"Check Left Rear Foglight" WTF

[mannyo]

I went to drive home from work yesterday, got in and started the engine.

Up on the maxidot the following message "Check Left Rear Foglight", along with the bulb failure lamp.

Now, my car is a UK car so the Left Rear fog is not used at all.

Then whilst driving along at 70MPH up the M3 the bulb failure light goes out and the message has disappeared and not been seen since.

The warm weather must be playing havoc with the electrics.

[Caspian]

I went to drive home from work yesterday, got in and started the engine.

Up on the maxidot the following message "Check Left Rear Foglight", along with the bulb failure lamp.

Now, my car is a UK car so the Left Rear fog is not used at all.

Then whilst driving along at 70MPH up the M3 the bulb failure light goes out and the message has disappeared and not been seen since.

The warm weather must be playing havoc with the electrics.

I'm sorry, I haven't a clue why you are having the problem,

However I was surprised to see you comment that the left rear fog light is not use on cars in the UK. I have always understood that cheaper cars had only one rear fog light because the manufacturer was pennypinching on manufacturing costs. Certainly many more expensive cars have always had 2 lights fitted. In any case, I have always preferred to have 2 rear fog lights on a car. It avoids any confusion for following drivers.

My Superb, delivered in October 2009, has both rear foglights operating.

[Guest]

Been led to believe that left right or both can be set by dealer. My own 2009 has both working.

Also think that this has been on the forum before.

[Departed]

I went to drive home from work yesterday, got in and started the engine.

Up on the maxidot the following message "Check Left Rear Foglight", along with the bulb failure lamp.

Then whilst driving along at 70MPH up the M3 the bulb failure light goes out and the message has disappeared and not been seen since.

This sounds like what I experienced a while back. The exact sequence went like this:

The orange "blown bulb" light was on permanently and the MaxiDot showed "Check rear left indicator," then "Check Reversing Lights," followed by "Check Right Front Fog Light," in sequence. The left-hand flasher produced that double-speed ticking usually associated with a blown bulb, but the front left and left mirror repeater indicators work normally. The left rear indicator flashed three times, then remains on.

Since the first dealer visit, the "Check rear left indicator" warning no longer appeared, whereas the other two still showed in sequence, as before. A new left-hand rear light unit was tried, so that might have explained the reduction in warning messages. The orange warning light remained on all the time. The car was booked in again later in the month, but Skoda Technical were in the loop and required tests on all units before replacement, there was also the possibility of the dash removal.

It was all resolved by replacing an ECU which sits between the steering column and the offside of the dash (which had to be sourced from the European factory). Watch out for a similar apparently random sequence as above!

Ray

[Fabia00]

Sounds like the electrics had a bit of a gremlin. My mum and dad's friend had a Golf Plus which would say that the front right sidelight was blown even though it was on and if you restarted used to disappear. Think they only have one fog light so that they are less likely to be confused with a brake light due to the brightness, hence the UK tends to have the fog on the right hand side and other parts of europe on the left side.

[BlackSkoda]

......The warm weather must be playing havoc with the electrics.....

I don't think that wold be the problem. My black Superb has experienced 44 deg C for nearly a whole week and everything worked fine.

[SJFISHER67]

I have two working fog lights on the back of my Superb. I thought they had two rear fog lights anyway?

[Phish]

Interesting - I was going to raise start a related thread myself.

I got a "Check Right Rear Foglight" message on the Maxidot, together with the bulb warning sign. When I checked that bulb it looked and tested ok, so I actually switched on the foglights and had a visual inspection. The right foglight was lit, but the left hand one was not. I swapped the bulbs over and the fault moved to the RHS, and the Maxidot now said "Check Left Rear Foglight". I changed the bulb that was not lighting, and now both rear foglights work and the fault display has gone from the Maxidot. So I have the situation where the warning on the Maxidot is switched between right and left.

I'd be interested to know - has anyone else seen this left/right switch in the warnings - do I have some crossed wirings in my car, or is this a generic fault in the right hand drive Superb?

[ukcruiser]

Does it not just depend on where you are looking at the car from?

(does it state in the manual which side is which?)

ie, looking at the front of the car, the left is drivers side, but look at it from the rear, the left is passenger side?

It's just a thought....

Al.

[Departed]

"Left side" is your left when you are seated behind the wheel.

Ray

[Phish]

"Left side" is your left when you are seated behind the wheel.

Ray

Yup, I know that - I'm not sure that my car does!

When the message came up "Check Right Rear Fog light" it turned out to be the LHS - nearside (in the UK) bulb that was faulty. Changing that bulb into the RHS (offside in UK) changed the message to "Check Left Rear Fog light"

If I get time I will take some more random bulbs out at the weekend and see what the messages are.