Are they numbered? I don't want to get the wrong one...!

True, but there would only be power if the wiper is switched on 🙂

These are the sensors I've bought: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X9UCN8K/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item Attached is a pick of the instructions, Section A, the 6-8 Sensor System is the relevant one.

The control box is permanently "on" when the ignition is on, hence why it needs a switched live, The front sensors are triggered by the brake light coming on and stay active for about 20 seconds, but the counter restarts if you press the brake again, the rear sensors only activate when you're in reverse and the light is on. The display has a beeper and a distance gauge, but also sections of LEDs to each side of the distance display that light up according to which sensors are detecting, so even if you're reversing, if the front LEDs light, you know that your front bumper is getting close to an object. BTW I've already checked the system using a spare motorbike battery and all the sensors work OK.

That's an interesting thought! I'll have a check around and see what I can find.

As I'm not very good at judging distances, I'm going to install front and rear parking sensors on my Mark II 2012 I've bought a kit, but there are four connections: Black: -12V Ground Blue: +12V Brake light Yellow: +12V Reversing light Red: +12V Accessory line It's the last one, Red, that's giving me problems as it needs to go to a switched live, ie one that's only active when the ignition is turned on, so the system isn't drawing power with the ignition off. I've searched around in here and there's mentions of eg a connection to the radio, but is there anywhere in the boot area that I can connect to instead to avoid having to run an extra wire?

I just thought I'd round this off in case anyone else ever has the same problem and finds this topic from a search. I've been a bit busy, so today was the first chance I had to have another go and I found that if I squirted some WD40 Contact Cleaner spray onto the bulb holders and left it for a few minutes, it got rid of whatever crud was stopping them from turning and I've succeeded in putting in the new bulbs 🙂 (It's still a bloody fiddly job getting in there with a pair of mechanics' gloves on to protect your fingers from sharp edges and then making sure everything is lined up properly, but at least it's done now!)