martinch
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Posts posted by martinch
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@sepulchrave & @peter3197: cheers. My job for (hopefully) tomorrow evening or failing that the weekend is to check the charging voltage & have the battery checked (I've been meaning to do it one evening after work, but things keep getting in the way - doh).
Thanks again
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@peter3197 To be honest, not really. It might have been a little warmer today and earlier in the week, but I hard a nice thick crust of ice on the windscreen yesterday morning (2C). It has been lighter on the way home, so I've not been having the lights on when coming home from work - I'm wondering if giving the battery a charge combined with less than 100% of my driving being with the lights on might have tipped it back over the edge?
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Thanks for the super-speedy replies, guys!
@TMB Thanks for the pic - very helpful!
@sepulchrave - that's the line I was thinking (or perhaps hoping given the cost of the other options!). I'll see if I can get the battery tested properly later in the week.
Interestingly, the PAS light was going out normally today...
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Hi all,
Over the last couple of days, the yellow power steering light has begun to remain illuminated when the ignition is engaged (rather than going out after a few seconds like the glow-plug light), although once the engine has been started, it tends to go out after a few seconds, or when the vehicle starts moving. If I cycle the ignition at the end of a journey (i.e. switch the car off, take the key out, count to 20, and engage the ignition but don’t start the car), so far, the light goes off when it should.
I’ve done a fault scan with a hand-held scanner, and it’s coming up with “01309 - Power Steering Control Module (J500): No Communication” (unfortunately, I don’t have VCDS, so I can’t get any more detailed information). Ross-Tech’s wiki points the finger at either a bad connection, the pump, or steering rack, although Tech1e’s post also points towards battery issues.
I’ve done the following preliminary checking (this was cut short by the weather over the weekend):
- Charged the battery for ~4 hours (it’s mostly used for a ~10-mile commute, so obviously the battery is taking a bit of a hammering at this time of year) - this has made no difference. The battery is the car’s second battery (>5 years old, although I can’t remember exactly), but seems in good health – no problems starting in cold weather, no flickering lights when steering, etc.
- The PAS fluid reservoir has enough fluid (in the middle of the acceptable range).
- I did a visual inspection of the wiring loom under the battery – there’s no obvious signs of breaks, rubbing, or pooling of water.
- Checked fuse 7, and the fuses on top of the battery
- Checked that the battery light comes on and goes off when engaging the ignition
Does anyone have any ideas on anything I should check to come to a diagnosis? From reading other threads, I should probably check:
- Alternator charge lead (specifically the plug above the gearbox)
- Battery charging voltage should be 14-14.5v
- Battery earth leads
- Connections on the PAS pump (is there an easy way to do this, as I don’t really want to take the bumper off? I have front fog lights ...)
- Connections to PAS angle sensor (not 100% sure where to find it – I think it’s a “car on ramps job”?)
- See if I can swap the battery with one from another car
Any input gratefully received! :)
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On 08/01/2019 at 07:59, pizzarat said:
I spotted that my sills have some very light rust spots when cleaning recently. What methods have people used to fix it... has it worked over time?
When I bought it in 2009, mine had a little rust on either end of the sill, due to stone impacts (no mudflaps when I got it). I cleaned the ends up with a wire brush to get the worst off, then applied Clarke Rust Remover (phosphoric acid), sprayed it with high-zinc primer through a mask, followed by paint (metallic stone grey) and a good dose of lacquer. Since then, it's been absolutely fine (except for one stone impact on the rear end of one of the sills that went straight through to the metal - doh). If I were doing it now, I'd use Bilt Hamber's Deox Gel, followed by their Electrox spray primer (90% zinc content), and then paint and clearcoat as normal.
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On 12/01/2019 at 20:58, sepulchrave said:
The problem is road haulage, you won't be able to do anything except city work in an electric LGV, they'll never have enough range.
The Tesla Semi's supposed to have a 500 miles range (400 mile on 80% charge)..?
On 12/01/2019 at 20:23, sepulchrave said:I've always known that diesels are far more hazardous to people, the idea was to reduce CO2 emissions because for some reason atmospheric CO2 levels are more important than peoples lives.
