Checked the little bulb book in Halfords with all the makes

and models of cars listed in it - said the Otavia brake light

bulbs are "380" ones. These are the right size, but the

"hooking" prongs are too high, it has two filaments and

also two of those bump things on the bottom, instead of

one big one.

So, basically, it's the wrong one, and the "382" should

be used. Are Halford's really that clueless about Skodas,

or is it time they realised a facelift model exists?

Rob.

Rob,

I think the Halfords catalogue has specced the face-lift models; brake bulb on mine (52 reg) has a double filament; one for the brake the other for the fog lamp.

I think they need to list all versions; from what you've said they've only listed the face-lift model.

Cheers.

Adrian.

Hmm...mine's post-facelift though, and in the Halford's book

it's for "97 onwards".

My fog lamp is at the bottom of the cluster though, and my

brake light is second from the top.

Maybe I've been sold a Passat by mistake! :eek:

Rob.

My mistake.......the fog lamp is combined with the rear driving light (I knew a double filament was required for the fog and something else :confused: ).

Brake bulb should be as you said.

Halfords got it wrong but we have to cut them a little slack as they do sell the excellent Infinity 652i speakers!

I haven't got any double-filaments in mine! I thought the driving light

and brake light were the same, and the increase in brightness was a

result of just sticking more current through it. My fog lights appear

to be independent, except on the left hand side which doesn't have

a bulb at the bottom. Although that still makes it independent.

I'm all confused now

Rob.

Historically driving lights were combined with brake lights in a dual filament bulb. When fogs became popular they were often put in the same reflector as brake lights albeit as a separate bulb, until people started realising they confused other drivers who couldn't tell when someone in front was braking or just had their fogs on (before high-level brake lights became universal). So nowadays the brake and fog are usually in separate reflectors. I think this is probably one reason behind single fog lights too.

I think brake and fog as one bulb would get too hot - both are 21W filaments whereas driving are only 9W IIRC

I seem to recall that the rear light clusters are different for the Octavia Hatch and Estate. The rear fog light is separate on the Estate but is combined with another light - the brake? - on the Hatch. This was discussed in the thread about wiring up a second fog light.

I carry one of those spare bulb packups sold by Skoda dealers for under 10 squid, but whenever I can I take the bulb that needs replacing to my local car shop and as for 'One of these, please'.

Time to walk the dog........

Checked out the lamp arrangement yesterday:

top - brake lamp

bottom - driving and fog lamp

the clear lenses are for the indicator and the reversing lamp.

So IIRC 380 bulb for the bottom and 382 for the top.

Cheers.

Adrian.

Hmm...from my memory of changing it on Saturday, I have five bulbs from top

to bottom:

Indicator

Brake

Reversing

Driving

Fog

This is from memory though so I might be wrong...

Rob.

Doh! I've got to go and check again now as I may have remembered incorrectly.:confused:

Just checked:

brake

indicator

reversing

driving/fog

The indicator and reversing lamp could be the other way round.

Cheers.

Adrian.

How strange... :confused:

Rob.

Mines the same as Adrian,

on pre-facelift the indicator is at the top.

But...that would mean I have pre-facelift clusters on a post-facelift car!

I'm going to have to check tonight otherwise it's going to bug me...

Rob.

Rob,

does your lense look like the following (top to bottom):

red

clear

clear

red

if so then it should be the same arrangement as mine. If the lenses are (I think)

red/orange

red

clear

red

red

then it's a pre 2001 face lift lense.

Had a look at the Butts catalogue and they have a rear lense cover which clearly shows 5 sections with the reversing lamp being the 3 one from top. This is said to be for pre 2001 cars.

Looks like you've got pre 2001 lenses on your car.:eek:

Cheers.

Adrian.

They're the latter! So, yes, pre-facelift lenses, which might

explain why the Halford's bulb catalogue was "wrong".

Think my car was registered around June 2001, so not

really sure when it was made.

Maybe I have a unique car.

Or maybe I have the front of a post- and the rear of a pre-! :eek:

Rob.

What's the technical term? Cut and shut!

Rob, is the upholstery on the front seats different to what's on the back?

Hmm...I thought there was something strange about having the black pattern

on the front seats and the sand colour in the back, but the salesman said

it was how they came out of the factory :p

Rob.

Wasn't that the new option service called "Mix 'n Match"?

Sort of like Range Rover's "Autobiography" service for that...individual look.

All cars ordered using the "Mix 'n Match" service are built on a separate production line......some lock-up in a railway arch.

Banter a side, hopefully we haven't stumbled upon something here.

Cheers.

Adrian.

I don't think it is, Horner's seem like a reputable dealer who do all HPi checks and that,

and the vehicle was formlerly owned by Europcar, who I'd imagine wouldn't want to tarnish

their public image.

Does anyone remember those VW Polo's...were they called Harlequins or something?

Where all the panels were different colours. Was really shocked to find they came like that!

Rob.

Yep.......now how many cars did it take to make one of them?

Not to get you worried or anything but there was a story about a car bought from a dealer that had been written off but the HPI check didn't show anything as the information database was still being updated!:eek:

Not sure how it turned out though.

Cheers.

Adrian.

Well, yes, it could easily happen, but I think in my case I might just

have old lights

Might go stalking around some Skoda forecourts tonight checking the lights... :p

Rob.

Did you get to the bottom of this Rob???

He's down the Police station after being caught on CCTV skulking around the cars at his local Skoda dealer in the dark.

I'm not sure...there definitely is a difference between the newest cars

and mine - mainly the indicator position and tint (or lack thereof).

Haven't managed to get behind any similarly aged cars to compare,

and if I got to the dealers they might sell me a car

Rob.