My 60 plate skoda fabia scout 1.6d 105hp wont turn off unless i switch my lights off.

I recently changed my drivers side main bulb with a generic bulb from local parts store.

I have since discovered that if my lights are on, my car wont turn off when i take the key out, i can then turn the engine off by turning the lights off.

If the lights are off, the ignition behaves normally.

Do I have to use some kind of specific Skoda bulb.

I have not removed this bulb to see if everything returns to normal.

Rear wiper is also working intermittently.

Does anyone have a similar story or advice for me.

Whilst I doubt bulbs could have caused your issue, Why not check with a main dealer if they are anything more then just bulbs? They MIGHT just have heard of this issue and know how to rectify it. You could even splash out on a set of bulbs from them and see if it mage things better. You could remove the offending bulb, if the fault did not happen with it when blown but often, bulbs show faults on the display, if blown. 

Do you know which bulbs they are? H4, H7 etc. (These SHOULD be common or garden bulbs).

 

Rear wipers are in fact, intermittent. they sweep three or four times when you wash/wipe and sweep every five/six seconds if turned on or left on.

I'm going to remove the bulb tonight and see if the fault stops. 

I meant that the rear wipers only work sometimes.

Very strange issue but it has to be something electrical related. I would go over what you have done when you changed the bulb and check the wiring for any damage and that all connectors are where they should be in the vicinity of where you have been working and that you have not trapped anything.

 

 

always try go back to the last known working configuration if you still have the older bulb! weird things can happen when the wrong bulb is put in.

Never heard it affecting turning the car of though! You do see folk with permanent reverse lights on and the like

..Yeah, seen many numpties with permanent brake lights, too. Either wired/fitted incorrectly or sometimes, people still have the right foot on brake the pedal when they are gassing... Bridging the two pedals is quite dangerous!

Hi,

 

Did you manage to solve this issue? My Fabia RS 2011 presents the same symptoms, engine working when key off and lights on. Rear wiper also does not switch on every time, sometimes it just does not work.

 

Previous owner had some troubles with martens, but except from hood insulation there is no visible damage.

 

Best regards,

Pawel.

Just a thought, does your car have low beam lights switched automatically ON upon turning the key in the ignition? I mean with the light switch still on Zero position.

 

Hi,

 

I diagnosed the problem, this is an issue with trunk lid earthing. Three symptoms:  endplate lights were starting yellow ,,check lights'' on the dashboard, it was working but very dim, rear wiper was not working every time and trunk lock did not open every time. After I slam the trunk it comes back to normal and after some time it is losing contact again. I will use WD40 on the hinges as a temporary solution and will add additional earthing wire on the weekend. The crazy thing is that engine kept going without key with headlights on... This failure was present for some time, but since it happened I've never switched engine off with headlights on and generally did not use headlights during last time as we have summer and Fabia is my city driving daily, so I also did not notice yellow light on the dashboard at all. I'm sure original author had the same issue as it is surprisingly similar.

 

Best regards.

It is always good for the forum when a member gets back and reports what solved their problem!

 

Edit:- should there not be a dedicated earth wire from the rear of the car body out into the rear hatch - instead of relying on a good earth path via the hinges? If so maybe a wire has broken where the wires pass from the body out to the hatch.

Edited 11 August, 20205 yr by rum4mo

I'll take a look in Elsa where it goes and sort it out on the weekend. As you mentioned, I'll correct existing wire and that's it.

Hi, I did an investigation and it is as follows: everything looks brand new, ground is OK. What I found is that there is something wrong with trunk lock. Plate countour lights are dim with trunk open. Coil resistance measurements (changing from 6 to 60ohms, can't find a rule - maybe there's some short, but it's working theoretically OK), open/close switch working. Every time I press trunk button, either on trunk lid or on the remote -> car is getting crazy, igniton on, lights on. With lock disconnected, nothing happens when I press the trunk button. Installing W5W bulb or shorting open/close to ground all perfectly fine. Bulb blinks, switch indicates open/close. I ordered new trunk lock, we will see. 

Hi there,

I have followed this thread as my Fabia had the same problem and I think I have found the issue.. I have a tow bar with a 13 pin socket into which I had an adaptor to 7 pin. On a whim I removed the adaptor and hey presto everything worked fine.