Pretty-much everything that comes out of the back of a car is harmful, unfortunately. CO2 isn't absorbed by plants at anywhere near the rate some will claim, and turns into carbonic acid when in contact with water which poses a hazard to marine life, amongst other things. It's somewhat a question of where you draw the balancing point (and in my opinion, the government got it wrong - yet another instance of the government taking a complex issue and simplifying it to a single-issue problem, to the detriment of pretty-much everyone).
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18 minutes ago, Luke83G said:
I think the art of rustproofing at home is a dying trend, which given the advances in factory rust prevention is inevitable, however you only need to look at some recent-ish Fords and Mercedez to see that rust can still occur!
If you talk to Bilt Hamber, they'll tell you it should be renewed every 3-5 due to body flex manipulating the seams. I know it's in their interests to say that to move more products, but they seem pretty honest (e.g. they've told me when I wouldn't benefit from buying one of their products...). I can't say I've seen many rusty Mercedes (not really looking to be honest), but the Mk 1 Ford Ka's ... A pillar and filler cap, it seems.
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16 minutes ago, Luke83G said:
Ah ok, I've always used Waxoyl, kept our family Montego Countryman going for 22 years on its original wheel arches! But will give it a bit of research. Is it applied in the same manner (e.g. lay underneath, spray and get more on yourself...)
Yeah, my parents and grandparents used WaxOyl a lot. From what I've seen, Bilt Hamber's product seems to out-perform it (if you have a look at the tests on their product page), and also isn't a dirt-magnet. In terms of application, it comes in a 750ml aerosol (high-pressure, designed to work upside down) that you just spray on in thin coats. I probably used about 20% of a can doing the undersides of the sills on my Fabia (from the flange to the vertical fold at the exterior - you may want to apply some masking!). Note - they do 3 versions - S50 (brown, very runny - for cavities), UC (clear, hard, for visible areas - e.g. sills & wheels), and UB ("black", for underbodies)
(FYI, if you've not heard of Bilt Hamber, their products are normally for marine/oil applications, and are ... umm ... "industrial strength")
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1 hour ago, Luke83G said:
Next weekend I'm going to waxoyl underneath before the winter road salt comes...
If you don't already have the waxoyl, I highly recommend Bilt Hamber's Dynax UC - dries clear, as hard as candle wax, and contains corrosion inhibitors.
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On 23/09/2018 at 22:44, YS53 said:
Sorry late reply Martin - we were on holiday
No worries - it's a good time of the year to do that!
On 23/09/2018 at 22:44, YS53 said:Many thanks for the tip - I will certainly look into that as I will have to try and complete the work before winter,trouble is - other stuff keeps piling up LOL
Yeah, I know the feeling. I've just given mine a go-over for the winter (clean, check for stone chips & spray the underside of the sills with Bilt Hamber Dynax UC to protect against chips during the winter, and seal any really small holes) ... I originally meant to get it done over the August bank holiday! If you do use the Deox Gel, I would say to have a look at the instructions on their site, and follow them (they're different to the ones on the bottle, for some reason, and seem to give better results).
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On 09/09/2018 at 09:33, Estate Man said:
No engine needs to be noisy these days, yet they produced the 1.2TSI engine which is by far one of the most mechanically noisy engines they've made.
I'm genuinely surprised to read that. One of my colleagues has a 1.2TSI, and it's nearly inaudible when moving around the car park. I had one as a courtesy car for a few days, and the same was true of that (it was quite noisy when being revved, but I don't know if it was "noisy as an absolute" or "noisy relative to quiet low rev noise", if that makes sense). Of course, my experience is brief and limited to two engines ...
In contrast, two people I know have BMW 2 series petrols (a 218 and 220), and another has a Mercedes B-class (B180, I think) - in terms of exterior noise, they are getting on for as loud as my PD on start up (I was genuinely surprised and thought they were CR diesels!), and sound considerably noisier than my dad's SAAB 9-3 Aero.
22 hours ago, Odin1123 said:I was informed however that VAG had issued a notice, dating from August this year, saying these were no longer covered by warranty. They were blaming the customer for missuse.
Well, a warranty is a contract, and you can't retrospectively modify it without the consent of the other parties, unless it's to their advantage. Have you tried taking it to another dealer? I had the silvering fail in a replacement fog light 18 months into its' 2 year guarantee - one dealer refused to replace it calling it "fair wear and tear", whilst another replaced it without question and effectively called the other dealers idiots (paraphrasing, "they get paid by VW for warranty work, so it's in their interests to do it").
