Hi,

I have a 2001 (X) Fabia 1.9TDi Elegance, and last night when I went to drive it, I noticed the fresh air blowers weren't working...and the window was steamed up, so thought I'd better check the fuse.

So I opened the cover, and where the fuse for the blowers should have been, was a hole instead! The fuse was melted and there was just a lump of plastic, and the metal connectors were not in the place they should be! In fact, it looks like something's exploded, and there's a fair bit of melted and cracked plastic around that area. The fuse was the bottom one in the panel, but I'd say it's probably made a hole big enough for three fuses.

In my non-educated mind, the whole fuse box will need replacing. Is this right? And also, how big a job is this? I haven't got money to be throwing at the car at the moment, just had the brake pads done (front and back) and the suspension brushes changed at the front. I've also got a light out behind the speedo (I was quoted £300 for a new unit?), and a rear electric window has stopped working (although I can still hear the motor, I was told this was an enclosed unit and would cost a lot to fix...is this true?)

How bad is the light out behind the speedo? My old Xantia was like that the whole time I owned it, but no issues with MoT. As for the window, it sounds like the regulator:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/119359-removing-the-ancillaries-carrier/

...but it might be worth pulling the relevant fuse to rest the controller first (assuming it's not melted too!)

HTH

Could be many things stopping the window opening, the only sure way of finding the culprit is to whip of the the door cards and see whats broke. As it's cold these days I would wait until next spring when it's warmer. Opening rear windows can't be that important, can it?

Could be many things stopping the window opening, the only sure way of finding the culprit is to whip of the the door cards and see whats broke. As it's cold these days I would wait until next spring when it's warmer. Opening rear windows can't be that important, can it?

The windows were more of an aside...my main problem is the exploded fuse! Thought while I was posting I'd see if it was a common problem. I seem to have a lot of problems with my electrics, had to replace countless headlight bulbs, and had to have the ECU and 4 door locks changed because they all blew when I first got the car. I'm considering jut getting rid of it now!

Has anyone checked the voltage regulator yet?

Looks like the fuse was not making proper contact with the socket. It would get hot and eventually melt the housing. An arcing supply to a motor such as the blower would create havoc with other electrical items.

As mannyo says, you should check the alternator regulator. If an arcing connection wasn't the cause, then the regulator would have to be prime suspect for your other electrical problems.

With all these electrical problems it seems the car may have been flood damaged in the past, do you know the history of yer motor?

Ooh, good call!

I would reckon you would not need a whole fuse box unit, as you could wire it to one of the many spare fuse spaces

As for flooding, the very first time I explored to get a Skoda Fabia, I was offered by Kerbside Motors a fantastic bargain price on a silver 02 one, given the keys and a free hour to test drive it alone, I went to a friend/contact who had a tyre service, so a good lift, there was no cover under the engine bay

The door cards all appeared to have a TIDE LINE just below window height, and the engine was covered in sort of white salt deposits

I turned out this Fabia had floated away from the major flood damage Boscastle village into the harbour

I took it back, and bought the Lemon Yellow VRS new from a dealer

National

Hi,

I have a 2001 (X) Fabia 1.9TDi Elegance, and last night when I went to drive it, I noticed the fresh air blowers weren't working...and the window was steamed up, so thought I'd better check the fuse.

So I opened the cover, and where the fuse for the blowers should have been, was a hole instead! The fuse was melted and there was just a lump of plastic, and the metal connectors were not in the place they should be! In fact, it looks like something's exploded, and there's a fair bit of melted and cracked plastic around that area. The fuse was the bottom one in the panel, but I'd say it's probably made a hole big enough for three fuses.

In my non-educated mind, the whole fuse box will need replacing. Is this right? And also, how big a job is this? I haven't got money to be throwing at the car at the moment, just had the brake pads done (front and back) and the suspension brushes changed at the front. I've also got a light out behind the speedo (I was quoted £300 for a new unit?), and a rear electric window has stopped working (although I can still hear the motor, I was told this was an enclosed unit and would cost a lot to fix...is this true?)

A plastic fuseholder will melt if there is a poor connection which heats up ,between the fuse lugs ,and the metal parts of the fuseholder. This happens in a 13 amp plug as well. The only solution is replacement of the fusebox to do the job properly. I would hunt the 'Breakers' in youe area for a good secondhand one. The only problem is the breaker will remove it from a donor car by cutting all the wires connected to it!. The metal parts of the fuseholder have the wires crimped to it ,they then slot into the large plastic housing, with a tag stopping it removing itself when you change a fuse!. If it was mine I would make a note of connections (photo) and replace your car wires and fuseholders into the 'new' fuseholder block.It will be time consuming,and you must get it right. You could join wires to repair it,but you will be adding things to go wrong in the future!