Hi all,

 

I have just been out in the favorit and when i got to my destination, i turned the motor off and pulled the key out as you do, but the oil/brake/battery lights all remained lit up on the dash, and the fuel guage was registering! I wiggled the key about in the ignition barrel but this has had no effect on the lights. Basically it looks how it should when the ignition is on but the motor is dead. 

 

The car starts fine, and when its started the lights go out as normal, and when i turn the key to "off" the motor stops as you would expect. So i dont know what this could be. 

 

Initial thought is the ignition barrel has worn out after 23 years and its got a short, or i have read that the alternator can make wierd behaviour like this. but i think more the ignition switch/barrel.

 

Ive left the battery disconected for the night. has anyone had this before? and maybe if someone has a coloured wire diagram? the haynes doesnt have colour codes on the wires!!

 

Many many many thanks in advance.

 

Courior

 

Car - 1990 Favorit 1.3 LS with the old skool electronics.

I typed in Google "Skoda Favorit wiring". Guess what is the first search result? A PDF file with color wiring.

 

http://www.elektroda.pl/rtvforum/download.php?id=415296

 

There must be a lot of key shavings inside the lock cylinder. You could try cleaning it without messing with any wiring like in the video below.

 

I would guess as you - ignition barrel; but also check for abraded/melted insulation on the cables; I had an old Renault refuse to switch off due to that, a short in the ignition cable loom eventually melted the cables into one big mess.

Ok embarrased about not finding that diagram.. Looks very complete and could also help with a seperate issue with the wipers. I will have a bash at sorting this out tonight and will update the post with any progress, cheers lads!

Hi all.

Posting back as promised. I have removed the ignition switch/barrel and lights still were on, removed alternator wires, still lights on, removed all the relays, still ....

I have wiggled all wiring looms that are accessible to see if i could get the lights to flicker to find a broken/abraded cable as GG suggested but they remained solid and wont go out!

Might have to concede defeat with this and take it to an auto electrician :( . Any more ideas?

Cheers

Going by the amount of problems that the Mk1 Favorit had with fuseboxes back in the day I'd say it's very likely that the fault is within the fusebox. Especially if the windscreen has leaked onto it, a common problem on the Favorit and Felicia.

Thanks for the reply mr rapid... I will go through and take out fuses 1 by 1 and see if i can isolate the circuit thats got the short. Good idea!

Mr. rapid...     

Mr. rapid...     

  Quite a lot of people think my surname is Rapid, which would be especially cool if I had named my 2 daughters Estelle and Felicia!

  Quite a lot of people think my surname is Rapid, which would be especially cool if I had named my 2 daughters Estelle and Felicia!

I guess they are your Favorites anyway 

obviously not ur real name, was going by the screen name ... but yeah could have fun with kids names lol.

 

Still waiting to find a bit of time to go through the fuse box.

Edited 1 September, 201312 yr by Courior

So... Went through the fuse box and when i pulled out the 4th fuse from the right the lights went out and issue was solved!!! the thing is, everything still works as it should, i have all electrical systems working perfectly and motor starts and stops as it should..... so question is.. what the heck does this fuse control.

 

I checked in the pdf link at the top of the thread but the schematic for the fuses looks different to mine, so maybe its of the mk2 favorit. Does anyone have a reference guide to the fuses for the mark 1 favorit? 

 

Cheers.

Edited 2 September, 201312 yr by Courior

Take a clear, well lit photo of your fuse/relay box and write on it what fuses you have identified so far. We'll do our best to fill in the blanks for you and other Favorit owners having similar issues.

Here is a pic of the fuse box. I know what the relays are from the Haynes but it doesn't have the fuses (they are labeled all together as "fuses" but not what they each do!). The one that is missing is the one that causes the issues I had.

Thanks for the help

 

EDIT: I have noticed that since removing this fuse, my wipers move a bit faster and my indicators flash at a normal rate (wipers and indicators used to be VERY VERY SLOW!) .... so my car is actually working the best it has since i got it haha. Would still love to know what this fuse controls though!

 

Cheers

Edited 3 September, 201312 yr by Courior

Hi all,

 

the layout was infact in the pdf at the link at the top of the thread. Seems it is the cooling fan fuse, but i went for a drive today in 30C heat and the fan was working perfectly. I presume the old owner has put an after market switch for the fan and this fuse shouldnt be there (i remember a fuse missing when i bought the car).

 

There we go then!

 

Cheers.

I have annotated your photo for better understanding (see below).

 

For cars up to 07.91, the fuse diagram is as follows:

 

1 15 A interior lights, brake lights, horn, hazard lights
2 8 A front and rear wipers/washers, reversing light
3 8 A directional lights, dashboard lights, carburetor shut-off valve
4 15 A engine cooling fan
5 15 A rear window defogger
6 15 A blower motor (heater)
7 8 A left front and rear side lights, license plate light
8 8 A right front and rear side lights
9 8 A left dip beam
10 8 A right dip beam
11 15 A front and rear fog lamps
12 8 A right high beam
13 8 A left high beam
14 15 A not used

 

You have a short between fuse 4 and fuse 3 circuit. I would take a closer look to it, cooling fan is now overcharging another fuse.

 

When i put the fuse back to recreate the issue, and i have a fiddle with the loom down in the footwell, the lights on the dash flickered. I would think that my short is somewhere in the passenger compartment near the fuse box. Im not going to have much time now to check it, its been like this for at least the 2 years in which ive owned it so i dont think there is an immediate risk of anything tragic happening. I will definatly check this out, or completly isoltate circuit 4 from the battery as there is no need for the cooling fan circuit any more as i have a 3rd part cooling switch it seems.

 

Just wondering how you know its fuse 3 thats got a short with fuse 4? reason i ask is so maybe you know a common place this short occurs?

 

Thanks for the great advice!

Just wondering how you know its fuse 3 thats got a short with fuse 4? reason i ask is so maybe you know a common place this short occurs?

That's easy. You said that dashboard lights are on with key off and also directional lights were flashing slower than normal. Both are on fuse 3 circuit which is physically located near fuse circuit 4. On second thought you also mentioned wipers were going slower. Well, they are on fuse circuit 2. Do you see where I'm getting at? Unless some clown wired the circuits together, you have either some conductive corrosion material on the back of fuse/relay plate or some wires heated and rubbed enough to short. Remember I sad another fuse circuit is overloaded (strike overcharged) by the cooler fan. Check inside relays plate connectors too for corrosion. Oh, I hope you have a fire extinguisher handy in case 'that can't happen to me after 2 years doing OK' will come and bite your a$$. It started with dash lights on with key off. To me that's a warning.

Thanks for the sound advice mate. There are a lot of cowboy electronics in this car from the previous owner, some of it visible in my pic. I will find a day to dedicate to cleaning up and maybe replace the fuse board with a later one. I even found out there is a recall with my model of fav to do with dodgy soldering on the fuse board. Thanks again for the help and will post back with any progress I make.

Cheers