KevinSt

Yes I should have said that my driving profile is low annual mileage ~5000 miles. This is a mix of local urban driving with several longer higher speed journeys every month. I am not sure whether this is good for the DPF regen or not. Perhaps I should look for the latest, lowest mileage Mk II without a DPF. Was the BKD the last 2.0TDi with no DPF? What is the latest registration to have this engine? Thanks.

Gents, I am in need of your sagely counsel! I have a 2005 2.0TDi Elegance with 135000 miles on the clock. I have owned it for about 6 years and it has been superb and owes me nothing. In the past few months there have been a number of repairs needed: throttle flap, CV boots, sticking turbo vanes & glow plugs. I now have a knocking noise from the front suspension which looks like it might be the control arm bushes and the air con has a slow leak as well as the cooling being slow to start (sounds like compressor valve). My question is: should I cut my losses and buy a newer Octavia or should I fix my existing one? I reckon I can repair the suspension and air con for about £500. A newer low mileage 2.0TDi Elegance Mk III is about £10k but I am concerned about the DPF problems that people are reporting with the later engines. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Looking at the current flow diagram there are quite a few connections to the mirror including: the reversing light the door contact switch the instrument dimming control It might be worth checking that all these are working correctly as it looks like they have some effect on the auto anti-dazzle mirror controller.

I had the same problem and the belt looked OK so further investigation revealed that the hub in the middle of the alternator pulley wheel was slipping. You can have the pulley replaced but I just changed the alternator for a reconditioned unit and the problem was solved.

The sounder is located behind the passenger side B pillar. Note that a faulty sounder will cause the display on the dash not to work. I had exactly this problem on my dad's Octavia. I found some replacement speakers on eBay (5 for £5) that I fitted in the original sounder enclosure. If you search for "skoda reversing buzzer" you will find suitable replacements.

Having had to change a hub I found the large M18 splined hub bolt easy to deal with compared to the two M14 splined carrier bolts. The problem with the latter is that they have serrated washers and combined with the poor access they can be very difficult to get started. My bottom bolt was so tight that I had to remove the top one and then move the whole carrier around in the appropriate direction to slacken the lower bolt enough to get it started! I think that it is one of those jobs that is fairly straightforward with a long breaker bar and access to a garage lift. If you only have a jack and some axle stands then it is going to be a struggle :-(.

I did the shield repair job last year, here is my write-up: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/311521-rear-brake-disc-shield-replacement/ To do it properly requires removing the hub on the rear but that requires a new stretch bolt from the main dealer (approx £5 each). it whilst you are there. Speaking from experience I would only fit the genuine one made by FAG (available from GSF for about £75). Cheap pattern ones can have the wrong number of poles causing the ABS to come up with a fault after driving for a short distance. Kevin

Tony, If you are planning to buy a manual I would suggest ElsaWin version 4.0 or later. You can buy a CD cheaply from eBay. I have uploaded the relevant sections of the manual here for you: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6ytVYfsfAiNfjJNeFoycnZnaGhJbVVyRlNUaWl2RFNSTDQxWHd3djQtUGtDcFRWb2FmU0k&authuser=0 If you look at the wiring removal instructions you will see that you need to carefully remove the cable terminals from the controller connector. It looks like there is a replacement cable assembly that you can buy, probably main stealer only. I think that the part number might be: 6Q0927903B If it is then there is one on eBay for £55. Kevin

Tony, Are you sure that you have active type sensors? What if you measure one of the other wheels? If it is not an active type then the sensors should produce a voltage when the hub is rotated, unfortunately I suspect that you need to rotate the hub at a reasonable speed in order to measure the AC voltage across the terminals. How to tell if you have active sensors: If you measure the resistance between the sensor pins on a working wheel and it measures something like 1kohms then it is inductive. The tone ring on the hub is usually toothed. If you measure the resistance between the sensor pins on a working wheel and it measures something like 1M ohms then it is active. The tone ring on the hub is usually smooth. If you think it is active and you don't have 12V then check one of the other wheels. If that has 12V then more than likely you have a wiring fault. If you let me have the following details of your car I'll look at the workshop manual: Year Engine code Gearbox code I've had a quick look and the rear sensors appear to go to a yellow 9 way connector mounted at the 'front wall, left' which I guess is the engine bulkhead. The front sensors have no connector other than the main one going into the controller. The system appears to use active type sensors. There is a write-up of how to replace faulty ABS sensor cables but it is not easy to follow. Here is an extract: – Release plug connection on wheel speed sensor and separate plug connector. – Unclip wheel speed sensor cable on rear axle and body. – Remove the seat bench → Body work → Rep. gr.72. – Remove trim panel at bottom of pillar C → Body Work → Rep. gr.70. – Remove the entrance plate → Body Work → Rep. gr.70. – Fold back the floor covering around the seat bench. Kevin