On 09/09/2018 at 21:06, silver1011 said:As with everything in life, cars are becoming consumables. Throw it away and finance a new one.
Sadly, I fear that attitude is becoming more prevalent within the industry. One of the BMWs I mentioned above had been spotted using coolant twice - the dealers stopped investigating when the pressure test came back OK. It also plumed blue smoke when being started after being left sitting for a week - from what I was told, the dealers weren't interested.
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Dunno if you found something in the end, but Bilt Hamber's Deox Gel is very effective - more so than phosphoric acid (somewhat unsurprising, if you look at Bilt Hamber's company history - it involves marine products...). It also has the advantage of not reacting with pain (from my understanding, it uses a chemical reaction to break the molecular bonds through electron exchange on the rust to remove it). Just make sure to apply it thick, cover it with cling film, and leave it in place for as long as possible before removing it. One overnight application left the suspension strut from my dad's 11 year old SAAB completely clean, in terms of rust.
P.S. The item Penguin17 linked you to was a "paint over the top" variant, which forms a hard crust that can be painted over, rather than a remover per se.
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@DC2990 indeed, that's what it says. However, the testing manual says that any vehicle with a "plate number" will be tested to that value, otherwise they'll use the default of 3.0 (or whatever, based on the age of the vehicle...). Yes, the government's documents are contradictory on this!
Full manual: https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/class3457/Section-8-Nuisance.html#section_8.2.2.2
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The smoke opacity has to be no more than that number. Basically, before the 20 May 2018, you needed to have a reading of 3.0 or below for your car to pass. Now, it's 0.6 or below (for a 1.9 TDI "PD100" - other engines will vary).
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2 minutes ago, maccy said:
Could you explain”plate value” this is new to me.
It's the number in a box on the axle weight "plate" sticker, and is what the manufacturer states the maximum smoke opacity is. See here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-changes-from-may-2018-guidance-for-mot-testers/diesel-vehicle-emission-limits
On the Fabia, it's on the inner face of the passenger-side wing, visible from the engine bay.
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Personally, I'd say that the 1.4 TDI feels a bit "weak" in comparison to the 1.9 TDI (I have a 1.9, and had a 1.4 as a courtesy car for a week - it was fine when going, but felt more likely to stall when pulling away using just the left foot).
If it helps, I've had my 2004 1.9 TDI since 2009, and the total list of repairs is: replace the brake light sender switch due to burnt contact (£8), engine coolant sensor shorted (£15), and one caliper stuck slightly with handbrake cable attached (I'm assuming a spring had gone tired and didn't have the time to disassemble-and-rebuild). I do mostly shortish (~10 mile, 40mph) commutes, and get about 54mpg.
One thing I would say, is to see if you can look at the emissions from the car's last MOT - the 1.9 TDI has a plate value of 0.6, and will be tested to this, instead of the old default of 3.0. Mine only just passed with 0.55 this year, despite there being no visible smoke during the test.
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1 hour ago, pikpilot said:
As you have not seen the main result of sticky vanes ... I would look elsewhere for over fuelling. In particular I would clean the MAF.
The MOT-man had suggested temperature sender. I must admit, I'd not thought about the MAF - will give it a go - thanks.
1 hour ago, pikpilot said:If not that, then look closely for air leaks after the turbo, such as around the air cooler and associated pipe work.
The first time it was tested, there was a whistle on throttle-off, and oil around the end of the pipe. They cleaned the area and replaced the seals in the turbo-to-intercooler pipe, and it went away. Probably should do some further checking just to make sure the pipework's OK.
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18 hours ago, wiilydog said:
You could try some Archoil AR6400-D MAX, which you add to the fuel.
Cheers
18 hours ago, wiilydog said:Also is the air filter in good condition?
Brand new
5 hours ago, chrisund123 said:I had the Overboost/limp home mode issues on my BKD a few months after I got it,
Frustrating thing is, they're not getting limp mode, just a bit more than is allowed of smoke high up the rev range.
5 hours ago, chrisund123 said:I'm quite skeptical of the turbo cleaners you put in the fuel or air intake, as they need to survive the combustion process and then clean the turbo on the way out. The oven cleaner method sits directly in the turbo for as long as you like, and the results are instant.
