Guy's,

I have just got a fabia for the wife when I drove it last night first time in the dark the light were sort of flickering any ideas?

Xenons??

no not fitted car is a 1.4 mpi comfort

it happend when driving along also when parked up they flickered also the interior light was aswell.

does it happen when you turn the steering wheel???

I think so or after you have turned it .

also to pas light came on but then went off after restarting the car

the fabia has an electric power steering pump, when you turn the wheels it puts alot of strain on the battery,

might be caused by a duff battery, or your alternator is getting tired

what about the PAS light coming on on the dash?

probably because the battery cant supply enough current to the pump, so it flashes up an error.....

you really need to get the faults read off the ecu (if any) and have the battery and alternator checked

Or it could be the infamous steering angle sensor....

Mine does this too, but Im pretty sure its the battery / alternator.

Do you think its worth changing the PAS sensor as a matter of course, It hasnt had one accourding to all the service info.

no, it's a horrible job

do a search on it

no, it's a horrible job

do a search on it

Another vote for checking the battery / alternator before looking at the PAS sensor. My wife's does this to an extent, and as well as doing it when steering, it happens when the blower fan is turned to 4, the main radiator fan comes on, and when the A/C compressor comes 'on' (I put on in inverted commas, as it's never really off!) But then again, it's more of a slight, momentary dimming than an actual on-and-off flickering, so in the case of my wife's car, I think I'll just flag it up when it's next in for service rather than making a special trip...

The lights dont go right off but flicker I must admit I havent even checked the battery connections are tight, the battery was changed last year.

I wonder if its worth checking the state of it as the car has been sitting around at a dealers for some months I should imagine.

I will check the electrolite level if its not a sealed one, and give it a week to settle down as and get some charge back in to it, IE drive it around.

worst case is to change the battery or alternator.

as there is so much load on the battery might be worth fitting a gel type for diesels

Is the VRS fitted with a bigger battery than the petrols?

If the alternator is shot then getting a higher current output would be good again is the VRS fitted with a beefer alternator hight amp rating than petrol?

The lights dont go right off but flicker I must admit I havent even checked the battery connections are tight, the battery was changed last year.

I wonder if its worth checking the state of it as the car has been sitting around at a dealers for some months I should imagine.

Even with the (relatively) new alternator and battery on my 300-miles-per-week vRS, there's still a bit of dimming when turning the wheel at low speeds / revs - I think it's an unavoidable consequence of the PAS motor drawing something mad like 30 amps!

I will check the electrolite level if its not a sealed one, and give it a week to settle down as and get some charge back in to it, IE drive it around.

worst case is to change the battery or alternator.

as there is so much load on the battery might be worth fitting a gel type for diesels

Is the VRS fitted with a bigger battery than the petrols?

If the alternator is shot then getting a higher current output would be good again is the VRS fitted with a beefer alternator hight amp rating than petrol?

I've not compared the alternator / battery on my wife's car with the ones on mine, but I remember jumpstarting a friend's 1.3 Polo and thinking to myself how much larger they were on my vRS than on his car. I'm sure someone on here will give you definitive facts and figures!!!

I've never noticed my headlights (xenon) flicker but i have the reversing lights when manoeuvring at night...

Wondering if LED ones would be any better?

I've never noticed my headlights (xenon) flicker but i have the reversing lights when manoeuvring at night...

Wondering if LED ones would be any better?

Your xenons won't flicker as they incorporate a capacitor which will act to smooth out any voltage fluctuations (and probably have quite a high capacitance themselves, come to think of it...)

As for the LEDs, it would depend on how much the voltage fluctuates by. Unlike filament lamps, below a certain voltage you get nothing, above that voltage you get a steady light level, and then if you really crank up the voltage they'll blow. Provided the voltage remains between the min and max, you shouldn't get any flicker.

Incidentally, this (I believe) is why the LED rear lights on cars being filmed in slow-mo sometimes seem to flicker. Instead of having two sets of lamps (corresponding to the twin tail-light / brake-light filaments in a conventional brake light) you can set the LEDs up to flash (very fast) if you want them to appear dim, and stay on all the time to make them appear bright. As long as the LED flashes more than about 25 times per second, it won't appear to be flashing as far as the human eye is concerned. The faster the flash, the brighter the light!!!

Brain storm, I have just remembered many years ago I had a brand new Dont laugh NOVA GTE. now one day the gauges kept going all weird on me and I seem to remember the lights flickering too.

The problem a Crappy earth strap from the chassis to the engine.

found it by using a jump start cable from the neg of the battery put onto the engine block whilst the engine was running and the engine note changed as the circuit resisance changed and the alternator went under load ie charging

Cured by a new big cable from the battery to the engine.

I think this might be worth trying

Speaking of battery, i posted a question other day about correct battery for the fabia.

For the SDI it should be a 096, not 075, not sure on a petrol one.......suppose if you dont have correct battery that might cause a few hickups.....???? only a suggestion.

spevie

My wifes 1.4 16V Fabia did this lights flickering while turning steering thing, then the PAS warning lamp came on ...Vag Com showed code for steering sensor fault, replaced Yaw angle sensor.... awkward job re-routing the wiring ....problem fixed.

If you feel brave replacing sensor yourself :-

eBay.co.uk: SKODA FABIA POWER STEERING YAW ANGLE SENSOR (item 120078063097 end time 31-Jan-07 20:56:52 GMT)

Best Regards Ian

I have had the exact same problem. it's a nightmare. luckily, mine was under warranty from the dealer. they replaced the power steering sensor after trying a few other things and this worked.

mine is also a 1.4 comfort - a very nice car, i just wish it worked properly.

Have you had any problems with ignition? thats my current irritation

I have had the exact same problem. it's a nightmare. luckily, mine was under warranty from the dealer. they replaced the power steering sensor after trying a few other things and this worked.

mine is also a 1.4 comfort - a very nice car, i just wish it worked properly.

Have you had any problems with ignition? thats my current irritation

1.4 comfort here too, but my only gripe is with the rampant rabbit that likes to start up intermittently in the gearbox and cause the 4th gear to sometimes shake

Have you had any problems with ignition? thats my current irritation

My wife's is sometimes a little reluctant to do a warm start, but it's never got to the stage where it's not started at all. There are still intermittent issues engaging 1st gear (first posted about ages ago along with a load of other problems that are now fixed! ) Trouble is, it's a typical doesn't-do-it-when-you-actually-want-it-to problem, so I'm no closer to finding out what's causing it! I remember Jason lost the back cover of one of his headlamps down inside the engine bay which caused him issues with gear selection, so I'm wondering if the problem in SWMBO's car is caused by something similar...???