I have a 51 plate 2001 Fabia 1.4 Elegance 16 v Petrol, after picking it up on the way home the yellow engine management light came on. I took it to my local garage who siad it was the EGR Valve so they replaced it and turnhed off the light, two days later and the light is back on in the dash just came on whilst driving. Then on the way home the yellow power steering ligh came on no difference to the streering still felt light, I stopped at a friends and when I left and restarted the car the light stayed out and has not come back on. The other thing I have noticed is there seems to be a small power fluctuation with the headlights on they seem to dim slightly for a split second the brighten up this is happening whilst driving. I have checked through some paperwork I got with the car and on a past check two fault codes showed up.

16785 EGR Flow too low

00816 Power Steering Sensor (G250) short with ground positive intermittent.

As for the power drain issuie could I need a new Battery fitted

New battery would be my first port of call.

Matt

Thanks for the reply might sort out the flickering lights not so sure about the other two faults think there may be more to them as in the past it has thrown up some fault codes

]

A lot of steering related problems can stem from a bad battery, and seeings as you were planning to change it anyway, I'd do so and wait a while to see if the steering fault re-occurs.

Thanks for the reply will have to look into the cost of a new battery still not convinced a battery will sort out the engine managment light going to have to take it to a Skoda dealer got a warranty with it so will contact the dealer who sold it to me and let him know the problems im having

Well the car has been on a VW computer and the EGR has been reset will have to wait to see if the light comes back on again as for the power steering light been told the fault is with the steering angle sensor and it may be the sensor or the wiring. Would this make the headlights flicker. The battery is giving out the right power and charging fine. Can anyone tell me if the sensor is hard to get too and how much it would cost to replace.

I have spoken to the dealer I got the car from and he said to give it a couple of days for the light to turn back on and then he will take the car back to fix if it shows up again. Its an hours drive to take it back so dont really want to do that will also leave my wife without a car for work.

Well the car has been on a VW computer and the EGR has been reset will have to wait to see if the light comes back on again as for the power steering light been told the fault is with the steering angle sensor and it may be the sensor or the wiring. Would this make the headlights flicker. The battery is giving out the right power and charging fine. Can anyone tell me if the sensor is hard to get too and how much it would cost to replace.

I have spoken to the dealer I got the car from and he said to give it a couple of days for the light to turn back on and then he will take the car back to fix if it shows up again. Its an hours drive to take it back so dont really want to do that will also leave my wife without a car for work.

the reason it will make the lights dim is the power steering on the fabias is a electro hydralic system, or in english you have an electric hydralic pump power the ram on the steering rack, this is a more effiecent method than the older pump driven by a belt off the engine

the electric pump pulls a lot of power when you turn the wheels parking when assistance is maximum

I'm watching this with interest as my steering warning light comes on sometimes. I thought it might be a dodgy connection somewhere as it only seemed to happen when cold and damp. If the engine warmed up and then I switched it off and back on the light would be off. It seems to be happening a lot now but then it is cold and damp! The steering works fine.

I understand that the PAS is electric and takes power but would it make the headlights flicker whilst driving on a dual carriage way in a straight line. The angle sensor or its wiring is my choice for the problem if it was the wiring would that make the lights flicker. The battery is ok so not that, The PAS light only comes on internittently so goes with the fault code I think. Since its been on the VW computer no warning lights but the lights still flicker and the boot opens itself whilst driving intermittenly I think thats its a wiring fault but past experience means a difficult thing to find and fix and can be expensive. Thanks for the advice all help greatly recieved.

I have a 2001 Fabia Classic 1.4MPi and when I checked out the prices for a 2nd hand steering sensor from breakers I got quotes that ranged between £30 and £45 so not too expensive... fitting though looks like you need a car lift or some jacks

Thanks think i will get a new one as the old ones were plastic and fail and the new ones are revised and are metal so designed to last longer hence get rid of the problem once and for all the extra cost will be worth it in the end.

Well its now been 3 days since the car was put on a VW computer and had the throttle and EGR values reset and the guy also found a air leak in a servo pipe which he taped up as a temp fix. The engine warning light has stayed off and the car feels alot better to drive, now just for the PAS problem however the light has not come back on since boxing day. The self opening boot has not done it now for a couple of days my garage said you have to slam the boot as if your gentle tends not to close properly and then opens with movement. I changed the pollen filter myself easy and the air filter my god how many screws to get it out, thank god i did not pay my garage to do it would have cost a fortune I counted 11 screws in total. I will be getting the servo pipe done at the end of this week. I am now starting to like the car the heated seats are great for my bad back.

