About one month ago I was driving through Scotland and my 1.9TDI electrics failed. Lots of dash lights came on, power steering went, etc. Turned ignition off. Completely dead when I tried to turn on again. Breakdown garage tested the battery but it seemed to be charging OK. So they suspected an intermittent alternator fault, replaced it and I continued on my journey. About four days later the electrics failed again in England. Went to nearest Skoda dealer. Again, they weren't sure but replaced the battery. I continued on my journey.

Today the same problem returned. Dead Fabia. My local garage man put another battery in and noticed that my battery light does not come on at all when the ignition is turned. All the other lights come on OK. He thinks that this could be the problem.

Any opinions would be much appreciated. If this is so, how do I fix it ?

I had a similar problem last year and it turned out it was a damaged wire and not the alternator at fault (I changed the alternator!)

Have a look at this thread which should give you some more info on it. If it turns out not to be the DMF wire, it might be worth sending a PM to Wardy as I know he had an electrical faults on his Ibiza and it could be the same thing...

HTH

One side of the charging light is supplied with 12v from the ignition switch, the other side earths via the (stationary) alternator. When the engine starts the alternator earth becomes 12+v, so that the light has an equal voltage both sides and goes out. It sounds like you have an intermittent major power supply fault which I cannot see would be attributable to either a battery or alternator failing. A catastrophic battery failure could do it, but the alternator is not even required to run the electrics, merely to charge the battery. It sounds like the 'technicians' that have attempted a fix so far are stabbing in the dark, albeit it is difficult to identify an intermittent fault. I'm sure some of the Skoda techs may be able to give a pointer of known power supply problem areas. I think this is prolly a loose or corroded connection somewhere that will be an easy fix WHEN you find it.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. My local mechanic is going to explore behind the dash lights tomorrow. I'm not sure that he will succeed.

Anyone else recognise these symptoms or suggest a remedy ?

Following from Kwacka, There should be a diode near the alternator and hence connection. Has it corroded/come loose? Unlikely to be at dashboard end. More likely at exposed alternator end. Common problem on diesel Fiestas - get knocked when changing belts.

I read the thread about the blue DFM wire. If the wire was broken or detached, would this cause the battery light to be off ?

Yes

I read the thread about the blue DFM wire. If the wire was broken or detached, would this cause the battery light to be off ?

It can be quite difficult to spot. the wire on mine had broken right next to a connector and looked to be fine on first inspection..

At last ! I told my mechanic to check the infamous blue wire. Today he phoned to confirm that it was broken. All fixed now.

Airbag light on now but this happened when I changed the alternator - just need reset.

A BIG thanks to all who posted replies.

Ain't Briskoda and the internet cool ?

Excellent, now all you need to do is find out what is draining the battery.

Brilliant news Bizzy, glad its sorted now:thumbup:.

I know what you mean about Briskoda, without this site I would have spent hundreds on trying to sort out this problem.

Mannyo, I think the battery should be ok now the wire's fixed. The broken wire would have stopped the alternator charging the battery and so there would have been a constant drain on the battery when driving. (I think, I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will come along and put me right if I'm wrong:O)

Regarding resetting my airbag light. I might have a go at this myself.

Does anyone know if the shareware version of Ross Vag-Com would allow me to reset the airbag light or do I need to buy the full licence ?

I too had the No battery lamp problem.

Brilliant news Bizzy, glad its sorted now:thumbup:.

Mannyo, I think the battery should be ok now the wire's fixed. The broken wire would have stopped the alternator charging the battery and so there would have been a constant drain on the battery when driving. (I think, I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will come along and put me right if I'm wrong:O)

I think the deal is that at lowish revs the alternator needs this excitation current that the blue wire provides, if you end up running with higher revs for a long period then the battery will get charged as the alternator will effectively be "self exciting" .

I had a similar problem last year and it turned out it was a damaged wire and not the alternator at fault (I changed the alternator!)

Have a look at this thread which should give you some more info on it. If it turns out not to be the DMF wire, it might be worth sending a PM to Wardy as I know he had an electrical faults on his Ibiza and it could be the same thing...

HTH

Hello all,

I have the exact same problem with my Skoda Fabia 1.9 TDI 03 reg. Thought it was the battery playing up, so had it replaced still no joy. The local garage did all kind of checks (still in the garage now) and believe it could be the head unit. Been quoted

The thread regarding the DMF wire/blue wire does not work (I get error 404), can someone give me some advise please.

This sounds like just the problem that led me to join this forum.

On Friday night, I drove home from work. Five minutes after getting home, I got back in the car, turned the key and the car wheezed once and died. I checked the battery and my Optimate told me that it was dud, not just flat, so I bought a new one and put it in.

The car started just fine yesterday but this morning after 5 minutes of driving the power steering packed in, as did the headlamps, indicators and wipers. I managed to get the car home before it died on the driveway.

It would appear that this is the relevant thread, which I will be showing to my tame mechanic Thanks Lummox.

Ah well, it was actually my alternator that had packed in, but I managed to get it sorted in the end

Have been following this thread with keen interest, as 2002 Fabia 1 (1.9tdi) dash lit up like a Christmas tree with Power Steering, ABS and traction control lights all coming on, and power steering failing completely when I first applied steering after engine start. Battery was also too flat after only minutes to allow a restart.:confused:

Following hints and tips from here and other similar threads, I checked and noticed that the ignition light was not coming on. Also ran a VAG code check and found:

Engine - 17911 - Load signal from alternator term. DF:Implausible Signal: P1503

SRS - 00532 - Transmission control module relay - supply voltage (B+) malfunction. Low battery or bad ground or supply voltage.

ABS - 00532 - as above.

On inspecting the infamous blue wire at the connector on the front of the gearbox, found it was broken where it emerged from the protecting sheath - too much flexing over 103K miles of engine movement - close to the plug. Found

this useful SEAT CUPRA thread referred to from BRISKODA - How to: fix broken load signal cable from alternator. Got out my soldering iron and bypassed the connector with another piece of wire I had lying around, and Bob's your uncle, problem fixed at zero cost.

Thanks to everyone.

Edited 18 November, 200916 yr by freda999

would like to say A massive THANKs to everyone who contributed to this thread as it has sorted the very same problem on my 02 Polo TDi. Blue wire completely broken in the loom under the battery box. Had ALL of the above problems mentioned and changed my altenator . Intermittent charging of battery when tested with a multimeter and the 17911 error code thrown when checked with vagcom.

thanks again.

Edited 12 April, 201016 yr by dhali