skoda octavia 1.6 estate petrol 2003 model - electrical faults - madamf

Hi,
Is there anyone out there who has had those problems with their 2003 skoda octavia 1.6 petrol?
Engine warning light constantly on, despite re sets. common apparently
Engine racing between 1,00o and 2000 RPM when very warm.(have been told its the step sensor??)
engine when cold or warm now will only run smoothly when in 1st 2nd or 3 rd gear, 4th or 5th and the car feels like it will shake to bits.
After the above first happened,i took it to my local garage,they plugged it in to the diagnostic system which registered 5 faults, all random and electrically generated.

please can anyone advise or have the same problem?
Thanks adamf

skoda octavia 1.6 estate petrol 2003 model - electrical faults - craig-pd130

The engine revving randomly and the rough running is almost certainly caused by a failed coolant temperature sensor.

The 1.6 petrol has a motorised throttle body, in which an electric servo motor opens the throttle by a pre-set amount during cold start-up to aid running.

When the coolant temp sensor fails, the ECU suddenly thinks the engine has gone from 75C to 0C in a few milliseconds, and actuates the motor in the throttle body as well as altering the fuelling. This causes the random revving and rough running.

This happened with my dad's 1.6 petrol Octavia. New sensor sorted all the running issues.

Edited by craig-pd130 on 11/06/2012 at 16:32

skoda octavia 1.6 estate petrol 2003 model - electrical faults - madamf

Big Thanks Craig, the guys at the garage said something similar, glad to know he knows what he's doing!

skoda octavia 1.6 estate petrol 2003 model - electrical faults - craig-pd130

Hope it sorts the problem for you. From memory the sensor is about £25 plus maybe an hour of labour.