I cleaned up the adaptor replaced it and still all OK.. We will see...........

17 hours ago, DickT said:

Hi there,

I have followed this thread as my Fabia had the same problem and I think I have found the issue.. I have a tow bar with a 13 pin socket into which I had an adaptor to 7 pin. On a whim I removed the adaptor and hey presto everything worked fine.

I cleaned up the adaptor replaced it and still all OK.. We will see...........

I found that leaving the adapter in place certainly stops the cars rear fog lights from working! That had me thinking for a day or two...

8 hours ago, Phil866 said:

I found that leaving the adapter in place certainly stops the cars rear fog lights from working! That had me thinking for a day or two...

 

Its supposed to, so when your towing your fog lights dont "glow" of the trailer or caravan (albeit a little one)

A couple of days ago my rear wiper packed up. The pump worked but not the wiper. I was about to start looking for a blown fuse when , whilst on a trip out the engine ( 105 Tdi) refused to turn off.  I found that when I engaged reverse it would. Scouring through the various posts on this site, I came across PawelB's post and I think he has cracked it with his suggestion about the earth via the rear door hinges because when I gave them a good spray with WD 40 and left it for a couple of minutes lo and behold,  the rear wiper started working and the engine turned off as normal.  

I’ve posted elsewhere about my 2011 Fabia TSi’s ghostly electrics which have been slowly deteriorating over the last couple  of years. I’m working my way through the things I think are stand alone issues - started with the traditional blower resistor pack, drivers door loom inspection (looks ok) and next was going to be drivers window switch. 
 

There are several intermittent boot-wires issues too: rear wiper temperamental, boot catch no longer unlocks with central locking, one plate light out even with new bulb. So a pressing job was going to be to inspect that gater/loom to see if there’s anything obviously cracked or degraded. 
 

But yesterday, discovered the same problem PPs: turned key, removed key, engine still running. Unnerving!

 

Through trial and error learned that turning the lights off, also cuts the engine.
 

the WD40 trick on the hinges, or the earth comment - I’m not sure I get why or how that helps..? Great if it does, but I like to learn as I go. And make sure I’m spraying the right bit of course…

 

Thanks in advance for all wisdom 🙏  

Update: I had the same problem as OP - engine kept running when ignition off and keys out - but turning off headlights cut the engine.

I investigate the loom in the black bellows between body and tailgate. 5 wires broken, including the earth. 

I started with that - rejoined it and ta-da! - some of the weirder electrical misbehaving stopped immediately, including the engine/lights situation, but also my rear wiper magically restarted working.

For where I've got to so far, see this thread: 

I'm not done yet, as I've reconnected the number plate light wire but have the top break light, the heated rear window and the other I now can't remember... So there will be further posts. But it's amazing what a dodgy, then kaput, earth can make other components do. 

This is excellent information, thank you as I as of yesterday have the exact same problem, car not switching off if lights are on and key is removed, but will lights off engine turns off, also rear wiper not working but pump is. (Fabia Scout 105tdi 1.6, 2011 plate).

I just wanted to ask some advice on accessing the wiring loom in the tailgate? I had a quick look last night and it looks fiddly, any advice on how to access without damaging the trunking or wires?

I am not sure I understand how that loom or the lights are the cause, but fingers crossed following this thread and superb advice will get me past this issue.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Edited 13 January13 Jan by K3Chick
Adding car make/model info

Hi @K3Chick sorry not to have seen your post before now. And I’m guessing you’ve fixed it or got someone else to by now. But for future visitors, I’ll answer anyway 😊

The loom/lights themselves aren’t the issue, it’s the broken or dodgy earth that causes other electrics to play up. And when I do some electrical revision I understand it, but not well enough to explain to someone else if I haven’t thought about it for a few months, so I’ll leave the more proficient members to help you with that.

An important thing to note, though, is that there are other earths to check. It may not be the tailgate loom that’s the culprit. I went into that one because I had several electrical poltergeists, all at the back end of the car, so it was the obvious place to start.

if you’d still like some tailgate bellows intel, give me a shout. I think I have some photos of my more, ahem, creative ways to keep the bendy bits out of the way so I could at least see what’s broken.

Edited 12 April12 Apr by MijIsTired
Undoing an auto-correct, for clarity.