Breezy_Pete

Actually, they are required to work in cars later than yours, during MOT, but you should be OK with 'off' ones, from a quick glance at the manual here: You only need to inspect daytime running lamps (DRLs) if they’re fitted as original equipment to vehicles first used on or after 1 March 2018.

And pre-2011 cars.

Either debris holding it from closing, or 'too cheap', I suspect. (Edit: or damage to the sealing face of the main housing?) I bought a genuine one (the one pictured) which was about £35 off ebay. Lasted 7 or 8 years until the rest of the engine died around it recently. I expect they're even more than that now. Cheap one on at teh moment: NEW GENUINE AUDI VW SEAT SKODA 1.6 FSI COOLANT THERMOSTAT - 03C 121 110 A | eBay

I'm useless at 'blagging it'. Pretty sure I always will be.

Well I'm good at the former but how do I get past the latter?

I don't think some of those illustrations are very helpful but it sounds like you got the order right (not sure from your description): Was it very cheap?

Yeah lots of TPS outlets seem to have got stricter recently. They theoretically always were trade only, but some/many used to 'find a way' to serve Joe Public. Fewer seem to do so now including my nearest, when called on the phone anyway. Do examine the pipe though if you haven't already, it might be that someone just taped it up because they'd read (on here for example) that they are a weak point and decided to try preventive medicine? Or trying to fix the same fault but without actually finding splits but just taping anyway. Always seems to be the joints either side of the one-way valve in my experience, so you won't need to unwrap much to look.

Use fingertips to feel as well as looking, the splits often seem to form on the underside where they are hard to see. Possibly hotter there. But...if your idling gets better/fixed by lifting the accelerator pedal, I'd've thought it must be a fault with that, and probably nothing else? Don't suppose yours does the same @BrumTom_?

I'm struggling to see a direct correspondence between fuse positions on the topside and male contacts on the underside, but I think your fuse/relay panel will either be this part number or the same with a C at the end. Not sure of the difference but photos in other ebay listings may reveal something, possibly. VW AUDI SEAT SKODA GOLF SCIRROCCO 1.6L 2.0L TDI CFG FUSE BOX 1K0937125D | eBay At least one listing I saw for the suffix-C part number had some dirty-looking contacts on the underside there. VW Golf MK6 2.0 TDI Fuse Box 1K0937125C 1K0 937 125 C | eBay Someone with more familiarity with the arrangement here will know if there are wires going directly onto those male contacts, I guess so?

It might be that the poor contacts are between what connects to the fuseholder and downwards, rather than fuseholder to fuse. I had a quick look at parts lists earlier but wasn't sure what year your car is? The part I found appeared to have male spade contacts beneath there, not sure if wires go onto those or what, but without the manufacture date I wasn't sure I was definitely looking at the right bit.

Trim away some of the burnt/melted plastic (and vacuum out the debris) to give yourself a better view of the contacts before attempting to clean and snug up the contact surfaces.

Oh yeah, by several years.

The way the chassis number before/after works in that page is like this: Firstly the >> 5J-xxxxxxxx means up to that chassis number; When it says 5J-xxxxxxxx >> it means from that chassis number onwards. You'll see they're one different in each case. The first character after the 5J- on those pages is actually the 10th digit of the VIN (the 9th is represented by the dash - and is irrelevant). It's the Model Year. So the changeover happened during model year 2008. MY2009 cars would have a 9 there instead, 2010 will have A, 2011 B etc. So I guess yours is MY2013.

Only the first few mk2's had the same wishbone. Look at this page, first two diagrams. front axle, steering Fabia (FAB) [EUROPA 2008 year] (7zap.com) First diagram same as mk1, second diagram, different at the back end (horizontal bush within wishbone) Last 8 digits of the VIN can tell you which diagram is appropriate for any given mk2; most will be the second diagram.

It sounds to me like the coolant isn't hot enough anywhere in the system to even start to open the thermostat, if the thermostat were working correctly. Does the car have A/C? How many radiator fans are there? Pulling the fuse for the fan(s) might be a quick way of investigating whether they are misbehaving.

It shouldn't be getting sent to the radiator at all if it's "cooler than a bath tub", and it's the thermostat's job to control that. There might be some damage to the thermostat housing such that it leaks when it should be closed?

Less circulation would make the coolant hotter, not cooler, 'cos it would be in contact with hot engine bits for longer than it should be on each lap. Was the replacement thermostat a genuine Skoda item? It's not unheard of for pattern parts to malfunction from new.

You'll only be able to buy genuine I think, so TPS, dealership parts counter, or someone like Mike at Coverdale Carparts, a forum sponsor: Home | Coverdale Car Parts Phone him tomorrow. Come to think of it, any of those places will be able to find the correct part number without you telling them anything more than your reg number, so no need to dig under too much tape.

Sorry for the bum steer, I can only speculate that the backplate is distorted or something. I quite like your proposed fix.

Reasonably easy to swap out, there might be an awkward clip at the engine end, and removing the servo end is much easier if you pump the brake pedal a few times before trying. Once you have the tape off you may be able to read a part number straight off it. Written all the way along the hard plastic sections repeatedly.

Peel off the tape either side of the non-return valve and re-do it carefully with gaffer tape. See if the fault goes away. Always a good idea to be sure of a diagnosis before spending hard-earned.

Unfortunately, air leaks upstream of the throttle body won't be relevant, they'll just let unfiltered instead of filtered air in.

Is yours a 6-valve (60bhp) or 12-valve (70bhp) HTP? On either the brake servo vacuum hose is a favourite for leaking at the connections to the non-return valve not far from where it leaves the inlet manifold. On the 6-valve variant there's another hose worth well looking at, but I won't bother describing it until I know whether you have that engine variant.

I wonder if you could fit a reset button that interrupted (for as long as it's held) the output of the 5V regulator on the board? Might be sufficient ?

Mostly, yeah, but I have very limited knowledge of recent cars. Citigo is/was an exception to this, I believe.