I understand and share that scepticism
5 hours ago, chrisund123 said:For the smoke reading, try taking the air filter out for the MOT
Tried that. :( First time with a new air cleaner, retest without one - didn't seem to make a difference. :(
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Hi guys,
My parents have a 2005 Octavia 2.0 TDI (PD140/BKD engine), which recently failed its MOT on emissions with a smoke reading of 0.9 (target required is 0.7) - diagnostics indicate that the turbo is over-boosting due to sticking vanes.
Before they look at one of the cleaning services, is there a DIY fix for this? I've seen Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner recommended elsewhere, but I'm a bit leary of this (purely because it's using it for a purpose it's not intended, even if it's the right chemicals ...)
Thanks!
P.S. It's run on V-Power (or ESSO equivalent), and has had a dose of Forte Diesel Treatment and an "Italian tune-up". Other than the slightly higher-than-allowed smoke reading, there's no symptoms of anything being wrong.
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The air filter's been in there for about 1,500 miles. There's some marginal discolouration on it, but that's about it - it's pretty clean.
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12 hours ago, BorderCollie said:
They say that caliper is seized. I still cannot work out how that can happen with regular maintenance at the main dealership.
It's one of those things. The rear caliper in my Fabia started to seize - it'd return fine with the handbrake cable off, but as soon as you attached the handbrake cable, it would nearly but not quite clear the disc. The cause was one the internal springs going tired.
In terms of spotting it, the rear wheel radiated heat after being driven, and there was a lot more brake dust on it, but it can come on fairly quickly.
12 hours ago, BorderCollie said:Is it absolutely necessary to change pads on the off side as well - the garage insist it is, they are hardly worn and not a problem.
It's generally advised, but it's a common sense judgement call. When I replaced my caliper, I also replaced the pads on that side - I didn't do the pads on the other side (as they had very minimal wear), nor the other caliper. It was MOT'd within a month, and the brake balance was literally perfect.
5 minutes ago, BorderCollie said:Regarding your comment about refurbishing. In the past when I was younger, I used to dismantle the calipers and replace the seas and apply grease where necessary. It is far too easy for garages to just renew parts, but then maybe the labour costs for refurbishing them are greater.
IIRC, a caliper's £120 or so and Skoda charge labour at around £80 + VAT. If it's going to take more than about an hour to dismantle, refurbish, and re-assemble it, it works out cheaper to replace the part. Not so good for the environment (unless the parts are sent off to be refurbished), but I can see the economic reasoning,
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1 hour ago, Rustynuts said:
That bottom hose is notorious for blowing off.
Yeah, I know the lugs on the lower tube wear down and it jumps off.
1 hour ago, Rustynuts said:The oil leak is only an indication that there's a little oil in the system finding its way out, but if they've cleaned the oil off then it could well still be blowing there.
Indeed, it was a fairly obvious indication of a non-airtight seal there. The assumption was that no more oil meant after disassembly & cleaning meant the seal was good, although, thinking about it, maybe some more time is needed for the oil to start finding its way out (or it's oil-tight but not air-tight).
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Thanks
Also, any ideas where else to look for an air leak? The MOT tester was pretty sure the slight whistle on overrun/throttle-off was due to an air leak, which probably wasn't helping things.
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7 minutes ago, Rustynuts said:
The test manual clearly states the data should be read from the plate on the car, and if it's not legible (or they can't find it) then they must test to the default levels in the test manual. Taking vehicle data from an electronic database is not part of the test procedure I'm afraid.
Literal reading of the instructions - gotcha.
7 minutes ago, Rustynuts said:Forte is a trade name for various products. I don't know which Forte product has been used.
Doh. It'd be the "Advanced Formula Diesel Treatment", which claims to reduce soot emissions (which, now that I look at it, isn't a cetane booster)
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PAS Warning (Code 01309) - Light Goes Off When Pulling Away
in Skoda Fabia Mk I (1999-2007)
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Hi all,
Just a quick update to say that I gave the battery a long trickle charge over the weekend (1st/2nd Feb), and it's been behaving since, so I guess chalk it up to a combination of time of the year (cold starting temperatures), short journeys with the headlights and AC on, and an ageing battery.
Thanks for the help!