Yes it was a hub+bearing+reluctor ring+bolt+dust cap combo ;-) This is the part: http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Octavia_2.0_2005/p/car-parts/car-transmission/transmission-parts/wheel-bearing-and-wheel-hub/?628440300&1&1790f483f3f516df80886480bcd14f0e3eba1af6&000370 Kevin

Good news!!! Fitting a genuine FAG hub appears to have finally fixed my original problem. Just for reference, the hub that I had fitted that did not work had the part number PLB23644 and had a 32mm centre to the bearing. The following may be of interest to others: I peeled back the rubber boot on the back of the sensor. Using a pin, I pushed it down the back of the blue wire so that it made contact on the terminal inside the housing. I connected a voltmeter between chassis and the pin. I used the rear door catch striker as a convenient chassis 0V connection. Turning on the ignition the voltage read 11.25V. Rotating the hub slowly the reading alternated between 11.55V and 11.25V. I experimented with a sensor off the car connected to a 12V supply using a 1000 ohm pull-up resistor (it draws about 6mA). Placing either a magnet or a reluctor ring near the tip of the sensor I measured 5.0V and 3.3V as the polarity of the magnetism changed. I haven't yet felt the urge to get out my iron filings or my plotting compass to count the number of poles on the original hub and compare it to the pattern part. I suspect that they are different and that the ABS controller eventually decided that one of the back wheels was rotating at a different speed to the other and so it dropped out bringing on the ABS warning light. Kevin

Tony1234, I've just come across this excellent video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBNo_yg2gFI The most interesting bit for me is how he makes electrical connection to the sensor with what he describes as a 'T pin'. It looks like a formed piece of wire that is thin enough to poke down the back of the weather seal on the wire in the back of the sensor. This would allow you to make voltage measurements with the ignition switched on whilst rotating the hub. One pin will be permanently at battery voltage the other with change between 2 states as the hub is rotated. I have not tried this myself on my Octavia but I may have a go to confirm that it works. When I looked at the reluctor ring through my sensor hole on my Octavia I could see the damaged section which is why I have changed the hub. If you want to check the loom then you could disconnect the sensor, connect a voltmeter to the loom contacts and switch on the ignition. You should see 12V across the terminals, if you flex the cable and the 12V comes and goes then you have a break in the cable. Ideally you need to load the contacts by placing a 1000 ohm resistor across the terminals whilst measuring the voltage. You can make a very primative test of the sensor by switching your multimeter to diode test and you should get approximately 0.5-0.8V in one direction and open circuit in the other. This does not test the detector part of the sensor but tells you that the output circuit is connected to the terminals. I am still waiting for my genuine hub to arrive so that I can see whether that fully fixes my problem. Kevin

I've just found this excellent web site where you can buy just the reluctor ring: http://www.ukpartsdirect.com/ This is how they describe the operation of the later type ABS sensors: Q. How does an Active ABS Reluctor Ring work? A. Active ABS Reluctor Rings work with Active ABS Sensors. Active ABS Sensors can be likened to the Hall Type Sensor (used in tachometers). The sensor is mounted in close proximity to the Acttive (Magnetic) ABS Reluctor Ring. The Active (Magnetic) type ABS Ring consists of a multi-pole (north / south / north / south …) magnetic ring. More and more vehicles are now being produced with integral ABS within the wheel bearing seal and use magnetic powder instead of fixed magnets. The rotating, alternating, magnetic poles produce a magnetic flux within the sensor element which then amplifies and controls the signal for the ECU (vehicle's computer) to use as wheel speed information. The output of an Active sensor is digital with a square wave signal, being capable of sending wheel speed information down to 0mph. In contrast, the Passive sensor’s accuracy is usually dubious below 20mph.

