Hey guys,

My trusted Fabia (113.000 km) from 2008, fires up after a nights rest, but won't ignite moments after i stop the engine after short or long drive. It's like there's not sufficient power to kick it in to gear. When i turn the (ligts on/off) wheel to the left of the driver it won't even turn the the backlights on - on the dashboard. The starter sounds fine and fuel pumps seem to work from cold. The symbols in on the dashboard turns on as usually when i turn the ignition key, but thats about it.

If I leave it to cool down a bit (10-30min) it starts up just fine again. I have been through a few forums and some seems to think it might have something to do withe temperature censors. I recently changed battery and have had the 'dynamo rim' replaced.

Any suggestions are welcome. I'm a musician (drummer) and I really need my car (and not a long bill from my mechanics)

Cheers

Edited 21 March, 20251 yr by Jakethedane

Maybe a bad earth thats fine when cold but poor when warm? Check the strip fuses near the battery as well. They can crack but sometimes arent noticeable. My sons ABS one cracked and was fine until car warmed up and warning lights/sound came on. It looked ok until I removed it and it split in two.

Alasdair

Thanks Alasdair1

I’ll look into your points

👍🏻

Edited 21 March, 20251 yr by Jakethedane

3 minutes ago, Jakethedane said:

Thanks Alasdair1

I’ll look into your points

👍🏻

Make sure you look very closely at the fuses. As said my sons had a hairline crack which was so fine you couldn,t see it. We missed it the first time and assumed it was a wiring fault. Hope its a simpe fix

Alasdair

22 hours ago, Jakethedane said:

Hey guys,

My trusted Fabia (113.000 km) from 2008, fires up after a nights rest, but won't ignite moments after i stop the engine after short or long drive. It's like there's not sufficient power to kick it in to gear. When i turn the (ligts on/off) wheel to the left of the driver it won't even turn the the backlights on - on the dashboard. The starter sounds fine and fuel pumps seem to work from cold. The symbols in on the dashboard turns on as usually when i turn the ignition key, but thats about it.

If I leave it to cool down a bit (10-30min) it starts up just fine again. I have been through a few forums and some seems to think it might have something to do withe temperature censors. I recently changed battery and have had the 'dynamo rim' replaced.

Any suggestions are welcome. I'm a musician (drummer) and I really need my car (and not a long bill from my mechanics)

Cheers

This sort of fault sounds like a loose connection on the battery or starter motor/solenoid to me.

Ok cool, but is there a logic to fact that it ignites fine when cold and not when it’s warm? Sorry I’m not an expert and thanks for reply

Edited 23 March, 20251 yr by Jakethedane

12 minutes ago, Jakethedane said:

Ok cool, but is there a logic to fact that it ignites fine when cold and not when it’s warm? Sorry I’m not an expert and thanks for reply

The "logic" refers to this being a fairly common fault, to the extent that it is regularly mentioned in competition drivers' (auto)biographies.

35 minutes ago, Jakethedane said:

Ok cool, but is there a logic to fact that it ignites fine when cold and not when it’s warm? Sorry I’m not an expert and thanks for reply

The Engine Management Computer adjusts the fuel/air ratio depending on a number of factors including engine and ambient temperatures, throttle position etc. It will richen the mixture for cold starts and running, then weaken it as things warm up, so maybe there is something in that to consider?

Does the starter run slowly when hot or does it run normal speed. Not sure what you mean by not sufficient power to kick in to gear?

If the starter is running slowly then I would as said check battery,(not unknown to get a bad new one) Battery terminals and earths plus connections to starter motor especially if its been removed recently. It also might be worth getting it read for fault codes to see if anything has come up

Alasdair