I just got my 06 Fabia VRS over the weekend. This morning I was moving it out of the driveway to pull our other car out.  I pulled it down on the street, and as I was backing up getting closer to the kerb the dash lit up like a christmas tree, then all the lights went out themselves besides the power steering lamp, and the steering went heavy.  I turned the car around and shut it off.  Turned it back on, steering was fine and did not have any issues the rest of the day (the Mrs drove it around town ALL day)  Was it just due to maybe a flat battery and using too much electrical stuff without letting it sufficiently warm up?  Just a random fluke? Steering angle sensor?  Battery on its way out?

Yes battery.

If the car is only short start stop journeys the batt isnt getting suffienct charge

Wow that's crazy that the battery is pushed to that much of a limit!  Should I be starting to look into getting a new battery soon?  I will be driving the car 12 miles each way to work every day, hopefully that is enough to get a good charge!

If you have just bought it and it has been lying around a dealer's car lot for a while, the battery might have got run down with being moved about. Also, you might have been "playing about" with it as it is new to you, so if you now use it going to work 12 miles each way, the battery, if it is still "okay" will get brought back up charge wise - time will tell.

Should I let it idle for a bit or anything before starting out in the mornings?  This is my first diesel car.  Also how much turbo whine is normal on these?  I just came from an Audi A3 1.8T 150 that the turbo was quite a bit quieter.  Boosts nice and strong though an I do not notice any smoke at all.

Edited 23 March, 201511 yr by fivepointnine

Worth checking that the battery earth lead is clean and tight where it is bolted to the suspension turret. It's not unknown for this connection to be poor.

 

Should I let it idle for a bit or anything before starting out in the mornings?  This is my first diesel car.  Also how much turbo whine is normal on these?  I just came from an Audi A3 1.8T 150 that the turbo was quite a bit quieter.  Boosts nice and strong though an I do not notice any smoke at all.

I used to do a similar distance to/from work and in all weathers ,with sometimes all electrics on . Never had any battery problems. You'll find in winter car will heat up faster whilst driving rather than idling. Diesels need to work to heat up. If in doubt about charge rate/battery condition there's a few places that will do a charge /battery check for free. 

Worth sticking it on a trickle charge overnight, just to top it up a bit if it's getting a little tired.

 

A check of all earths as mentioned is worthwhile, as well as a check of the alternator output to ensure battery being topped up as it should.

ctek charger/conditioner is worth the investment to improve battery performance

I'd agree with the idea of checking the battery and alternator contacts first; a flat battery doesn't usually go as much "like that" as you describe, and certainly doesn't come back if you switch the ignition off and on again (well unless what actually happened was that the engine stalled out).

Drove it today to work, no issues at all.  Coolant level lamp illuminated right away, but coolant level is perfect and the coolant is new looking.  When I started the car after the gym it was not illuminated, so I am assuming I have a coolant level sensor in the reservoir on its way out.  I checked the ground on the strut tower and it looked good, Ill check the alternator output today when I get home from work.,

Just picked up my car from the dealer where I had the radio code retrieved and a interim service. I noticed after I got back to work that the radio did not switch itself off when I turned the key off, I had to push in the center knob, also the 2 LCD's did not power off, but I tried to use all the accessories (wipers, turn signals, windows) and nothing worked as should be expected.  I never paid attention before but do those things operate on a timer, or do I have a possible ignition electrical switch going out?

Your radio should continue playing until you take the key out. It does not turn off when you turn the ignition off, only once you take the key out of the barrel. As you say, the windows, wipers and indicators do not work with the ignition off. Only the radio. I assume this is because the radio takes little to power? Usually the radio would turn off after so many minutes even with the key still in, can't say I have ever tested this on a Fabia though.

JRJG

Your radio should continue playing until you take the key out. It does not turn off when you turn the ignition off, only once you take the key out of the barrel. As you say, the windows, wipers and indicators do not work with the ignition off. Only the radio. I assume this is because the radio takes little to power? Usually the radio would turn off after so many minutes even with the key still in, can't say I have ever tested this on a Fabia though.

JRJG

it stays on with the key out of the barrel is what I meant to say

With the coolant light its the sensor in the bottle playing up. Mine does it only on extremely cold mornings if its been sitting there for a while. If you turn the car off and in again it goes out.

Mines been like it for 5 years. Can't be bothered changing it as I only comes on a handful of times a year.

With the coolant light its the sensor in the bottle playing up. Mine does it only on extremely cold mornings if its been sitting there for a while. If you turn the car off and in again it goes out.

Mines been like it for 5 years. Can't be bothered changing it as I only comes on a handful of times a year.

I've noticed it with my car, it only comes on with the first start of the day, I could run it for a minute or so, switch off the car then it will not illuminate again, I am not going to worry about it for now, I need to focus on this radio issue haha.  Really liking the car so far, great fuel mileage (averaging 45 on my daily drive) and pretty quick.  I don't have much money into the car so the issues are not really bothering me as much as if I had spent £3000 or so on it.

nevermind about the radio and odometer and clock, after reading some more online and searching I found it is just the way the cars were designed.

nevermind about the radio and odometer and clock, after reading some more online and searching I found it is just the way the cars were designed.

 

Two things about the radio....

 

1) Via the radio setup you can choose whether to have it turn off with ignition key removal or stay on.

2) There's an RDS Traffic Programme/Announcement "thing"/feature where it "loiters" after power off collecting messages. Think it shows (TIM 24H or similar). Select a non-TP enabled preset group to avoid that one. (Hit the A/F button...).

 

 

BTW: Hold the A/F button for a couple of seconds to switch from non-TP FM bands to AM.

 

Skoda Symphony manual is freely available around the web if you haven't got yours.

Two things about the radio....

 

1) Via the radio setup you can choose whether to have it turn off with ignition key removal or stay on.

2) There's an RDS Traffic Programme/Announcement "thing"/feature where it "loiters" after power off collecting messages. Think it shows (TIM 24H or similar). Select a non-TP enabled preset group to avoid that one. (Hit the A/F button...).

 

 

BTW: Hold the A/F button for a couple of seconds to switch from non-TP FM bands to AM.

 

Skoda Symphony manual is freely available around the web if you haven't got yours.

 

Cheers for that!  I wondered if it was some simple setting or something.  I have my manual out in the car.

it stays on with the key out of the barrel is what I meant to say

Ahh - there's your problem.

The radio should cut out, along with all other electrics (except the alarm and if lights have been left on) remotely when the key is taken out of the ignition... Hmmmm...

JRJG

Ahh - there's your problem.

The radio should cut out, along with all other electrics (except the alarm and if lights have been left on) remotely when the key is taken out of the ignition... Hmmmm...

JRJG

so that setting change did not work, I still have to push the button to shut the radio off, the previous owner had an aftermarket radio in there, I wonder if some wiring on the harness might have been damaged