55 plate  1.2 Fabia problematic last few days. Starts ok, but under any load at all (e.g slight increase in revs at idling),

lots of vibration from engine, and feels like damp ingress in HT leads, exccept of course has individual ignition coils instead.

No fault codes, and on day taken to mechanic was apparently ok.

Then poor on start up next day. Is there any way of testing individual coils,?. Damp ingress possible?

Where to start !. At £32+vat each, reluctant to go ahead and replace the set, as may not be the problem.

Thanks very much for any advice or guidance.

Not sure whether you have the 6-valve 1.2 or the 12-valve. Dunno if the coils differ anyway.  This is what I wrote on the subject last time it came up:

 

There's a resistance check you can do if you have a multimeter.
The info I've found suggests that you should measure 370-410 Ohms (@~20°C) between pins 2 and 3 (middle two of the four pins).
IME this is wrong, the measurement should be between 1 and 4 (outer two pins).

I guess this isn't a full test of function, but if any coil fails this check it may be worth trying a replacement.    

 

Let us know how you get on.

hey Wino, thanks for the very helpful reply. Much appreciated.

Engine starting okay and running okay at idle, but getting rough at higher revs and/or under load - sounds a bit like ignition failure when the cylinder pressures are higher. Have you had a look at  the plugs before condemning the coils? Any "cold" testing of these high voltage assemblies will reveal very little if they work at idle, it is how they operate under more extreme cylinder pressures that counts. Cracking of the potting material was indeed an issue with some of these coils, and certainly moisture getting in there will cause tracking/burning which will lead to permanent failure. If a misfire is being detected, then it should get logged, did the mechanic scan the engine ECU with a VAG compliant scan tool - if he did then I'd be surprised if there were no misfiring evens logged - and which cylinder that it was.

rum4mo - thanks for that really helpful reply. much appreciated.

Left message for mechanic, still waiting for reply. Wasn't present myself o discuss the problem on delivery or pick up from garage.

 

A month on, car still very rough. Compression test revealed nothing. Only drives well at about 60mph and beyond. Really lumpy at start up & idle, just as bad under load unless compensate with lots more revs per gear. e.g 1200 revs for 3 point turn to prevent stalling. Can only wait for cause to worsen, and driving is probably doing exactly that !.

Not my car, not my mechanic, so can't interfere - he's established, busy, and competent I'm sure.

Any thoughts on whether 3 cylinder Fabia Mk1 suffer from cylinder problems?.

55 plate 1.2 at 100k, same owner from new (my friend). A previous 2 yr gap in service history where did 20k with no oil change. Presuming that wasn't helpful !.