I have just bought a Skoda Fabia 1.4 8V 2001 x-reg.

Turns out the temperature gauge doesn't move much and it seems to take ages for warm air to come out when the blower is on full (15 mins or so). :confused: (temp needle sits at 1/4 mark rather than 1/2 way)

After reading lots of posts on this website I get the imprsion that the temperature sender and the thermostat are quite common components to fail.

So, after following ap0gee's "how to change the temperature sender guide" located here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/maintenance-performance/fabia-coolant-temp-sensor-how/66180/ (excellent guide! ) I have checked the temperautre sender and I think this is probably working ok. (its the yellow one and I measured resistance across the two contacts with it dipped in a bowl of water. 1.5K at 9'C and 100 ohm at 28'C)

So, now I suspect the thermostat might be to blame. I haven't removed it yet but I was wondering if anyone has tested their thermostat out of the car before? I am thinking of removing it and placing it in cold water (eg 10'C) which should make it close, then warming the water to see if it opens. I suspect if the thermostat is faulty it will just be open all the time and allowing water to pass and bee cooled all the time. Somebody previously said that the thermostat is fixed into the housing in which case I may not be able to test it out of the car.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Any help would be much appreciated

if the guage is reading low it's more likely to be a problem with the sender rather than the thermostat....

could be also be because you have air trapped in the cooling system

oh dear!

Obviously I didn't mean to post this in this section!

SORRY!

dont worry, one of the mods will move it eventually

I have just bought a Skoda Fabia 1.4 8V 2001 x-reg.

Turns out the temperature gauge doesn't move much and it seems to take ages for warm air to come out when the blower is on full (15 mins or so). :confused: (temp needle sits at 1/4 mark rather than 1/2 way)

After reading lots of posts on this website I get the imprsion that the temperature sender and the thermostat are quite common components to fail.

So, after following ap0gee's "how to change the temperature sender guide" located here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/maintenance-performance/fabia-coolant-temp-sensor-how/66180/ (excellent guide! ) I have checked the temperautre sender and I think this is probably working ok. (its the yellow one and I measured resistance across the two contacts with it dipped in a bowl of water. 1.5K at 9'C and 100 ohm at 28'C)

So, now I suspect the thermostat might be to blame. I haven't removed it yet but I was wondering if anyone has tested their thermostat out of the car before? I am thinking of removing it and placing it in cold water (eg 10'C) which should make it close, then warming the water to see if it opens. I suspect if the thermostat is faulty it will just be open all the time and allowing water to pass and bee cooled all the time. Somebody previously said that the thermostat is fixed into the housing in which case I may not be able to test it out of the car.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Any help would be much appreciated

How do I check for trapped air or remove any air locks?

The temperature sender looks to be at the highest point of the coolant system (so this would probably be where an air lock would be) but when I removed it it was sat in coolant.

All merged now.

I would guess your issue is the thermostat. I had the same problem with my mondeo, was always showing low on the temp gauge. I changed the thermostat and all was back to normal again.

the best way to clear an air lock is to run the engine from cold with the top off the coolant expansion tank untill the fans start to cut in..... but dont rev it too hard or the water will come out!!

Thanks for merging the threads.

I dont think the engine gets hot enough hot the fans to kick in. Thanks for the tip tho!

Thanks for merging the threads.

I dont think the engine gets hot enough hot the fans to kick in!

it will without the cap on the expansion tank!!

On mine it took AGES to get the bottom pipe on the PD130 to loose it's air lock, had to massage the pipe - and even then it still took a while to get it sorted.

The cap seems to give up rather quickly it must be said, I am seriously wondering if there is an aftermarket item available that does the job & is more robust

similar car, identical problem, replaced sensor no change, returned to parts dept purchased thermostat housing complete with sensor and thermostat problem solved.

housing part no. SO 47121111S

I've now managed to fix the problem by purchasing the whole thermostat housing SO 47121111S £36.91 from the Skoda dealer.

It was the common broken plastic clip issue of the housing (actual thermostat ok, but not held in place properly)

By the way, after alot of research I've discovered that the temperature sensor that is located in the thermostat housing is simply a thermistor and this directly sets the gauge on the dashboard and nothing else.

Hope other people find this thread useful.

...by the way, my electric windows are now playing up (well, down!) any ideas?

hi mgskoda -

just joined and picked up on your prob - had same thing , one of the lugs on the inside of the thermostat housing had broke - but i cheated a bit , drilled hole in the crossbar that holds the thermostat in and put a small self tapper screw to hold it and its s right as rain - if it goes on the other side i`ll get a complete new part - i`ve been told it is a common fault with them -

hope it helps

if the guage is reading low it's more likely to be a problem with the sender rather than the thermostat....

could be also be because you have air trapped in the cooling system

Not if the engine isnt getting warm though, that would sugest over cooling and a jammed thermostat.

I thought that when the bridge in the thermostat cover broke the stat failed to open causing overheating.

Just a tip if you are ever in this situation out on the road. Never totally remove the thermostat on ANY car as a get you home. The sytem is designed to work with a resricton (the Thermostat) removing it totally increases the flow from the waterpump and can lead to coolant not flowing around the head properly (Head gasket failure anyone).

It is better to wedge the tstat open or just remove the centre of it.