Hi

 

Whilst a few mechanical problems need to be resolved for this year's MoT, I don't worry too much about these and the cost because, having owned it since new, I'm reasonably confident that it's generally sound and you have to expect mechanical wear and tear and be prepared to fix it (e.g. exhaust blowing a little, needs a new wheel bearing and rear shocks).

 

However, my trusty 2007 Octavia 1.6 FSI is beginning to exhibit some electrical/electronic problems which I find a little more worrisome (e.g. NSR window temperamental and now dead, alarm temperamental and now fails to activate). These two faults appeared on the same day, so naturally I'm concerned about an imminent wider systemic failure of the electronics. I'm not so relaxed about these as I once had a Citroen XM which ate its electronics and the repairs were nearly as much as the car was worth 😭

 

Therefore, I'm thinking of buying an OBD2 scanner, specifically the NEXPEAK OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner from Amazon (https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078S3GKC5/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1) and was wondering whether (a) anyone else has bought it and what they thought; or (b) would anyone recomend any other scanner for similar money (around £60).

 

My hope is that this will give me enough information to determine whether 'something big' is about to occur.

 

Thanks - Stuart

I bought an OBD2 reader that plugs into the diagnostic port and then connects to a variety of software packages on a laptop or ipad. Much more flexible and you are not dependant on the interpretation in the scanner - and much cheaper.  

1 hour ago, pikpilot said:

I bought an OBD2 reader that plugs into the diagnostic port and then connects to a variety of software packages on a laptop or ipad. Much more flexible and you are not dependant on the interpretation in the scanner - and much cheaper.  

Interesting. Do you happen to know the make and model of this OBD2 reader?

There are many generic makes of reader on the the net, usually marked ELM 327.

In a search the first I found was this:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Torque-Pro-Elm-327-Bluetooth/dp/B01AC7I7BO/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_2/260-9823324-9610113?pd_rd_w=cBCkK&content-id=amzn1.sym.79b812bf-5c8b-4c0c-851c-784423adaff5&pf_rd_p=79b812bf-5c8b-4c0c-851c-784423adaff5&pf_rd_r=P4QW9A2J4330N8YHM1ZK&pd_rd_wg=pwNrW&pd_rd_r=4a97f935-f610-44f2-afa3-5d654409010d&pd_rd_i=B01AC7I7BO&psc=1

 

There are cheaper ones if you look. I have two, one with a wifi connection for use with an ipad and the other is bluetooth for use with my android phone.

 

You will need to run software apps to interpret the results. I use Carista for reading and resetting fault codes and for making software changes to add new features to the car.

I also use  VAG DPF (for checking the ash content and regeneration in the DPF) and Torque lite for fun

 

There are many other free or low cost apps in the play stores.

NSR window issue is likely to be a broken wire rather than anything more systemic, I think. Look in the front door bellows on that side first, unless both front and rear NS doors get equal use.

 

On 07/11/2022 at 15:08, Breezy_Pete said:

NSR window issue is likely to be a broken wire rather than anything more systemic, I think. Look in the front door bellows on that side first, unless both front and rear NS doors get equal use.

 

Hmm. The door with the problem is the least used of the five and is hardly used at all. I've since discovered it has no power whatsoever. Which, incidentally, is why the alarm fails to activate.

 

There don't appear to be individual fuses for each door.

 

Inspecting the door bellows hasn't revealed any issues, they look like new.

 

On 07/11/2022 at 14:53, pikpilot said:

There are many generic makes of reader on the the net, usually marked ELM 327.

In a search the first I found was this:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Torque-Pro-Elm-327-Bluetooth/dp/B01AC7I7BO/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_2/260-9823324-9610113?pd_rd_w=cBCkK&content-id=amzn1.sym.79b812bf-5c8b-4c0c-851c-784423adaff5&pf_rd_p=79b812bf-5c8b-4c0c-851c-784423adaff5&pf_rd_r=P4QW9A2J4330N8YHM1ZK&pd_rd_wg=pwNrW&pd_rd_r=4a97f935-f610-44f2-afa3-5d654409010d&pd_rd_i=B01AC7I7BO&psc=1

 

There are cheaper ones if you look. I have two, one with a wifi connection for use with an ipad and the other is bluetooth for use with my android phone.

 

You will need to run software apps to interpret the results. I use Carista for reading and resetting fault codes and for making software changes to add new features to the car.

I also use  VAG DPF (for checking the ash content and regeneration in the DPF) and Torque lite for fun

 

There are many other free or low cost apps in the play stores.

Thanks, I'll look into these.

Edited 12 November, 20223 yr by StuartA

Condition of the bellows is immaterial, did you check the state of the wires contained within?

19 hours ago, J.R. said:

Condition of the bellows is immaterial, did you check the state of the wires contained within?

 

Yes. They appear to be in great condition too. Pulled back the bellows, diconnected, inspected, reconnected. All appears fine but still no power to the door.

I looked at wiring info yesterday and there seems to be two power feeds to each rear door, but they share fuses, so if offside rear door is working OK then fuses must be OK too. Both are red wires with another colour tracer.

