Hi.. I hope someone can suggest a remedy for my 2006 Fabia 1.4 16v (90k miles) which is stuck in limp mode.

Had the car for 6 years and serviced it regularly, never had a problem til a few weeks ago when, on a dual carriageway at about 60mph, it suddenly lost power and went into limp mode. I had to put on the flashers and get it into a service yard. Not easy when the max speed was 10mph.

Trailered it home to investigate, but so far, the fault eludes me..

Replaced:

Plugs, coil packs, map sensor, pcv valve, coolant temperature sensor, air filter, evap valve, gearbox ATF.

Checked all the vacuum pipework, no leaks obvious, pulled and tested the throttle body, ok (doesn't have a maf or egr valve).

The engine always starts and idles smoothly and easily and revs up well, but dies under load when you attempt to drive it.

Disconnected the battery for a few days, but this made no difference when reconnected.

My OBD scanner shows no fault codes (no dash lamps) and using graphs for live data, it looks fine as regards the accelerator pedal sensor with smooth action.

The cambelt is 10k miles old and still in good condition and the timing marks line up correctly.

I called in a professional with a VAGCOM scanner who found no codes either on his laptop.

If anyone has another untried suggestion, I'd be glad to hear it..

If it starts and revs but dies under load it could be a fuel problem. Maybe fuel pump down on pressure or perhaps clogged fuel filter? Its weird that there are no codes if it went into limp mode. Maybe its not actually limp mode but fuel starvation. You could try it without fuel cap in case the vent is clogged and also check airfilter.

Alasdair

@L98 - That's not how limp mode works on my Octy. The EMS light comes on, and the engine revs at 1_200 irrespective of demand throttle input.

On all my cars I have had the dreaded EML and limp mode for various reasons. Does the EML light on yours show at pre ignition? Just wondering if someone has disabled it. I would have thought it should come on when in true limp mode.

Alasdair

Check fuel pressure at fuel injector rail and also at the fuel filter. If possible, also perform a compression test and head gasket leak test. Did you check the spark plugs and coils before changing? Maybe they were ok. If you cleaned the throttle body, did you do the adaptation?

Thanks everyone..

The old plugs looked fine with brown electrodes (starts easily and idles smoothly, never to misfire even in limp), but I replaced them anyway.The airfilter is new.

I haven't measured the fuel pressure, but it certainly blasts out the Schrader test point when pressed, so I'm not sure it's fuel pressure. I've tried running with the fuel cap off to no effect.

I don't get any lights on the dash, nor were any codes seen on the scanners, one of which was a professional VAGCOM scanner. What is EML?

When you turn on the ignition, you get an ESC lamp, but it goes away when the engine starts.

What is adaptation of the throttle body? I removed it to test the action of its motor, which tested fine, opening fully. It does this in situ when you rev the engine too. Didn't have to clean it as it was spotless, checked the pipework for carbon buildup, but they are all clear.

On the back of the block, there's an 'oil separation' device. Could this be the problem? There's a distinct negative pressure in the valve cover at the oil filler, which I'm told is normal on these engines.

Edited 16 September, 202516 Sep by L98

12 hours ago, L98 said:

What is adaptation of the throttle body?

Whenever you clean or change the throttle body, you have to perform adaptation through VCDS. Its easy you can find on internet. According to me you should also check your catalytic converter. It may be clogged. But my first culprit is bad fuel or low fuel pressure. Try to remove the pre-cat O₂ sensor to create an exhaust leak. If it drives fine, you find the problem.

Sorry EML is engine management light. Normally comes on when in limp mode on my cars. I think its linked to emissions as mine came on due to EGR problems. There is also EPC which is also engine management. Not sure if the Fabia has both but they should light up at pre ignition and go off when car is started.

Alasdair

1 hour ago, Alasdair1 said:

Sorry EML is engine management light. Normally comes on when in limp mode on my cars. I think its linked to emissions as mine came on due to EGR problems. There is also EPC which is also engine management. Not sure if the Fabia has both but they should light up at pre ignition and go off when car is started.

Alasdair

Cheers.. This engine has no EGR or MAF. I wish I could see a EML!

ESC goes off when it starts.

2 hours ago, MAKAKI said:

Whenever you clean or change the throttle body, you have to perform adaptation through VCDS. Its easy you can find on internet. According to me you should also check your catalytic converter. It may be clogged. But my first culprit is bad fuel or low fuel pressure. Try to remove the pre-cat O₂ sensor to create an exhaust leak. If it drives fine, you find the problem.

