adurer

I agree with dohnjoe. That could explain also the high fuel consumption you wrote me about. Does your car had an easy life? Or did you push it often over the limit? At over 160 km/h I would expect the engine to scream for mercy... that is if your speedometer shows the right speed.

Your idea is better, I agree. Do you have any old car around to put it in practice? I would be very interested to know how hard a thief armed with a crowbar should have to fight with the door. Maybe you can issue a pattent too, or at least reinforce car doors for the right price. Here is the last method to break in a car. Conclusion: if any anti-theft method fails, my last resort is this:

Yes, I do. Exactly the same power needed by a central locking actuator. Slide a rod then disconnect. It's not like you keep the frame in place by a giant electromagnet, which by the way would drain the battery in 5 minutes.

I don't understand why there is no solution for that corner of the frame. Are all engineers out of ideas? I am throwing one in: an electromagnetic actuated latch coupled to central locking. With some ingenuity it could result a functional, strong, esthetic latch.

Leaving aside the jokes, that is an interesting question. Considering a very documented thief, how much time would he need to disable the immobilizer on Felicia and drive away?

Fair question. This topic is about making break-ins as difficult as possible for a reasonable cost. It is assumed the car has a basic alarm system with shock and lift sensors. Exactly.

Yeah... quite scary how easy it is. To do: - remove unlock buttons (I never use them anyways) - add an extra latch on the upper corner of door window frame to prevent any wedge insertion (solid or inflatable)

Nobody said that removing door locks and anti-theft foil for windows will solve all security issues. I mentioned preventing/discouraging theft. For car-lifting and towing we have alarms systems, right? And we're talking about Felicia, not a BMW X5. I would like to see somebody dum enough to lift/tow a Felicia with the alarm howling for ever... One detail in case you didn't know: the window foil I'm talking about is not the privacy foil, it is a sledgehammer resist foil. What is the point of having a security box? Keeping your wedding ring or Raybans safe while being left with windows shattered and broken locks? Come on, people, try thinking out of the box. Really :o why?

In case my original message was not clear enough, I will add a visual representation of things I would like to avoid. I hope that I amnmot the only one interested in preventing/discouraging a crowbar-type car break-in that could happen to anyone.

I am opening this topic hoping that in the end will become a guide for securing our cars better. In our days, car thieves don't care much of any car alarm system, because they use brute force to break in and steal whatever they find valuable. In fact I think the best feature of any car alarm system is the possibility to find your car in large parking lots. As I said, thieves from middle to low value cars, as Felicia, don't use sophisticated scanners to disable their alarm systems. They use a crowbar instead or a hammer to attack door locks and/or windows and snatch the objects of interest regardless of any howling from the alarm. That is why I am interested in technical details, tips, manufacturers data, maybe even photos from more experienced mechanics and electricians that could explain how to: - remove all door locks and the boot lock - apply a hammer-resistant foil on windows

The 'dish' is called air filter housing or box. To open it you'll have to remove the top cover nuts (4) and to release all the clamps around the edge. Now we'll have to figure out what is the 'sponge' air filter.

The same things I wrote above applies to injection engines. The only difference is that ECU adjusts for idle speed drop. In a very broad way, a carburettor works like a computer using clever electrical, mechanical, and vacuum-driven devices instead of a CPU, a Flash memory, a firmware, sensors, and step-by-step motors.

Idle slightly rising is a good sign. It means the carburettor's idle boost mechanism compensates for a sudden vacuum loss, like the quick brake pedal pumping. A bad sign would be the tendency to stall the engine; that would indicate a 1-way valve faulty or the brake booster diaphragm faulty. As mentioned above, the brake booster is one of many systems that 'feed' on manifold vacuum. Any leak in those systems could result in a rough idle. As a thumb rule, only what is below the throttle valve should be checked for vacuum leaks. Here comes VERY handy a smoke machine.

The only Felicia engine having steel rods all around that I know of is 135 with carburettor, legacy from Favorit.

If you have some spare time, have a look at relay/fuse panel too. Even better, disconnect the negative battery cable and take the panel out for a closer inspection. WD40 does wonders on relay, fuse and connector contacts. We have 15 year old cars after all and it is reasonable to asume some corrosion occured.

If the above doesn't work, look for a vacuum leak, usually it's the gasket below TB or a vacuum hose. What happens when you pump quickly the brake pedal when idling?

