MikeTheThinker

We're experiencing the dreaded random alarm triggerings on my wife's car, Can't detect a pattern to the triggerings except that it hasn't happened whilst in motion - yet. Normal reset methods work on occasions but not on others, and finally shutting the thing up usually occurs after several ignition on/off and engine on/run/off cycles. I've removed the internal sensor as a triogger using the isolation button down on the B pillar - no discernable difference. Car battery is healthy and around 3 years old. I'm assuming at this point that the problem will be the alarm battery, either failing or rotting and coroding the circuit board. I've had a quick look on aliexpress and the going rate for a new alarm seems to be arouns 50 squid. I'll run a VCDS scan later when I can get back to my diagnostic kit but in the meantime am wondering of there's any way to disable the alarm unit for now? I've tried searching Ross Tech's site for a way but nothing so far.

How about pulling the plastics and using the old newspaper trick to get a better idea of where the water is coming in? Another possibility is to selectively duct tape off sections of the closed boot joint and spray it with a hose to localise the ingress point or points.

I don't know where the drains are on a hatch (mine's an estate) but from what you described it could be the water is entering the door structure all the time but is able to drain out again when the car is parked "nose up" but not "nose down".

In case anyone is into classic Triumphs I've posted a free listing for Tiger Cub head gaskets;

There's a nice blue '07 VRS up for breaking in Peterborough: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373647328909

Water in the fuel pooling at the bottom of the filter? Or maybe one of the vacuum hoses from the turbo is leaking/has dropped off?

You're here, you asked for help, so we do what we can; after all, that's how a lot of us learned in the first place! When I did my wing replace I thought I was just going to have to replace the wing, but when I got into it I ended up replacing the headlamp carrier, support bracket, those two little brackets I mentioned before and the bumper support bracket. None were expensive but it was a pain to keep finding something else to fix :( I also had to "kinetically readjust" the flying bracket that supports the little backets as it's part of the inner wing and welded to the chassis. BTW I have a load of piccies of the wing repair if that's of any help?

If it would help I have a series of piccies I took when I replaced the NSF wing on our Octy 1.9tdi 2007 preFL. Found them in this thread:

Unless the VRS front wings are fitted differently to the standard Octy they are bonded to a support bracket on the top of the run about halfway between the windscreen and the back of the headlamp. The bonding agent will release with the aid of a hot air gun and some patience, and the rest is just bolted up, so a replacement is quite feasible. The parts diagram below is for a 2008 Octavia 1Z, and shows the wing plus support bracket (#6). What it doesn't show (for some reason) is the kidney-shaped foam dampener which sits inside the top of the wing and is bonded in. It is this part that I had to release using a heat gun and reassemble with fresh polyurethane adhesive (don't buy the VAG one at £30 or so, you can get the same thing from a motor factor for around £8). I don't have the part number details for the foam insert here but I'll post it when I can find it. NB the link to the parts diagram and the catalogue is included underneath. BTW do check brackets #2 & #3 aren't bent. https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/octavia/oct/2008-419/8/821-821010/

It isn't; something is wrong. Another possibility is a wheel bearing.

It's been a while since I looked at ERWIN and the interface has changed somewhat - for the better, I'd say. I want to download all the relevent manuals for the four Octy estates in our family, three Octy 2s (all 2007/8 preFL) and an Octy 1 (2003 FL). It appears I can either search and capture - one by one - all relevent links per model then log in and download but I'm wondering if I log in and use the VIN option will that get me to all the documents for that particular VIN? I'm currently reliant on a broadband connection that's not the world's fastest or most reliable so I'm trying to pre-plan as much as possible to avoid wasting my sub in failed downloads. BTW I've just had to re-register for ERWIN as I was emailed to say my registration had been deleted; is this normal?

You need to look a bit further on - positions 7 & 8 IIRC; 1Z is a mk2, 5E is a mk3

The first few characters of your VIN will tell you.

