I drive a 2020 Skoda Fabia (Skoda Fabia FL COMBI Ambition 1.0 MPI 60 HK) here in Copenhagen Denmark.

 

The other day, the interior lights (all of them) and the front seat warmers (the lights on the button still light up when pushed, but the seats don't get warm) just suddenly stopped working. And today I just noticed that the windshield fluid pump (front and rear windows) isn’t working either; although the wipers still move.

 

Otherwise, the car seems to start and drive ok. I checked the fuses for the interior lights and seat warmer and they look fine to me.

 

I booked a time at the local Skoda shop but their first availability is two weeks from now. Anything else I can attempt a DIY on while I wait?

 

I should also note we’ve had a cold snap. It messed with the tire pressure sensor and I had to reset it after double-checking the tire pressure. Not sure if the cold could somehow be a cause here.

 

I originally posted this to the Skoda subreddit and they recommended that I ask all of you here. Thanks ahead of time for any advice!

Welcome.

Hopefully someone can help.

 

I suspect a low battery at that time & not able to cope with the high load demand. 

 

As to the Washer Fluid.  Is it liquid in the bottle and maybe frozen in the pipes nozzle?  Or just not working as the rest of the stuff.

I don't think it's the battery. I'm not getting an error light on the dashboard and the rest of the car seems to run and drive just fine. 

 

For the washer fluid, I suspected it was an electrical error because I don't hear the pump running as I usually do when spraying washer fluid. The wipers move, but there's no other sound and nothing gets sprayed on the windshield.

Given the current cold snap, the screen wash fluid may not be strong enough for the cold, and maybe frozen (have you put in correct strength mix, or still on Summer ratio?)

The heated seats will not take too much power from the battery if low, my own car with heated seats when the car is just started the performance is poor.  If the car battery has sufficent charge, then the seat heats up really quickly, so you maybe have low battery SoC (State of Charge) when you requested heating.

 

I am with @toot who hit reply before me 😄about battery.

Have you got a basic meter to check it's strength?  Only read Voltage after the car has rested for a minimum of 2hrs after journey (ideally wait overnight and check)

What sort of average length are your journeys?  Short ones will not raise the SoC high enough, so next journey it starts, but not enough for seat heating.

Good point about the screen wash fluid mix. If that's the case, what's the best way for me to fix that? 

 

I hear you on the heated seats with a low SoC, but would that also account for ALL the interiors lights not working, whether the car is running or not?

1 minute ago, LasseJLund said:

Good point about the screen wash fluid mix. If that's the case, what's the best way for me to fix that? 

 

I hear you on the heated seats with a low SoC, but would that also account for ALL the interiors lights not working, whether the car is running or not?

If the reservoir is frozen, then only when defrosted you can drain it.  That's assuming the pump is not broken currently, so that might need looking into.

It would need to be in a warm place for several hours to defrost is that has happened.

 

I did missunderstand you on the interior lights not working, now reading it back I can see.

 

How was you checking fuses?  Remove and inspect, or was you checking the end points with a meter for continuity?

The best thing is a Minus 10 *oC - -23*oC washer liquid.

 

Little use when it freezes on it's way to the nozzles, sometimes the pipes are behind the insulation, but even with 'Heated Nozzles' they freeze.

As it is i see little point of spraying a windscreen when the air temp is below freezing.

 

PS

Worse in an EV where there is no heat in the engine compartment to un-freeze stuff.  The Bottle, pipes and nozzle need heated, and still you spray a Unheated windscreen and it can freeze. 

Edited 11 December, 20223 yr by toot

3 minutes ago, varooom said:

If the reservoir is frozen, then only when defrosted you can drain it.  That's assuming the pump is not broken currently, so that might need looking into.

It would need to be in a warm place for several hours to defrost is that has happened.

 

I did missunderstand you on the interior lights not working, now reading it back I can see.

 

How was you checking fuses?  Remove and inspect, or was you checking the end points with a meter for continuity?

Thanks. I'll go check the reservoir. 

 

Fuses, it was just remove and inspect for the interior lights slot and the heated seats slot. Both looked completely normal and undamaged. 

12 minutes ago, varooom said:

I am with @toot who hit reply before me 😄about battery.

Have you got a basic meter to check it's strength?  Only read Voltage after the car has rested for a minimum of 2hrs after journey (ideally wait overnight and check)

What sort of average length are your journeys?  Short ones will not raise the SoC high enough, so next journey it starts, but not enough for seat heating.

Not sure how much to trust the connected app's info, but the My Skoda connected to my car reports that the battery is at 14.8 Volts currently. 

Just now, LasseJLund said:

Not sure how much to trust the connected app's info, but the My Skoda connected to my car reports that the battery is at 14.8 Volts currently. 

Alternator reading then, not actual battery... and as mentioned needs a min of 2hrs rest after charging before you read in values.

Not uncommon for the fuse to blow for the windscreen washer pump when the water is frozen and the washers are used.

Cheaper to replace a fuse than a pump.

The one pump does both windscreens.

 

Thanks. AG Falco

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything.

 

6 hours ago, LasseJLund said:

Both looked completely normal and undamaged. 

Up to you if you want to believe me and or check further but I have twice had incandescent bulbs that worked intermittently and a plastic blade fuse.  Swap the fuses with ones of the same amperage on items you definitely know are working as a double check.

 

And yes check the battery after it has rested as you are better to recharge it before the battery gets too low and causes all sorts of computer and computer program issues and warnings even if the car starts and the lights look bright enough and often just driving the car the will not sufficiently recharge the car an appropriate battery might be needed.  Just see the threads for such multiple now the bad weather is finally here after an extreme summer weather (in some parts of the UK at least) that was not good for  batteries and charging systems.

 

Prevention is better than cure, frost and battery.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited 11 December, 20223 yr by nta16

8 hours ago, LasseJLund said:

Thanks. I'll go check the reservoir. 

 

Fuses, it was just remove and inspect for the interior lights slot and the heated seats slot. Both looked completely normal and undamaged. 

 

I would try swapping the fuses for some of the spares and see if that fixes anything. You've got nothing to lose trying that. 

 

I would say it's highly unlikely (but not impossible) that the battery has lost that much life after just two/three years. Unless the cold snap has been particularly cold and you've been doing lots of very short runs with the car. Also you wouldn't necessarily get a warning on the dashboard for low battery performance, systems might flash up faults and others might just stop working if the battery gets down to a certain level.

 

Hope you get it sorted anyway. 

check you fuses first ,  properly ,  the screen washer is likely 100 percent the fuse  top right fuse 22 value 7.5 

Quick follow up.

 

Car went into the shop and the techs found some software update that was needed that was affecting the interior lights and seat warmers.

 

The windshield fluid issue was a blown fuse—likely from trying to run the pump with frozen fluid. They swapped out the fuse and put in wintertime washer fluid.

 

Anyway, thanks for all the help and advice.