The only thing I can think of is a car electrical issue. A transient overvoltage could scramble the content of the Flash memory. Likewise, a transient power interruption to immo could affect it. It is important you were persistent and cleaned every connector related, that helps in most cases. If the voltage regulator on the alternator is old, I would replace it with a new one, just as a precaution.

I believeTeflonTom is thinking (for good reason) that the immobilizer and the ECU are no longer paired. Each time the car is started successfully, a random code is generated and stored both into ECU and into immobilizer flash memory. Those code are interogated by ECU at next engine start and if for some reason the codes don't match then ECU thinks somebody has been tampering with the immobilizer and says 'no start'. So to rule out that issue, do this in turn: - read error codes - erase error codes - pair (adapt) keys to immo - pair (adapt) immo to ECU - read error codes If no errors, try starting the car.

I don't quite understand this part. You said that an off-throttle condition under engine braking cuts the fueling IF (heavy vacuum AND rpm > 1500) which is true, Felicia included. So why the need for a retarded timing too if the fueling is off?

Why would you lend a hand to car thieves? Not to mention your theft insurance goes bye-bye too. I know you have that issue with car's immobilizer, but have patience and be persistent. We'll find what's faulty in the end. Felicias are quite reliable and simple to fix. Electronic parts don't give up by themselves, it's only due to moisture, dirt or corrosion they appear to malfunction. So is it now starting? Fuel pump is buzzing?

The so called 'K' wire is one of data transfer wires and runs from the 16-pin diagnostic socket to ECU. As mentioned it is not related with the immobilizer issue. What TeflonTom meant is the so called 'W' wire (black/gray) that runs from pin 2 of the immobilizer to the above mentioned 3-wire connector, pin 1. It then goes as a green wire to ECU (pin 19 of the 52-pins socket). It is a valid point considering to check that circuit for good contact. In fact, if I were you, I would WD40 spray the entire ECU socket and the 3-pins one. Keep us posted.

Yeah, there is just an O-ring in there (code 030133073D) and being a VW part it can cost what dealers charged. Or you can get it on eBay for half. But first check if you have indeed a vacuum leak in that area. An unlit propane torch might put you on the right track. The Haynes manual is obsolete, incomplete or wrong in many cases. The real manual is the Skoda factory service manual. You'll need a reading of throttle valve angle data with VAG-COM while slowly pressing all the way the accelerator pedal. The problem is that without a high resolution graphical representation of data, you'll not be able to see much looking at some digits. On the other hand, judging by your description ('fighting' with throttle cable sensation), in absence of any mechanicai sticking, there is only the throttle valve actuator that could act up. So I would suggest starting simple by checking / cleaning all associated electrical connectors, ground points, and finally an idle switch test with the scanner. Tell us what you found so far.

Cap issue Yes, you got it right. Coolant system blockages issue I call it 'blockage' when the coolant flow is restricted by dirt, flakes, broken blade from pump, glass-like deposits from heater matrix that come off, dead mouse etc. From this point of view, Felicia is no different from other cars having foreign objects inside the cooling system. I call it an 'trapped air pocket' when air is trapped in highest points: heater matrix area or most often under the temp. sensor. The coolant flow is not restricted in this case, except the heater performance is reduced and/or temp. gauge indication is not accurate. Felicia is not more prone to air pockets than other if the bleeding is done correctly. Tips & tricks to get rid of air pockets when bleeding the system - park the car on a slight uphill road. - remove the heater matrix from its place (still attached to hoses) and let it hang as low as possible - post bleeding, do a short drive, let the engine cool down, open exp. tank cap, take out temp. sensor, pour coolant in exp. tank till coolant streams out air free, then immediately put temp. sensor back on. Errata from previous message, last paragraph: "still" not "steel". Sorry.

Although Skoda Felicia service manual doesn't say, it is exactly the same thing from the bleeding end result point of view. 99% of purging is done when you fill the cooling system and a constant stream of air-free coolant is flowing from the temperature sensor hole. The rest of 1% trapped air will be evacuated during the first trip into the expansion tank which is the highest point of the cooling system. I leave the cap off after filling only because the fan will kick in faster and I can get on with my life sooner. But after the engine is cold again, I take care to open the cap and put it back on even if there is no need to add more coolant up to half way between the MIN and MAX marks. If the engine steel overheats after a new thermostat is put in, that is mainly because the system has't been flushed properly and debris are blocking cooling passages.