Hi all,

I've been directed here as the best place to ask about a random Fabia problem.

The 2004 / 1.4 16v Fabia has been working fine apart from the usual door leak thing (sigh) but has been been problematic starting over the past week. On 3 occasions it has gone through the following cycle:

-not started immediately despite the engine turning (with a good battery)

-after holding the starter for a good 30s it starts but runs rough for 30secs like it's trying to find it's idle speed

-during this "rough" bit the accellerator pedal does nothing at all (like the ECU is ignoring it)

-when it finally settles down everything works fine including the accellerator pedal and subsequent starts are immediate and normal

It's only happenned 3 times, and if I switch the engine off and then on again it's absolutely fine, with plenty of "normal" starts in between.

Sorry for this to be my first post but would appreciate any help or tips - the dealer says it doesn't resemble anything and have offered to spend a day diagnosing it but I can't afford the ££s£ for a fishing expedition!

Thanks again guys.

Mine did this too, and the rev gauge did nothing at all oddly. I was told to consider/change the temperature sensor, as dodgy readings can lead to under/over fueling. I never got round the changing it, as too many other things went wrong with the car, so it went.

Think the part is about £10 or so. If possible, try getting it scanned with VAGCOM/VDCS (the diagnostic stuff), should tell you about any faults and I think it lets you monitor the sensors readings.

Also, welcome.

Edited 6 July, 201015 yr by TriggerFish

Mine did this too, and the rev gauge did nothing at all oddly. I was told to consider/change the temperature sensor, as dodgy readings can lead to under/over fueling. I never got round the changing it, as too many other things went wrong with the car, so it went.

Think the part is about £10 or so. If possible, try getting it scanned with VAGCOM/VDCS (the diagnostic stuff), should tell you about any faults and I think it lets you monitor the sensors readings.

Also, welcome.

Thanks very much - it's nice to have a starting point!

As well as temp sender could potentially be throttle body related - could be that a clean with carb cleaner and a throttle body adaptation with vagcom will sort it out. Also if TB cleaned with engine running, I have found this leads to an error code about over-fuelling being generated.

Edited 7 July, 201015 yr by anewman