Hi Everyone,

After some confusion I thought it would be best to start this again.

Sincere apologies to all who took time to assist previously.

I have a 51 plate Skoda Fabia Comfort,

The car has started to lose power when going uphill.

Also when I turn the engine off then back on the revs go really high for a second then back to normal.

So far I have changed the fuel filter,checked the timing belt, the clutch is fine, and done the usual redex and diesel magic to clean.

Has anybody had a similar problem or any idea what the problem could be?

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Many thanks. Bo.

MAF sensor ?

SDi don,t have MAF sensors.

has this just started or always been there??

i would say,

low powered engine + hill = slow

I just got an 01 SDI estate and I find it really sluggish going up hill too. I have to keep the revs pretty high otherwise I lose speed. I don't get the revving when I turn it on, but some kinda whoosing (kinda like a hairdrier) noise for about a second.

Previous to this I had a 95 Seat Ibiza which i reckon had an earlier VW SDI engine but which definitely wasn't sluggish but might've been geared a bit differently. And I put the whoosing noise of this engine down to all the electronics my Ibiza didn't have.

It's very easy to let the revs drop too low on the SDi. Somehow it doesn't give a warning to the ears that they're dropping off. We have a SDi and a TDi and the TDi gives lots of warning that it is dropping out of the power band whereas the SDi has caught us both out at times. Whilst the SDi will pull at low revs, the best power band is well up at around 3000.

The one item you don't mention is the air filter. This would be favourite for a check. If this (or the intake pipework) is getting blocked, then you will lose power and get funny breathing problems which could include revs at restarting. The recommended 40K is US. We use 10K maximum.

If not the above, the only other thing I can think of that gives both these problems is oil getting into the air intake system. Is it using oil?

V

Hi all,

I'd like to thank you all again for trying to help me with this.

Gotta tell you though that I admitted defeat and went to my local skoda dealer and had it put on the computer to see if anything was coming up.

Well.... I'm told that it's the fuel pump solenoid that is faulty (I'm just thankful it wasn't ECU, have you seen the price of them things?Phew!). :eek:

So i'm going to do that and see what happens.

I'll keep you all posted.

Cheers again for the help.

Bo

has this just started or always been there??

i would say,

low powered engine + hill = slow

Has recently started.

Big engine for small car,pretty powerful engine usually, has left r lass's beamer standing at traffic lights before!

Glad to hear you're sorted - thanks for taking the time to let us know.

V

Has recently started.

Big engine for small car,pretty powerful engine usually, has left r lass's beamer standing at traffic lights before!

Eh aint the sdi 64 bhp:confused:

0-60 = 18 secs?

Glad its sorted though

In fairness the 18 second figure for the SDI is a lot slower than it actually is....

Hi all,

I'd like to thank you all again for trying to help me with this.

Gotta tell you though that I admitted defeat and went to my local skoda dealer and had it put on the computer to see if anything was coming up.

Well.... I'm told that it's the fuel pump solenoid that is faulty (I'm just thankful it wasn't ECU, have you seen the price of them things?Phew!). :eek:

So i'm going to do that and see what happens.

I'll keep you all posted.

Cheers again for the help.

Bo

I'm back guys n gals.

Well... I fitted the £47 fuel pump solenoid and guess what?

Who guessed right? It hasn't made a blind bit o difference!

Ain't motoring fun?lol.

So its back to the drawing board, Any advise now?

Cheers. Bo.

Hi there,

can you give an idea on your mileage since the cam belt was last changed.

Also is the car noticeably smokier ?

What I found on mine was that in the last 5K before the cam belt was due between 55 and 60K miles the performance dropped off and a smokey exhaust. I could only put this down to the cam belt stretching and retarding the valve timing, with no turbo to help push air into the cylinders this would cause smokey running.

Have you checked the handbrake or rear brakes are not binding assuming drum brakes, this happened on mine.

However the high revs when you restart the engine sounds more likely to be some problem with the engine control system either egr or cold start mechnism. Does your temperature guage go wild at the same time ?

Cheers

G.

Hi,

Sorry to hear that. Well, assuming that you've checked through all the ideas above (as far as possible), there is one possibility that I've heard about on other older indirect diesels; that is a leaking injector. If the seals on an injector leak, then it can weep fuel into the pre-chamber, hence the burst of revs on starting until the fuel has gone. Unfortunately I don't know of any way of checking without removing the injectors.

Best of luck.

V

Probably best asking advice from a diesel engine specialist rather than a Skoda dealer as they have a wider general experience.

If it is a bust injector it may be that you can smell diesel when the engine is running, an injector/seal went in my old car, it reeked of diesel and was hard to start from cold, like the glowplugs had failed.

Do you think it's the clutch going?

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments.

Only done 25k since cam belt was changed, clutch has been done in past 12 month, had wheels off and checked all brakes, all ok. I service regular, change oil/ filter, air filter ect. :confused:

No smoke or smell of diesel.

Anything else anyone can think of?

Cheers, Bo.

SDi dont have any power to begin with! Get a TDi.

SDi dont have any power to begin with! Get a TDi.

Now why didn't I think of that? lol. U buying?

Did you ever resolve this?

I've a Fabia SDi estate, exactly the same problem. Replaced timing belt (timing correct), replaced filters (air and fuel), checked fuel lines for air leaks, replaced throttle body and coolant temp sensor (both came up as fault on diagnostics). Car runs fine but just won't pull up the hills any more (did in the past). No smell of diesel, No black or white smoke.

Faulty solenoid came up on the diagnostics but not sure how that could be the cause as that's either open or closed and there's only a single feed wire to it so no potentiometer feedback to say it's only partially opening.  Any feedback would be massively appreciated.

Foul Necromancy, start a new thread please, this is an ex-thread, deceased, gone to meet it's maker, shuffled off and singing with the choir eternal...