Thanks for the additional info. I have measured all the other sensors and they all measure the same. Perhaps the sensor output is more open drain rather than open collector. The 0.6V that I measured is probably the protection diode in parallel with the output MOSFET. If there is a coil then it is before the output semiconductor and you cannot measure it. I am beginning to think that the cheap pattern hub that I had fitted is the problem. I think my cheapest course of action is to buy myself the correct torque wrench, spline but and a genuine hub. I suspect that if I connected up a VCDS it would only show what we all suspect that is the speed pulses disappear when the light comes on.

Thanks for the info folks. Here's a further update: These sensors are not like standard inductive pick-ups, they do not measure about 1k ohm, resistively they measure completely open circuit in one direction and about 4M ohm with the probes the other way around. The reluctor ring on the back of the hub seems to be very slightly magnetic, apart from the corroded section on the original hub both seem to be equally magnetic. Just for clarity, the original hub and reluctor ring were removed and both were replaced with new. The fault code was cleared after the new hub was fitted. The warning light stayed out but only because it was a short trip. What seems to happen now is that the warning light stays out for the first 5 minutes of the first trip of the day. The light then stays on for subsequent trips of the day. This suggests that there is some link between engine temperature and the fault light. I am therefore wondering is there is some issue with the control unit that is located in the engine bay. I am stuck as to what to do next. The evidence of the damaged reluctor ring suggested that changing that (as others on this forum have done) would resolved the problem.

This was the scenario a couple of weeks ago: 2005 Octavia 2.0TDi DSG with about 70k miles. The ABS warning light came on and the code reader showed the rear right sensor as intermittent. I replaced the sensor with a new one and this did not fix the fault. The removed sensor had 'wear' marks on the tip indicating that something had been rubbing on it. I therefore suspected the reluctor ring and peering into the sensor mounting hole with a mirror you could see a badly rusted part on the ring as the wheel was rotated. I had the hub replaced and when the garage tested it the ABS light stayed off for their test drive. However using the car after the repair the light stayed off for about 5 minutes of driving and then it came on. I have refitted the original sensor and it makes no difference, 5 minutes OK and then the light comes on. The fault code is still the same so I am no further forward. The hub was definitely faulty and I cannot believe that I have 2 faulty sensors. Does anyone have any suggestions what to look at next? I have trawled this forum and the web in general but cannot find any more information that helps. Also does anyone know how the system works, I cannot find any information about it online. It is different to the standard inductive pickup/toothed wheel design. The sensors are semiconductors (Hall effect?) and the hub uses a 'reluctor ring'. Measuring the sensors with a multimeter reveals that there is a diode drop in one direction (0.6V) and it is open circuit in the opposite direction. The control unit supplies 12V to the sensor and given that it is only a 2 wire connection if must be configured as an open collector. Waving a magnet past the sensor whilst monitoring the voltage from the sensor with it connected to the controller did not indicate any pulses. The reluctor wheel itself doesn't appear to be particularly magnetic so I am at a loss.

I am responding to this thread after spending a few hours helping my friend to fix his faulty dash in his 2005 Octavia Mk II 2.0TDi. The symptoms were: No rev counter or speedo. Coolant fans running continuously. Side lights and headlights not working. The fault was intermittent. Air con not working. The AA attended the vehicle and diagnosed the dash as the problem. My friend and I read the various articles on the web about the common problems with the Mk I dash which were caused by bad solder joints. Unfortunately when he brought the car around to fix it was working at the time so as yet we cannot be conclusive about the success of our fix. This is what we did: Remove the headlight switch (in the 'off' position, push the selector in, and turn it clockwise, it will go around halfway between off and sidelights (or auto) then pull towards you.) Pull off the two small pieces of trim below the dash either side of the steering trim. Remove the two T20 screws holding the bottom of the dash. Release the top two clips holding the top of the dash in place. Use a torch and a small flat bladed screwdriver. Pull the dash forward and remove the electrical plug by folding up the release lever all the way (90 degrees). Remove the four T10 screws visible from the back of the dash. Carefully release the plastic clips around the outer edge until the case front can be removed. Be very careful not to: scratch the dials, move the needles or damage the clear plastic on the front. Using a wide flat bladed screwdriver carefully lever the circuit board and dial assembly up from the power supply circuit board mounted in the back part of the case. It is only held in by two 2 row conntectors. Remove the two T10 screws holding the power supply circuit board in place and release the two clips on the top edge. Looking on the back of the power supply circuit board you can see there are two 5 lead regulators similar to the ones that gave grief on the Mk I dash. Carefully resolder the 5 leads on each regulator as well as the main tab. We also resoldered the joints on the MELF style resistors since these were also identified as causing problems on the Mk I dash. The following photos are of a Mk I dash but show what the voltage regulators and MELF resistors look like. In addition to the above we also disassembled the top dial circuit board assembly and resoldered all the MELF resistors. However I would not recommend that you do this unless resoldering the power supply circuit has not fixed your problem. We had lots of trouble getting the needles accurately realigned and in trying to set the coolant temp needle we managed to disengage the internal gears in the mechanism. It took us an additional hour to take that apart, re-seat the worm drive and put it all back together!

