for the last few months i've had this really strange problem with my fabia vrs. The symptoms have been

hesitant startup irrespective of whether engine is hot or cold. Seems to happen more after a long drive (2 hours+) or maybe thats coincidence.

it turns over but hesitates for a few seconds then starts.

today after an hour of motorway driving, i pulled up at a service station for 5 minutes. she started up abit hesitantly, i drove off in 1st gear...5-10mph. then suddenly it cut out. Luckily i was able to manoever the car into a parking bay. I noticed as it cut out the battery light came on. I was able to start her up, but it was hesitant.

I continued on my journey...another 150 miles.

i did notice that with the engine running, idling. If i press the power window buttons, move the steering wheel slightly from side to side or even switch the heater blower on, the headlamps flicker ever so slightly. It is a very slight flicker.

any ideas what is happening?

The battery light comes on when the engine is not running, as it means there is no alternator being driven to charge the battery, thus causing the battery light to come on

The flickering is normal as at idle the charge is minimal, nothing to worry about really.

The cutting out however is not good. Worth getting it checked out, it could be the MAF, someone more knowledgeable will be round no doubt later on but it's worth a shot.

This all assumes normal servicing etc has been done

The hesitant startup in both Hot and Cold situations could point to a problem with the Glow Plugs possibly? Not sure on how much they cost but if they are around the same price as spark plugs id just go out and buy a set and try them first.

thanks for your replies

I took it to a garage today who i trust. He checked the battery and said it was fine and was charging. it was at 13volts

He then plugged in his laptop and the following message appeared

cam position sensor g40

he cleared the message and retried it appeared again but then on subsequent tries it wasnt there.

not sure what it really means. Something to do with misaligned timing belt?? very expensive job.

he recommended i wait for the hesitant startup problem to resurface then take it back to him.If it comes up again, he suggests taking it to skoda armed with the fault codes