Faulty switch, replacement

[rapidfire]

Hello.

I wonder If someone could advise me on a issue I have with my skoda.

I have a skoda felicia 1.3 LX on a 1995 reg.

Today I got into my car to drive home but for some reason, my lights were not working. I did try and get them on but no luck. I had to drive up the road home with no lights on.

I got home and kept pressing the lights button on the dash. It still did not work but if i touch it slightly, it seems to go on and off.

It sounds like the light in the back of the switch is rattling about. I must have a bad or faulty switch.

So my questions are, how do you open the dash to get the swtich out?

Is it easy to fix? as skoda will charge and arm and a leg just to do something small like that. Can't find any guides on how to do this.

Thanks.

[bazD]

easy job - just pull old switch straight out of the dash and remove old switch from electrical connector. then fit new switch to connector and then push switch back into dash.

[TeflonTom]

sadly it's as easy as all that, you need to remove the instrument cluster panel to get access to the squeezy locking tabs on the back of the switch.

[RainbowFire]

sadly it's as easy as all that, you need to remove the instrument cluster panel to get access to the squeezy locking tabs on the back of the switch.

Remember it's 5 screws: 1 either side of the switches, 1 between the airvents, 1 to the left of the fog-light switch and 1 behind the blank above the fog-light switch. (all are behind something, so be gentle.)

Haynes says to take the steering wheel off, but ignore that.

Undo the 5 screws, pull forward, undo metal clips hold instrument cluster (to make it a little easier)

Wiggle the dash to expose the squeeze tabs, and go from there.

I'd say 15 mins tops really. The hardest part I found was squeezing the tabs to get the switch out.

Alex

[TeflonTom]

yeah don't believe everything the haynes book of lies tells you... there's no need to take the steering wheel off. legend

[RobinSLXi]

Just to add - if something's loose and rattling then you'll definitely want a whole new switch - there's really no serviceable parts inside (including the bulb).

And how come I seem to have the only Felicia where the instrument panel is an awkward pain to get in and out even with the upper column shroud removed (which you have to take the wheel off to do)? Hrrmph... :(

[rapidfire]

Thanks for the replies.

I didn't think it was as easy as, just pulling out as a switch. You have to remove a lot of dashboard just to get to something small.

I haven't had time to have a look or take a picture but have found some pictures around the web.

This is to show what dash I have and to try an understand what I need to do.

So do you just remove the black plastic around the outer edge to get to the switch?

Like on here http://images02.olx.es/ui/4/34/16/1266264160_66872816_2-Fotos-de-Skoda-Felicia-13-Mpi-LX.jpg

This is exactly the same dashboard layout as mine, only this one is on the left not right side.

http://image5.sahibinden.com/photos/10/36/53/32103653o3s.jpg

Thanks.

[TeflonTom]

take out 3 screws here

2 screws here

whole panel lifts forward

[bazD]

My initial reply was so wrong !!! I think I replaced the illuminating bulb in one of the switches before by just pulling off the front cover - this is not the same as changing one of the switches.

There's no way the switch will not just pull out (as I found out today when I also replaced the headlight switch), and part of the dash/instrument assembly needs removal.

The Haynes manual isn't 100% right but gives a good idea how to do the job - I didn't need to remove the steering wheel myself.

Hope you get the job done OK - the design of the dash and removal of parts of it just to replace a switch is a totally naff design!!!!

good luck !!

[rapidfire]

Thank you very much for the pictures TeflonTom, they were a great help. Plus the other advice.

I have had a lot of problems trying to get that switch out. I had to take out the air vents and plastic just to get to the switch. I had to undo the clips for the speedometer. Just hope I can get them back on. It took me 45 minutes just to get that switch out, so is not easy.

It was so hard to try and get into the thing and the clips that hold it in, were very hard. Had to use a pen knife to prise it out.

My skoda dealer was not much better. First they could not find the part for it then I could not find the parts shop. The parts happens to be inside mercedes benz parts.

I few pictures from my car and what I did.

.

Edited 29 December, 2010 by rapidfire

[bazD]

hope you got the job done eventually - it's a pig of a job and was designed by a numpty !!!

I'm a qualified time served industrial electrician and things like this drive me mad - there's no need to make it so difficult.

hope you (and I) never need to do it again - and again sorry my 1st post was wrong thinking the job was easy!!!

Baz

[RainbowFire]

hope you got the job done eventually - it's a pig of a job and was designed by a numpty !!!

I'm a qualified time served industrial electrician and things like this drive me mad - there's no need to make it so difficult.

hope you (and I) never need to do it again - and again sorry my 1st post was wrong thinking the job was easy!!!

Baz

There's an obvious reason to make it so hard: money ;-) Most people will get someone else to do anything that needs more than 5 minutes and a screwdriver. :-) :-) :-)

Alex

[bazD]

very true Alex - even I leave things like CV boots to my local garage, can't be bothered with the hassle when they only charge £30 all in !!!!

[TeflonTom]

^^ that is true to a certain extent, but for the sake of a £5 part i'm too much of a cheapskate to let anybody else loose of my wagon

[RobinSLXi]

The really stupid thing is having to change the whole switch for the sake of a few pence-worth of bulb - since the switch is designed as a complete unit, to actually get at the bulb proper requires a fiddly disassembly of half the mechanism which most people wouldn't dare attempt (on the other hand, it has given me an insight into a possible cause of the headlight switch failure issue).

The bulbs themselves are an unmarked sub-miniature wire-ended type that are proving tricky to identify and source, although it looks like Maplin do something similar which may suit - I shall be investigating further. The reason I know this? I want the light in my air recirculation switch to work and I'm damned if I'm paying Skoda 80-odd quid for an entire new heater control sub-assembly for the sake of one tiny bulb (which requires even more fiddly disassembly and some precision soldering to get at, not to mention the entire dash removing first).

It's even more irritating when the one non-Skoda switch (the VW one for the electric mirrors) is sitting there glowing its nice sensible LEDs at me. Come on Skoda, incandescent bulbs in switches? it was nigh on the 21st century when you built this car!