My 2.0TDi with 6 speed manual has just started making a small whining noise when changing down to 5th and releasing the clutch. The car has now done 125k miles. I was hoping to live with it until I needed a new clutch or some other major gearbox or engine work. It was interesting to come across this thread seeing someone else with the same symptoms.

Here are some diagrams of the trim and buzzer: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6ytVYfsfAiNUWs3RWhRUjYwd0k&usp=sharing The part number for the buzzer is 8E0 919 279, main dealer price £20, eBay price £10.

In reply to mk2cliffy, I removed the top B pillar trim first by gently levering out the bottom sides before pulling the top out horizontally. Once that was out of the way, I removed the bottom trim by pulling the top section off horizontally and then pulled it upward to release the bottom clips. The tricky bit was removing the plastic rivets from the buzzer. I just pushed them out from the back. You could push them in but you might loose them inside the pillar.

Yes, it was the B pillar, the one by the left elbow of the passenger. Unfortunately I cannot see a method of editing and correcting my earlier post. Just for interest, the price at the main dealer was £18. I see the same part is used on everything from VW to Lamborghini.

I'm afraid that I cannot claim credit, my dad had the fault codes read and it indicated a fault with the warning buzzer. When he told me that was the fault code I found it hard to believe that the control unit would actually make any kind of measurement to check the buzzer. I was very sceptical right up to the point where I connected another speaker and tested it. I suspect that if anyone else has the same problem, simply connecting any loudspeaker or headphones to the connector in the C pillar would suffice to fool the controller. It probably only looks for a resistance of about 4 - 30 ohms.

Good news, I have fixed it! It would appear that the control unit tests the buzzer before it operates. If the buzzer measures open circuit then it prevents the system from operating. Why can't it just use the graphic with a warning that the buzzer is inoperative? Anyway, I removed the lower trim from the passenger side C pillar and the buzzer was easily accessed. I pulled the plug out of the bottom of the sounder and temporarily plugged in a small speaker that I had. I then tested the parking system and it worked correctly! To remove the old buzzer you have to push out the central part to the plastic rivets from behind and then it all comes off easily. The part number is 8E0 919 279 and they are about £12 on eBay from Europe. I'll check the main dealer locally before ordering online. Kevin

I had a play with PDC radio settings today and learnt the following: With the car parked just in front of a wall, switching the ignition on, putting the gear selector into reverse does not bring up the graphic on the radio and there is no beeping. Moving the selector back to park results in the graphic of the car appearing for about 1 second but there are no obstacle distance markers, just the outline of the car and no beeping. Selecting mode on the radio with the gear selector in reverse sometimes results in the car graphic and the distance markers appearing for about 1 second but no beeping. Changing the PDC setting to OFF and then back ON makes no difference as does changing the PDC volume. I don't know whether this is of any use to our collective fault finding of this problem.

I started down the route of modifying the loom to the radio but abandoned it in favour of using an FM transmitter. Something like this if it's an iPhone: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FM-F-M-Radio-Transmitter-Car-Charger-Kit-For-iPhone-3GS-4-4S-iPod-Touch-Nano-/310895794109?pt=UK_MP3_Player_Accessories_FM_Transmitters&hash=item4862d557bd or this if you just need a standard audio plug version: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-WIRELESS-MP3-FM-RADIO-TRANSMITTER-HANDS-FREE-FOR-MOBILE-IPHONE5-IPOD-SAMSUNG-/301141420191?pt=UK_FM_Transmitters&hash=item461d6d689f I am happy with the results, simple to use and reasonable sound quality.