Hi Guys,

 

Sorry never posted before but didn't know where else to go !,

 

I have a Skoda Fabia Saloon 1.4 16V for around a year now and all been happy as larry running (except a new gearbox a month in to having it >.<)

 

Anyway last weekend i was driving and the car started loosing power then running normally randomly for around 5 - 10 mins, the EPC light briefly flashed on then went away but the ASR (traction control thing ?) stayed on. I pulled up at asda because it was moaning about Oil so topped it up.

 

After starting the car again everything seemed fine drove back from Asda towards work, about 5 minutes in it started "surging" or loosing power however it did not stall, just briefly lost power when i put high-ish revs on. I decided to drive it back home, on the way back it started "surging" again and the rev counter stopped working but the car was still driving. The EPC light came on, oil light and the ASR light stayed on.

 

I got it back and a mechanic checked the car and said the alternator had issues, i got it tested and was only running at 12V instead of 14.5V.

 

Last night i put the "fixed" alternator back on and started the car - it took atleast 5 - 10 seconds of turning it over until it started but all the lights instantly came back on and started bleeping at me (battery light , EPC light, Oil light, ASR light) weirdly the battery light comes on for a few seconds then goes off, comes on for a few seconds and goes off (whilst the car is running)

 

I thought id give it benefit of doubt because i had not had the warnings cleared so tried to drive around the block to see if it drove OK but did not even reverse off the driveway as the steering was like trying to move a tank.

 

Please advise 

 

Thanks

 

Adam

 

 

Heavy steering combined with your reports of electrical problems makes me wonder about the Steering Angle Sensor, which can be checked with shareware VCDS.

My 2004 mk1 saloon 1.2HTP had a broken down alternator a couple of months ago. I insisted on driving it though, and after a while it started to do strange things. The rev and speed dials started to act bizzare at first then stopped working completely. My horn used to sound a lot longer than I press it. All the lights in the instrument cluster lit up, and the steering wheel became very heavy. After that it started to lose power every now and then till it came to a complete stop, and all that happened on my way to the mechanik. I had to call him and he came and towed the car to his workshop. I drained the battery as i was trying to reach the workshop. When a new alternator went in, the car started to work normally, although i had to change the battery a couple of days later.

It'll be the battery, take it off and fully charge it or fit a new one if it's old and duff.

1. After the alternator has been fixed, has it been also tested with a multimeter to make sure everything is alright and it's output is above 13.3V?

2. If the engine is running, a flat battery is resurected in about 10-15 minutes of driving. I've had mine like this last winter. After about 2-3 miles in 2nd  gear and ~3000rpm, without PAS, of course, the battery was back from the dead. If your engine is starting, but you cannot drive the car without PAS, leave it idling for about 15-20 minutes with the side/parking lamps on and then try to restart the engine. It should be ok. If the battery is charged and you still have that warnings on the dashboard, try disconnecting it for a few hours and before reconnecting it, touch the + with the - car cables for a couple of seconds (battery disconnected, + and -!!). If they are still there, I'd say to scan it with VCDS software, check/fix the fault codes and then delete the error log.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your responses / suggestions,

My brother checked all the fuses and cabling to and from battery and even tried a different battery but still doing the same thing ? ....

 

Hes going to "battle" the super heavy steering and drive it down the road (only about a mile) to the garage and plug in the magic box and see what "other" codes appear.

 

The last code was just alternator but this should have now been fixed ? (turned out the regulator was broken but the internals were OK)

 

1. After the alternator has been fixed, has it been also tested with a multimeter to make sure everything is alright and it's output is above 13.3V? <---- was fixed at an electrical specialist i would "assume" they have not lied. 

 

2.If your engine is starting, but you cannot drive the car without PAS, leave it idling for about 15-20 minutes with the side/parking lamps on and then try to restart the engine. <---- its not that its an issue with PAS - the steering is so heavy it is like moving a tonne of rocks to turn the wheel halfway :(

 

Cheers

 

Guys,

Have you checked the Earth strap from the battery to the top of the LH suspension turret, it's worth removing, clean everything up, lightly grease and reconnect.

 

DB.

Basically I would personaly fault check the battery, alternator output, signal wires, VCDS for error codes & PAS steering sensor.

 

If the PAS can't get enough power from the battery it won't work even if the sensor & the PAS system is ok as the PAS is a very high current draw. Get a good battery charger which does trickle like a C-Tek??.............