Hi,

Partner acquired this 2023 1.0 Fabia last year.

So far, the resistor pack for the fan has packed (!) up and the actuator for the fuel flap needed replacing. These were done under warranty.

She's had the car back from its MOT and warranty work and now there's a light on the dash saying "check brake lights."

The light on the nearside is out and there's only one reversing light, on the offside.

Are the rear lights all LED? No bulb I can change? If it is a bulb, how do I get to it?

Are there supposed to be two reversing lights?

Are there a lot of electrical problems on the Mk4 Fabia?

I just read the f****ing manual.

Seems that there is a bulb to change and I can see how to do it.

I saw in another post that only the driver's side reverse light illuminates....

Think on the newer fabias the light unit comes out on rear. Used to be an access hatch on earlier ones. There should be some plastic slotted screws that once undone the light unit pulls away from car to get access to bulbs.

Alasdair

Unless a Fabia Mk4 has 'full-LED' rear lights, the car will have ordinary bulbs in the left and right main light-units that are in the bodywork on each side and removal of the light-unit (and the bulbs) is adequately covered in the Owner's Manual (search online Manuals for tail light assembly ) though the specification of the bulbs themselves is not stated. The main light-units provide brake, direction and position functions.

For right-hand-drive cars, in the tailgate ('hatch') the right-hand (UK 'offside') light-unit provides fog and reversing lamp functions using LEDs, while the left-hand tailgate light-unit does not operate and (I'm pretty sure) has no electronic parts in it.

This was discussed in this 2024 Forum topic

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/526779-changing-to-rhd/#comment-5887502

27 minutes ago, DerekU said:

though the specification of the bulbs themselves is not stated

Can generally be found molded into the plastic of the bulb holder, for example:

Edited 10 June10 Jun by Breezy_Pete

This was asked about here in 2023, but did not elicit the information requested.

An image in the "Tail light assembly" section of Fabia Mk4 Owner's Manuals SUGGESTS that the light-unit has 3 bulbs (which, as the unit provides brake, direction and position functions, would make some sense).

On my 2024 car the direction-indicator bulb is easily visible. It is amber and 'round-headed' (so possibly a PY21W type). The other bulb(s) are impossible to see with the light-unit in situ.

I've studied several photos showing the rear of the light-unit (example here)

but (so far) I have not been able to identify any obvious bulb-type identification markings.

Many (pessimistic) car owners will either carry spare bulbs or at least record the bulb-types that are needed should replacement be required.

As the "Replacing light bulbs" section in the Owner's Manual begins "You may replace the following light bulbs yourself" and only bulbs in the front fog-lights and in the tail light assembly are referred to, one might reasonably expect the Manual to specify the bulbs that would be needed, rather than a Fabia owner having to remove a failed bulb in order to identify it.

If brisF1 is going to replace a bulb in his car's rear light-unit, perhaps he could check whether the unit carries any bulb identity-markings, or (if not) check and identify the bulbs themselves.

We bought our Fabia new in sept 2022 and have to say the reverse light is probably the worst/dimmest I’ve ever had in a car, I wonder if they had fitted 2 I’m sure it would have made a difference

I agree...

This link relates to UK-vehicle reverse lights

https://agri-lighting.co.uk/vehicle-lighting/reverse-lights/

and this to rear fog lights

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/schedule/11

My RHD 2009 Skoda Roomster has the mandatory single rear fog lamp on the UK driver-side, but has reverse lights on both sides. The Roomster's bulbs are P21W-type and have a significantly brighter output than the LEDs in my Fabia Mk4's small single rear reverse/fog light-unit.

There is no legal imperative preventing Skoda fitting 'working' rear fog/reverse light-units on both sides of a Fabia Mk4, but it would be more expensive to do so. It's been suggested that it would be possible to 'cross-wire' a Mk4's working rear fog/reverse light-unit to the non-working unit on the car's opposite side so that both units function. However, it's clear (on my Mk4) that the rear reverse light on the passenger side is 'empty' with no LEDs in it, plus adverts for secondhand UK Fabia Mk4 rear fog/reverse light-units show that a 'working' unit has built-in cabling, whereas a 'non-working' unit has no cabling. So in order to double-up a UK Mk4's light-units, it would be necessary to replace the left-hand 'non-working' unit with a unit suitable for a LHD Mk4 and then cross-wire.

Returning to the 'bulbs' question, I have confirmed that there are three light sources (hence 3 bulbs) in the main rear light-units and I'm now confident that the amber direction-indicator bulb is a wedge-base 958 WY16W as shown here:

https://www.skoda-parts.com/catalog/fabia-4/service-interval-parts/bulbs-700.html

I'm comfortable that a wedge-base 501 W5W bulb might be used for the rear position ('side') lights. Logically, I would have thought a wedge-base 582 W21W bulb would then be used for the brake-lights, but it is generally advised in online adverts that a bayonet-base 382 P21W is the correct bulb!

Only way to be sure would be to remove the rear light-unit and check, but I'm not going to do that unless I have to...