Heya,

I'm new to the forum so hope I posted this in the right place!

Would appreciate some advice pelase on the following; I've got a Skoda Fabia 1.9 5dr G reg- electric blue if anyone is interested anyway, a fault light came on my dasboard which was basically a steering wheel with an exclamation mark.

I wanted to check the steering fluid before anything else and the bloody reservior is under the battery.

I had some other problems with the central locking, so asked the garage to look at the Steering fluid at the same time. They took the battery out topped it up and gave it back.

I got a flat battery, twice, so I look it back they tell me that the wire between the alternator and the battery was loose and reconnect it, saying that is why the steering light is coming on.

I got the car back and the bloody light is on again!!!!!

My question is, should the garage not checked the connection between the battery and the alternator when they put the battery back in after checking the reservior level?? I'm sure they've just charged me for the priviliage of fixing their own oversight and I'm back to square one because the fault light is still on.

Anyone got any thoughts on this please?

Thank you, Emma

Quite a common fault, especially in winter, it usually turns out that all you need is a new battery.

DB.

G reg fabia? The first were about 98/99 from memory on a W or X reg?

Is the power steering working OK? The normal culprits are battery, earth, alternator, fuses or angle sensor. If they checked the first 4 then you'd probably notice the latter kicking in/out or changing weight and pulsing in the headlights/dash.

Hi guys,

Sorry for the delay and thanks for the replies.

Hi Avalon, the power steering is heavy some days and some days it's ok. I was just suspicious of the fact that my battery was removed to top up the steering fluid, then my battery flats out twice and when I take it back they told me the connection between the alternator and battery was loose- do you know if this connection is something that is/should be checked when the battery went back in after the steering fluid top up?

The steering itself definitely is an issue, I'm more annoyed that they charged me for fixing the connection between the battery and alternator- I don't think it was an existing fault.

It's a 2003 reg- I'm old scool!

Thanks for your help :-)

But G-reg is 1989/1990.............

If the battery terminal cable was at fault, its unlikely it happened just by removing the battery once to top up the PAS fluid, there must have been underlying problems already tbh. They can become brittle over time, but its usually due to continuous removal and refitting, causing fatigue on the cable. May just have to take the hit on it this time unfortunately...........

Thanks Seanl; Sorry 2003 is the car registration date :)v5c doesn't lie..or does it!!

I've not explained myself well; the battery was not the fault for the steering- they still haven't found the fault to solve the steering issue.

In order:

-Removed battery to top up steering fluid to see if this would resolve steering fault

-Battery went flat the next week

-Garage find fault with alternator connection to battery to solve flat battery issue (previously not an issue but still charge me to fix this)

-Steering issue still an issue- the hazard light is still on.

Soo....I don't think I should be paying for them to connect the battery up properly when should of done it first time round and still not helped with the original steering problem.

It might be a good idea to have a diagnostic scan carried out to see what if any fault codes are logged for your car, particularly for the power steering. There is a Briskoda member in Brighton who is willing to offer help using VCDS - a diagnostic tool. Their name is in the thread below. Send them a PM (private message).

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/262215-list-of-vcds-owners-previously-known-as-vag-com/

Thanks DGW, good plan!

The change in steering weight reminds me of when my angle sensor failed, in my case the diagnosis was reasonably straight forward, I tested the battery and it was OK, I checked the PAS fluid level and knew the pump worked (I could hear it) but I checked the voltage at the connector manually and I had checked/cleaned the earths and flat fuses. The alternator had a new belt put on and tensioned and I knew it was within spec. I cleaned the (old style) angle sensor and it got better for a few days. The final diagnosis came when I was leaving work, I started the car and in neutral with no steering input I could hear the pump kicking in as if I was fractionally moving the wheel left/right quickly, the headlights pulsed and so did the dash. After that I spent the money on a new angle sensor from Rainworth Skoda (cheaper delivered than my local dealer wanted even with discount), it fixed the problem.

