Instrument Panel Dying

[Vitz_man]

Hey all,

Well I feel a little ashamed after coming back to this forum having opted for a Fabia instead of another Yaris, but insurance was unfortunately a priority...

Anyway, i'm here because the Skoda forum seems to have a lack of people who know much about the mechanics of cars and I have a real problem it would appear.

Background - Just bought a 1.4 Fabia with 66k miles. It's only done 2k miles in the past year, so I expected there to be a couple hicups but nothing as serious as what happens.

Okay, picked up my Fabia yesterday. It has been sitting doing bugger all for a year so I expected a few teething problems. But every now and then for no apparent reason both the tachometer and speedometer go dead and I get all the warning lights on at the same time. First time it happened I pulled over, turned the ignition off and then on again and it seemed to work fine for the next 200 miles. Thing is it happened 3 times on a 3 hour journey today, once during average speed cameras which you can appreciate is a nightmare and i'm not sure where to start looking. Don't have a VAGCOM so can't help you with the codes. Anyone experienced anything similar? My initial thoughts were a bad earth or loose battery terminal.

Thanks in advance :)

Would be greatful for any advice! :)

[Hartside]

You need it hooked up to Vagcom to at least point you in the right direction. There must be someone with the lead in your area that can help you out. Why don't you ask on Briskoda if someone can help you out in exchange for some beer tokens. Without the diagnosis it could cost you a fortune

[Vitz_man]

Thanks! - to exhaust all sources, anyone on here happen to have a VAGCOM and live in Aberdeen? :)

[Hartside]

Try here, you're more likely to come across someone who has what you need:

[stantheman1]

I have one (got it for the lad's vw)but I'm 400 miles away! They are very cheap to buy from eBay, less than a tenner with postage IIRC.

Good Luck!

[Cyker]

Related but probably not very relevant; My dad's Ford Focus had the entire instrument cluster die; Turned out to be due to a known fault where the circuit board of the instrument cluster hadn't been sealed properly and was corroding.

No recall and no subsidy from Ford, just a ridiculously expensive quote for a new panel and 30 mins work that a monkey could be trained to do

[Vitz_man]

Righto - update, turns out the plonker who had the car before me had a 40 amp Battery installed (obviously a cheap skate) which was causing the engine management to go haywire and start cutting out the electrical systems in the cabin. Popped down to Halford's, got myself a nice shiney new Bosch Battery and hey presto, we're all good! :)

Thanks Stan - reckon I might just invest in one if i'm doing all the servicing myself. Much appreciated all - still haven't had a single reply from Briskoda, this is clearly the better forum! ;)

Mike

[t-spiritpete]

Righto - update, turns out the plonker who had the car before me had a 40 amp battery installed (obviously a cheap skate) which was causing the engine management to go haywire and start cutting out the electrical systems in the cabin. Popped down to Halford's, got myself a nice shiney new Bosch battery and hey presto, we're all good! :)

Thanks Stan - reckon I might just invest in one if i'm doing all the servicing myself. Much appreciated all - still haven't had a single reply from Briskoda, this is clearly the better forum! ;)

Mike

Nice result ..... simples

Pete.

[Cyker]

Doh! Good catch on the Battery :)

[Vitz_man]

Righto - got another funny one regarding this. After changing the Battery fault started up again much to my frustration. Got it plugged into a computer (I could have almost bought one for the price it cost...) and it came up with every single fault code....

Spoke to a specialist mechanic who said he'd seen this sort of problem before. I genuinely laughed when he told me it was because the spark plugs needed changing. Apparently the resistors in the plugs go dud after a while, causing voltage spikes which knock out the computer and the power steering (since it's one unit with the ECU - who thought that was a good idea?!). New set of plugs, reset the computer and 120 miles later no more faults. :)

Thought i'd give you guys a giggle! :P

[Red Yaris 54]

Nice to see that you have managed to get your problems sorted out

Good luck with your SKODA

This is the best site for future problems:

http://briskoda.net/...em-vcds-owners/

Topic now closed!