My 2001 Fabia has recently developed an intermittent fault where is won't start, although it does usually get going after a few attempts. The fault is getting worse (as most faults do!).

 

I took it to my regular garage to investigate and fix. They found an engine error code for the air inlet valve to the fuel tank (that keeps the tank pressurised). They found that this was caused by a cracked pipe leading to the valve, they replaced this and reset the engine error code and said it was fixed. Cost £90 in total.

 

I've had the problem re-occur a couple of times so will have to take it back. In essence, the car tries to start, the starter motor spins but it doesn't seem to 'catch' and the engine doesn't start. As this is intermittent, if it doesn't happen at the garage they say they can't diagnose it. Does anyone have any clues what the issue might be? Starter motor? Spark plugs? Anything else?

 

I've taken a couple  of videos....

 

 

 

What colour is it?

 

I'm kidding, tell us which engine please.

Edited 13 June, 20214 yr by sepulchrave

It's the 1.4 MPI petrol engine.

 

Car is white if that helps!

Do you know what the fault code was?

 

The N80 purge valve itself could be faulty or it could be a sensor fault like the cam position sensor or the crank angle sensor. Hard to say without codes.

Edited 13 June, 20214 yr by TMB

I just noticed your rev counter needle doesn't move during cranking which may suggest an electrical or sensor fault.

29 minutes ago, TMB said:

Do you know what the fault code was?

 

The N80 purge valve itself could be faulty or it could be a sensor fault like the cam position sensor or the crank angle sensor. Hard to say without codes.

 

Unfortuantely not, the garage just said it indicated a fault with the fuel tank air pressure valve and then traced this to a cracked pipe that lead to the valve. They didn't tell me what the fault code was.

 

The engine quite often starts and then immediately stops, and then takes a second start to get going.

 

I have it booked into a garage tomorrow so hopefully they can trace what it is....

Have you had any fixes yet? Mine is the same, some times takes like 5 tries to start, runs at about 500rpm for a few seconds then goes fine

I just had it out the garage for the third time, they hope they have fixed it. This time they found 2 error codes -

 

16706 - Engine speed sensor input circuit no signal - intermittent

01176 - Key faulty signal too low - intermittent

 

They have replaced the engine speed sensor and touch wood this has fixed it. Cost £75 (for the sensor replacement and installation)

52 minutes ago, SouthernSkoda said:

They have replaced the engine speed sensor and touch wood this has fixed it. Cost £75 (for the sensor replacement and installation)

 

The rev counter needle not moving during cranking tallies with that sensor being duff.