My power steering went not long ago

Thought it was alternator

Both that and battery were fine

Ended up being fluid was low

You can actually get to the reservoir if you remove front bumper and get a long flat blade driver and knock it in the ridges of the cap to unscrew, then we 'injected' the fluid with a syringe

I would sooner remove the battery before removing the front bumper.

DB.

Or risk damaging the cap, it's a 20-30 min job to remove, check and re-fit properly so why bodge it?

Steering angle sensor is a known "fault"..........

Also on some engines like mine the PAS is easy to get at as the battery box is smaller so I don't have to remove it to check the PAS level!

As for a 2003 as a "G" plate ???.........(unless private)...........do you know how to read a plate????

Before 2001 the plates were A123 BCD................(even earlier they were BCD 123A)..................so the age identifier is the letter "A" in both cases.

After 2001 plates are AB51 CDE.................51 is the age identifier.......................so a 2003 could have 52 (sept 02 - feb 03).....or 03 (march 03 - aug 03) or even 53 (sept 03 - feb 04)

Steering angle sensor is a known "fault"..........

Also on some engines like mine the PAS is easy to get at as the battery box is smaller so I don't have to remove it to check the PAS level!

As for a 2003 as a "G" plate ???.........(unless private)...........do you know how to read a plate????

Before 2001 the plates were A123 BCD................(even earlier they were BCD 123A)..................so the age identifier is the letter "A" in both cases.

After 2001 plates are AB51 CDE.................51 is the age identifier.......................so a 2003 could have 52 (sept 02 - feb 03).....or 03 (march 03 - aug 03) or even 53 (sept 03 - feb 04)

OR...It could be a N.Ireland place ABC 1234 anything between 1 and 4 numbers can be used. These are ageless and you can roughly age the car with them but not accurately.

Diagnosis says....New angle sensor!! Avalon- nice long distance diagnosis!

How much for the part anyone? I think around £100?

Thanks guys!

Also on some engines like mine the PAS is easy to get at as the battery box is smaller so I don't have to remove it to check the PAS level!

I'm fairly sure that the battery and it's housing are the same size. The main reason that you can get to it on the 16V is because the air filter is inside the engine cover and not in a separate box between the battery and the suspension turret. This allows the battery to be sited further back meaning that it doesn't sit over the top of the PAS reservoir.

If it's the early type sensor with the wiring attached to it, the part number is 6Q2423291AX.

Like this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380414727732

The X denotes that it is an exchange part and the old one will need to be returned within a certain time to get a refund on the surcharge.

I'm fairly sure that the battery and it's housing are the same size.

Nope........my battery box is smaller than my mates on his 1.4mpi which uses the same as the diesel engines

The main reason that you can get to it on the 16V is because the air filter is inside the engine cover and not in a separate box between the battery and the suspension turret. This allows the battery to be sited further back and inwards meaning that it doesn't sit over the top of the PAS reservoir.

Correct

The X denotes that it is an exchange part and the old one will need to be returned within a certain time to get a refund on the surcharge.

Same for dealers so be carefull in removing the old one! £25-£35 I think it was when I did my car and my mates

How often should the fluid be changed in a vrs?

Cheers

It doesn't have a change interval afaik.

Ta

Why are the Angle sensors like this....? Is it better in the newer Skoda Fabia's?

In addition, my central locking is random. It locks the rear passenger door sometimes when I unlock the car with the central locking and then unlocks the door when I use the central locking to lock the car! ... not surprisingly, no one ever tries to steal my car....

The boot also locks on it's own....I probably need a new motor...I better start saving for all these parts I need!

Has anyone got parts from a breakers yard before and is it just as good?

Going through a steering problem myself guys. 54 plate vrs and the steering is mega heavy right and light to the left. Got a pull to the left as well. Could it be this steering angle sensor? No faults on dash etc and just passed mot In December and only slight play in the track rod end and that's it. Mechanical or electrica? Battery as 80% charge according to halfords that tested it but the lights "dim" when you steer a fair bit.