Looks clean all round. Cloth seats, some compression wear on the driver's seat squab plus (I hope!) some coffee dribble marks. Manual rear windows, can't see for the fronts. Boot space clean and cover present. BXE motor is pretty solid as long as it gets regular oil changes with the proper VW grade oil - check the service records. Wrong or insufficient oil leads to camshaft wear - noisy valves and/or irregular engine note can indicate this. Vehicle check looks pretty good and clears up the (official) taxi question.

I forgot; another excellent check is on the MoT history, but you'll need details from the last MoT certificate to do a web lookup.

First off, the DVLA data on this vehicle are: Vehicle make SKODA Date of first registration April 2008 Year of manufacture 2008 Cylinder capacity 1896 cc CO₂ emissions 135 g/km Fuel type DIESEL Euro status Not available Real Driving Emissions (RDE) Not available Export marker No Vehicle status Taxed (to Jan 2022) Vehicle colour GREEN Vehicle type approval M1 Wheelplan 2 AXLE RIGID BODY Revenue weight Not available Date of last V5C (logbook) issued 11 January 2021 I'd be wanting to ask why the colour is recorded as Green when the official paint colour is Silver Grey (best way is to check the VIN on the V5 with the VIN in the bottom left corner of the windscreen), and also why the seller is wanting to part with it after only 6 months ownership and after spending (at a guess) around £1,000 on service work. Parkers data are: Skoda Octavia Estate 1.9 TDI PD Classic 5d 2008/08 Private Price £735 - £1,105 Dealer Price £1,505 - £2,095 Based on 140,000 miles with no optional extras "Classic" is the base model so don't expect many toys; I'm not sure if it has electric windows in the front or not. General comments: car looks clean and key items seem to have been covered (full service history, 4 new tyres, waterpump, cambelt, brake pads and discs all round, new shocks and springs all round); have a good lookast the service history to see if it was regular, at what intervals and by whom. This may also tell you if the car was a taxi, in which case look for higher wear. The other big maintenance item is the dual mass flywheel. If that's been done, you will save around £500 in garage charges. Listen to the engine ticking over and check for noises like metal scraping on metal (try a youtube search for examples) which would suggest an imminent failure of the DMF. Cosmetically, is that a scrape or a reflection on the driver's door? Also, the left hand door mirror is missing a cover. No piccies of the back end? You should check for rust on the tailgate around the number plate lights. As long as it hasn't penetrated the metal it can be touched up (and it's not normally visible) but it is a known weakness. Overall, the 1,9tdi PD diesel is pretty reliable with good fuel mileage so if the car is a good one and the price is right it's worth a look.

Estate and saloon are the same as long as they're both 4-doors. I bought them (full set) to upgrade the seats in my Octavia Ambiente estate and tried them out in the donor car. I found they gave me better support than the Ambiente cloth seats (I'm late 60s). I didn't use the seats in the end because I rotated my car to our daughter and bought a Scout instead I'm sure there will be someone near enough to you with a VRS that would let you do a "bum check" on their seats. I'm in Lancashire BTW.

I have a set of vrs leather seats I'm planning to sell if that's any help.

I'd recommend a read through the pages on this link, where the pinouts and functions of the different trailer electrical connectors are described. Also, do you know that the trailer socket on your car is working correctly to start with?

Thanks! Better price than the one I found Now ordered and en route.

So @john999boy, if I understand the model correctly, an advert equates to a topic in the rest of the forums and responses to an advert behave as would responses to a topic? If this is so, when I post a normal topic my preferences automatically subscribe me to responses to that topic so why am I not auto-subscribed to responses to an advert I post?

I also have an '07 Octy and whilst I cannot claim your pen adventures I too have problems with the lock button being intermittent. I was looking at replacing it until I discovered that I could get the "all unlock" action by double-clicking the fob unlock button - remembering to leave a short pause between presses, I haven't tried the opposite - double click to lock all - but I'll try to remember to do that next time I'm at the car.

I'm now further confused. I'm subscribed to the Wanteds section so I've assumed I should get copied on all posts therein (if everything was working properly). Is that not so?

Yes, thanks, and I'm sorry to say it was one of your nuts we've lost :(

I've put an advert in the Wanted section but as I don't get updates from adverts for some technical reason I'm mentioning the need here too. Fingers crossed!