Thanks, some stuff to try.

I'll measure the fuel pressure and try the exhaust advice.

The exhaust was redone last year as it was leaking at the flex joint, but they re-used the original cat which I assumed would be ok with 80k miles on it.

I'll check with YouTube about the VCDS throttle body thing (sounds very expensive!), but removing and refitting it had no effect on the limp mode.

When I removed it, I put 12v on the DC motor and it worked well, opening and shutting the valve, still working as I reduced the voltage down to 5v..

Edited 17 September, 202517 Sep by L98

ESC I think is electronic stability control. It will go off once car is started. As said not sure what a MK1 engine management light looks like. It could be an orange engine block looking symbol or EPC or both. Either way it should illuminate at preignition and go off once car is started unless theres a fault.

14 minutes ago, Alasdair1 said:

ESC I think is electronic stability control. It will go off once car is started. As said not sure what a MK1 engine management light looks like. It could be an orange engine block looking symbol or EPC or both. Either way it should illuminate at preignition and go off once car is started unless theres a fault.

I do get the EPC lamp and the engine block icon, but they go off when the engine starts.

If the EPC and engine symbol are there and go out when car is running I assume the system is working. I remembered I got similar symptoms on my sons 1.2. I always put a rag in air intake when removing engine cover/air filter just in case I drop something in it. I forgot to remove rag and car idled but died under power due to lack of air. Luckily didnt suck rag all the way in. Try running it without air filter and see if it makes any difference. Hope its something simple and an easy fix. It may be worth seeing if anyone near you has VCDS. It may ping up something that the other scanners have missed

Alasdair

57 minutes ago, Alasdair1 said:

If the EPC and engine symbol are there and go out when car is running I assume the system is working. I remembered I got similar symptoms on my sons 1.2. I always put a rag in air intake when removing engine cover/air filter just in case I drop something in it. I forgot to remove rag and car idled but died under power due to lack of air. Luckily didnt suck rag all the way in. Try running it without air filter and see if it makes any difference. Hope its something simple and an easy fix. It may be worth seeing if anyone near you has VCDS. It may ping up something that the other scanners have missed

Alasdair

I have tried running without an air filter, but no difference and I had a mobile service guy out with a VCDS laptop, but it didn't show any codes either. My own OBD scanner shows smooth action of the throttle body when you press the throttle.

Really struggling with this problem which suddenly just happened on a dual carriageway.

I'm 71 and been tinkering on cars since I was about 10, (my daily since 2004 has been an '87 Corvette that is really simple to maintain) but this Fabia's engine has me stumped, but as cheap as it is, I just can't give up on it, ..its been a great car up til now.

One thing I noticed is that it's slightly better running from cold, with a max speed of about 30mph, which drops to 10mph when hot.

Always it starts easily and idles smoothly, but once under load it just dies.

If its better from cold I would assume there is less air/more fuel(not sure how modern chokes work) until it warms up. If its being starved of fuel it might explain why its better when cold and your getting better combustion ratio. If there are no codes via VCDS then it may be a fuel problem. Is the intank fuel pump working ok?

Alasdair

The in tank fuel pump should operate when the drivers door is opened/unlocked after being locked for a while plus also when car is running. I assume its to prime the system. There are I believe 2 fuses for the pump. One for the priming and second for ECU. If the pump is running check the voltage to pump in case its low. Think there will be a relay as well. I had a quick look and on my sons 1.2 mk1 the fuses are number 14 and 52. Sorry no idea where or which relay. One fuse does ECU and the other I think does fuel pump. Why they make modern cars so complicated I don't know. Years ago things were simple without ECU etc. They either ran or didnt.

Just fixed my ancient tractor with a 3 cylinder perkins. Fuel starvation problem due to diesel bug in system. Cleaned and new filters etc. Hand primed via lift pump. Released air from injector pump and number 1 injector and started no probs. Took about 20 mins.

Alasdair

Thanks..

You certainly given me something to consider and try. Right now I'm dealing with a few rust issues on the Fabia.

Once I'm done, I'll try out your advice and I'll post.

Regards, Steve..

Re the throttle body, if its like my Polos, then if you press the accelerator with just the ignition on, the throttle valve should open fully. You should also be able to move off by just releasing the clutch pedal without leg on the accelerator and also go up a fairly steep incline in first gear without any accelerator.

Edited 18 September, 202518 Sep by Johngerard