Bob Cherry

Bad earth connection somewhere? Best of luck!

Does anybody know the ebay reference for the socket clips, I'm not keen on the idea of a wire wedged into the socket?

Try Sanspeed in Bexley, they've previously 'Superchipped' a Rover 25 and my first vRS with good results.

I've recently replaced the pedal assembly on my VRS SE for the same reason, occasional fast tick-over. Being inquisitive, I dismantled the replaced unit and discovered that it is possible to adjust the zero setting by rotating the cover that holds the resistive tracks; the screw holes in the cover are slotted and it can be turned to reset the zero to compensate for mechanical wear and tear. Might be worth a try before you spend money on a new unit.

My '07 SE recently went to my regular indy garage for its annual service and I asked them to check for this problem and gave them a copy of the cupra forum guide. Their comment was the there was plenty of length in the wires in question and it had obviously been that way since the car was originally manufactured. Does anybody know if Skoda became aware of this design fault and corrected it late in production? I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on this.

Sorry to disagree, but they are different part numbers - the front badge is convex whilst the rear one is flat as I discovered in April when I fitted the new style badges to my SE. Sadly, I didn't keep the paperwork and so I don't have the individual part numbers, but the ever-helpful Jonathan Gadsby at Rainworth Skoda in Mansfield will be able to advise and supply the correct items.

There are 2 separate 80mm Monte Carlo badges - the rear one is flat and the front one is concave and they both fit perfectly to the Mk 1 Fabia. I fitted a pair a couple of months ago but made no note of the part numbers, but a dealer should be able to identify them. The rear badge will fit the front grille but the correct one is far more secure.

I suggest that you contact Jonathan Gadsby at Rainworth Skoda who knows what is needed and can supply the 80mm badges with the locating pins in the correct position for the Mark 1 Fabia - they fit perfectly.

I suggest that you contact Jonathan Gadsby at Rainworth Skoda - a very helpful guy who knows exactly what you are looking for and they're about £15 each. They look good! Bob

I like the neat blanking plug - what is it?

Many thanks for the feedback, DanHam, and for the photo - the clip on my engine was further along the hose and so I had been trying to separate it at the wrong place! Bob

I'm sure that this is a very silly question but I hope that someone can give me some advice. I want to do the elephant hose mod to my BLT engine but can't detach the existing hose from the rocker cover. Is it just a push fit needing a bit of muscle power or is there any sort of clamp holding it in place? Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Bob

I'd very much like to fit these badges to my SE but don't know how to trim them to fit into the recess, so if anyone can produce a guide it would be very handy. Thanks in anticipation.

Have you ever considered gold, rather like the Renault Clio Williams or the Subaru Impreza? A dull shade would probably be best, was thinking about having my SE done and would be interested to hear others opinions.

There is only 1 rear fog light intentionally to avoid any confusion with the brake lights - 2 lights = brakes, 1 light = foglight. Bob

There are 2 plastic pads that push fit into the hinges near the bolts that attach the bonnet, one each side, and they can cause rattles. It might be clutching at straws, but it's worth pulling them out as they seem to do nothing useful. Regards, Bob

The reason why there is only one rear foglight is to prevent confusion with the brake lights i.e. one bright rear light is a foglight, two bright rear lights are brake lights. Hope this helps.

Very many thanks, Vindaloo, hitting the AF button seems to work.

I have the same problem with the OEM unit in my vRS SE. If I press the TP button with the unit turned on, it goes to the GALA option; if I press the TP button and then turn the unit on is does nothing whatsoever. Perhaps the manufacturers altered the spec at some stage but I'm becoming fed up with hearing traffic reports from miles away while trying to listen to music! If anyone has other suggestions it would be great.

I've got the usual creaking driver's seat problem on my SE and intend to grease the springs in the hope that it will be cured. My car has the storage compartment under the seat, but I can't see any obvious way to get access to the springs. I don't really want to remove the seat, so can anybody tell me if the storage compartment can be removed with the seat in place? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, many thanks.

If my failing memory serves me well, the replacement gasket with a 9 mm hole caused quite a few to have the eml light come on, which is why it's suggested that the hole should be drilled to 14 mm. This being the case, you're bound to have problems with a 0 mm hole! Perhaps a case of suck it and see? I also have a vrs se and have improved matters by making a 1 mm restrictor in the vacuum line to the egr valve. Regards, Bob

I know that I'm thick when it comes to modern technology, but can anybody give me an idiot's guide on how to de-activate the traffic news on a Symphony unit? Every time I'm listening to something it gets over-ridden with news of problems 400 miles away! I've read the handbook but it's been no help. Many thanks, Bob

If it's of any help to you I've got a black grille (not VRS) and surrounds, but no brackets. I don't want anything for them but I live in Kent so PM me if you're interested. Regards, Bob

All that is needed is a short length of 6mm rod with a 3.5mm hole drilled in it - I used an old push-bike 'presta' valve, which was about the right size, along with a short piece of 6mm bore vacuum hose. It's probably worth playing with the size of the 3.5mm hole - I just guessed at this and it seems to work but you could probably get away with 3mm or smaller.