 

Maybe the brown  earth wire to NSR door module is bust somewhere. See if  you see power on either of those red wires if you put your meter earth on some other earthed bit of chassis?

 

I'm going to take another look inside the bellows tomorrow.

 

I did find, in the Owner's Manual (p49), reference to an emergency locking mechanism and how to activate it. Less clear is how to deactivate it (unless, of course, it's automatically deactivated when you open the door with a double-pull from the inside. This, at least, will mean I can park without the need for a wall to park 1 inch from.

20 hours ago, StuartA said:

I'm going to take another look inside the bellows tomorrow.

 

I did find, in the Owner's Manual (p49), reference to an emergency locking mechanism and how to activate it. Less clear is how to deactivate it (unless, of course, it's automatically deactivated when you open the door with a double-pull from the inside. This, at least, will mean I can park without the need for a wall to park 1 inch from.

The door control modules are getting their power from the electric windows fuses. 

Edited 14 November, 20223 yr by andreasw

2 hours ago, andreasw said:

 

The door control modules are getting their power from the electric windows fuses. 

 

 

Sadly, they both use the same fuse and the right-hand door is working just fine.

 

Having had a further (more thorough) look today, there is definitely nothing amiss with the cables in the bellows.

 

Thinking back, the window in that door initially wouldn't single-shot down or up and then stopped altogther. To me, this suggests a breakage somewhere so perhaps inside the door? Any tips on removing door card without breaking it would be very welcome.

13 minutes ago, StuartA said:

Sadly, they both use the same fuse and the right-hand door is working just fine.

 

Having had a further (more thorough) look today, there is definitely nothing amiss with the cables in the bellows.

 

Thinking back, the window in that door initially wouldn't single-shot down or up and then stopped altogther. To me, this suggests a breakage somewhere so perhaps inside the door? Any tips on removing door card without breaking it would be very welcome.

 

I think it's standard that something will break. I broke a couple of plastic "plugs" yesterday when I removed the door card. They were extremely brittle. I also broke a pin for the electric window buttons. 

 

This i think is standard for older cars when the plastic becomes brittle. 

1 minute ago, andreasw said:

 

I think it's standard that something will break. I broke a couple of plastic "plugs" yesterday when I removed the door card. They were extremely brittle. I also broke a pin for the electric window buttons. 

 

This i think is standard for older cars when the plastic becomes brittle. 

I suspect you're right 😟

19 hours ago, StuartA said:

Having had a further (more thorough) look today, there is definitely nothing amiss with the cables in the bellows.

The NSR or both NSF and NSR?  There's a crucial comms wire that goes (only) from front door module to rear one on same side, if that's busted in either bellows the rear module won't get the info it needs (Rear door modules are not on any CAN bus).  If the front door is most used of the two on NS, then that's the most likely place for a breakage of this wire. Hence why I suggested checking that one first, well upthread.

 

19 hours ago, StuartA said:

 

Thinking back, the window in that door initially wouldn't single-shot down or up and then stopped altogther. To me, this suggests a breakage somewhere so perhaps inside the door? Any tips on removing door card without breaking it would be very welcome.

You said before that there's no power going to the door, but if you've not removed the door card I can't see how you've checked this? Just by assumption because things aren't working?

 

A wire breakage anywhere other than the door bellows seems massively unlikely compared to where it flexes in the bellows.

 

4 hours ago, Breezy_Pete said:

The NSR or both NSF and NSR?  There's a crucial comms wire that goes (only) from front door module to rear one on same side, if that's busted in either bellows the rear module won't get the info it needs (Rear door modules are not on any CAN bus).  If the front door is most used of the two on NS, then that's the most likely place for a breakage of this wire. Hence why I suggested checking that one first, well upthread.

 

You said before that there's no power going to the door, but if you've not removed the door card I can't see how you've checked this? Just by assumption because things aren't working?

 

A wire breakage anywhere other than the door bellows seems massively unlikely compared to where it flexes in the bellows.

 

Hi Pete

 

Sorry, I must've missed the earlier reference to the NSF so will be checking this tomorrow.

 

I didn't know that the rear doors aren't on the CAN bus. Does that mean that OBD2 devices won't detect an issue there/ I may have that completely wrong.

 

Yes, it's a complete guess based on the lack of action at the door. Not very scientific I'm afraid.

 

Cheers - Stuart

 

8 minutes ago, StuartA said:

Does that mean that OBD2 devices won't detect an issue there

If the comms wire from the same-side front door module is broken, it might show as 'no communication with rear left door module' or similar, not sure TBH.

It's a thin yellow/purple wire I think, but it's a while since I looked at the circuit, and a bit late for me to focus now.

 

 

Just checked the wires in the NSF bellows and they all look fine too.

Have you tried the simple "fix"? Disconnect battery for a couple of hours and plug it back in again after. This fixed all my problems.

On 15/12/2022 at 16:16, andreasw said:

Have you tried the simple "fix"? Disconnect battery for a couple of hours and plug it back in again after. This fixed all my problems.

Ah, the old switch it off and switch it on again. Could be worth a try, thanks. Will I need the radio code afterwards though?

No.