Got home this evening and noticed, on leaving the car, that barke lights wouldn't go out.

Tried cycling the pedal, handbrake, running the thing up and down and applying the brakes, cycling the ignition (In case it was an ECU problem).

No joy.

So disconnected the battery.

Also, coincidentally got an Engine management and EPC lights come on - this seemed to happen after going over a road hump.

Is the brake problem EMU related or a jammed switch ? Tried to find the switch (Presumably under foot brake pedal) in the dark without any luck.

Nick

its above the pedal mate, little adjustable plunger type thing, pull it out a few clicks to make sure it touches the pedal when u release it! we had the same prob on my mates lupo after we changed the pedal box, had me scratching my head for ages! its not obvious u can pull it to adjust it you see. tom.

i had a problem with an old peugeot once, turned out i'd melted the plastic switch mount by having the heater on full whack for my feet for a 3 hour drive to london it sounds like a switch but the other dash lights tell me otherwise. happy hunting hope you find your solution.

Have to see what happens tomorrow morning when I re-connect the battery.

I've already got a problem with air temperature valve in the aircon which works in defect mode all the time so that it roasts me during the summer and pumps out only the coldest air in winter.

The thing is consuming a litre of engine oil every 500 miles now.

The Honest John web site says electrical problems with VWs, caused by them moving production to easterm europe and sourcing parts from sub-contractors of dubious provenance, have really trashed their reputation in Germany.

Every week now there is some minor problem with mine.

I don't know about "Happy drivers", there is just no pleasure in ownership any more. Its just all burden.

I look back on the halcyon days of ownership when I had a VW Golf Mk 1, which although it has its problems, never had them on the frequency of this Fabia. Yet, although, the over all build quality of the Fabia is better than the Belgian built Golf, its let down by all these niggling little problems.

Postscript

Because there's an Engine Management Light I took fuse No 7 (5 Amps) out - brake lights remained on - took out fuse from stop lights No 2 (10 amps,) so looks like either its the electronic control unit or the stop light switch. Looks like, for the time being I'll have to disconnect the battery each time I park-up 'cause with each of the stop lights draw over an amp.

Postscript 2

Unbelievably, got the car down to the dealer's today. Problem diagnosed as faulty brake switch. Hour and a half's work and £52 later, fixed.

Looking at the fusepanel on the drivers side of the dashboard, the 5A Engine Management fuse is right next door to the 10A Brake light fuse, so I presume it shares a common positive feed, If the brake switch starts to short out (As it must be doing if the brake lights are on without the pedal being depressed) then presumably it draws more current/reflects greater resistance back up the positive feed side of the circuit and affects the input to the EMU, causing ghost errors.

You'd think that something as sensitive as the EMU would have had, as a matter of design, its own dedicated positive feed. There you go, value analysis at work and another days annual leave gone. Not to worry.

I think I saved myself a bit of aggro by pulling the 10 A fuse whenever I parked up. Dealer said, that because of the current draw of the stop lamps (Over an amp each, approx 3 AH in total) that the first most people know about it is when they get a flat battery.

Nick

Nick

Edited 23 March, 201115 yr by Clunkclick