Well the power steering light came back on the lights flickered big time and the dash light also filickered once the light was on things seemed to settle down the PAS stopped working as car heavy to move in the car park. My garage found the fault code Angle Sensor Positive Ground Short. Im taking the car back to the dealer who I bought the car from to give him a shot at fixing it with his garage's He has been beyond helpful and more than reasonable only downside is he is a hour traveling time and I dont know how long he will have the car for.

This will leave us carless so fingers crossed after the helpful advice on this forum it could be the Battery, the Alternator, the angle sensor or the wiring so I dont want to pay out changing all those to find I still have an issuie. I have a feeling its the angle sensor or the wiring to it, I will let everyone who has given me advice what it is once fixed many thanks

I've had the same problem over the winter with the steering/asr etc!!

Found out it's just the battery, it's dying and the cold in't helping.

Ecu is missing signals from steering sensor when started up from cold causing steering to go etc and storing fault in ecu.

Well the power steering light came back on the lights flickered big time and the dash light also filickered once the light was on things seemed to settle down the PAS stopped working as car heavy to move in the car park. My garage found the fault code Angle Sensor Positive Ground Short. Im taking the car back to the dealer who I bought the car from to give him a shot at fixing it with his garage's He has been beyond helpful and more than reasonable only downside is he is a hour traveling time and I dont know how long he will have the car for.

This will leave us carless so fingers crossed after the helpful advice on this forum it could be the Battery, the Alternator, the angle sensor or the wiring so I dont want to pay out changing all those to find I still have an issuie. I have a feeling its the angle sensor or the wiring to it, I will let everyone who has given me advice what it is once fixed many thanks

You now mention heated seats also which no doubt will be draining the battery from start up, my guess it needs a bigger Varta 79ah battery.

DB.

Thanks for the replys, well im not going to spend anymore money on it and let my dealer find the fault he has VW contacts so they should find the fault as I only got the car the week before xmas. Tonight when I got home after another dark drive with the headlights flickering all the way home I parked the car up and put the car on full lock the headlights flicker and the PAS made a pulsating noise then went to a contstant noise then back to pulsating. The interior lights even flicker and the steering can feel too light whilst driving as the flickering gets worse, I will suggest a more powerful battery tomorrow when I drop it off. Thanks all for the advice.

Might be worth mentioning looking at the earth lead from the battery to the car body (only a few inches long) It can increase resistance over time which doesn't help the electrics much. Plus it's cheap and easy to replace.

I had the same fault with my steering as you (with the pulsing noise and flickering headlamps), I replaced the steering angle sensor, but it didn't make much difference, once the earth strap was replaced it has been fine....."touch wood".

DW

Thanks will pass it on to my car dealer as the car is now with him to sort it out. Lucky for me it played up as I pulled up, he was outside waiting and saw the car doing it so that a bonus.

Well my car dealer has had the car for a week now, spoke to him today he changed the earth cable from the battery to the body of the car this had no effect on my PAS problem. He has told me that it is the angle sensor and his garage hope to get the part today to fit waiting on a phone call back to let me know if I can pick the car up later as need a car for Monday. If his garage dont get the part in looks like it wont get fixed till next week so not too happy about that as it will cost me money to either hire a car or pay someone to drive me to a work meeting.

I hope this sorts out my issuies with the car as the wife is giving me a hard time about another week without a car for her to get to work in. Not a good start to owning a Skoda

I picked the car up tonight from my dealers Audi,Vw specialist garage they have replaced the steering angle sensor. I drove the car back home as it got dark and the journey took around an hour, all was well no flickering headlights and dash lights and the steering feels so much better.

I would like to say if anyone needs to find a very good car dealer who is decent honest and is reliable then go to

Pickwick Car Centre - 23 Home Mead, Katherine Park, Corsham, SN13 9UB

Viewing by appointment only please ring any time - Tel: 01225 810 480 Mob: 07984 660 046

and speak to Nick or have a look at his website http://www.pickwickcarcentre.co.uk/25783/pickwickcar_location.htm

Now all the warning lights are out and im very happy with car just thought I would let everyone know the outcome and how I found a car dealer who is one in a million. Thanks for all the advice given in this post.