Hello everyone.
Pretty new when it comes to Fiats as i have generally avoided them in the past. Scared off by the unreliability stories!


Just prepping a Brava 1.4(stop laughing) for short circuit racing (one step up from banger racing!).
Here is the problem.
I have searched this forum and 'the other one' for answers but cant solve it.
:bang:
On start up (and it starts and runs perfectly), it will take 5 minutes max to go from cold to nearly red on the temp display and the fan doesnt cut in.
So far i have....

removed , checked ok and refitted thermostat.
flushed , refilled and bled the coolant from both bleed screws. No blockages in hoses or radiator.
The radiator, top and bottom hose, and heater inlet/oulet hoses all warm up.
The fan will run fine when wired up direct to battery but this will not cool engine even when wired on permenantly (according to dash temp anyway).
There is no loss of coolant anywhere.

Am i now left with water pump and head gasket scenarios? Or is there more to this overheating than i know about as i am no Fiat expert. Water temp sensor?


I would really appreciate some help here, even if you just agree with my assumptions. :worship:

Oh and one final thing, there is no heater matrix as this is removed as well as dash and interior. The inlet and outlet hoses are removed and joined together if you think this may cause it.

Thanks everyone.
Matt

coolant temp sensor or its circuit is probably faulty. either that or the temp gauge is faulty. since the coolant temp sensor switches the fan on, and fan doesnt come on when it is hot on gauge, it suggests the gauge is the problem rather than the temp sensor, however if the fan relay is also faulty it could mean both the fan relay and temp sensor are faulty. the relay is often faulty due to corroded connectors so i'm 50:50 betweeen the 2 possiblities at the moment. have you tried banging your fist on the instrument panel and checking both its connectors are securely fitted?

Maybe too late to ask but.. why the 1.4? Isn't the 1.2 a better choice?

Many thanks for your quick replies. Its doing my nut plus not having a manual doesnt help (book not gearbox!) lol.

Jug
Ok so the coolant temp sensor is the one screwed into the thermostat is that right? will have a clean up of connectors. Where would the fan relay be, is it under the bonnet just behind the battery area? Found a great big 40amp fuse under there which i think was for the fan?
Finally the dodgy intrument panel, i ave heard of this when scanning forums. The difference is, there is no dash left! I have the instrument panel plugged in just for checking temp and warning lights at the mo. Maybe i have damaged/dislodged something. I would love it to be this!

Hellcat
I was given the 1.4 as a freebie after a minor electrical fire under the bonnet. Its how much i like to pay for my cars...nil! lol. The class i race is upto 1450 cc with carb or SPI so thought i would give it a go. Likely to get my ass kicked but at least it's something different on the track. Previously had Metro's Nova's Astra's Triumph Acclaims(!) Nissan Sunny. Don't think anyone tried a Brava yet. Also i dont hold out much hope for the engine once it starts getting thrashed. Alresdy had the spray bar block just while ive been prepping it! All sorted now and running sweet apart from overheating. Is the 1.2 a stronger/more reliable engine? similar performance?

Cheers
Matt


If you interested
http://www.standlakearena.co.uk/

rules - http://www.standlakearena.co.uk/rules_2007.htm#Prod Rods

Matt783 said:

Jug
Ok so the coolant temp sensor is the one screwed into the thermostat is that right? will have a clean up of connectors. Where would the fan relay be, is it under the bonnet just behind the battery area? Found a great big 40amp fuse under there which i think was for the fan?
Finally the dodgy intrument panel, i ave heard of this when scanning forums. The difference is, there is no dash left! I have the instrument panel plugged in just for checking temp and warning lights at the mo. Maybe i have damaged/dislodged something. I would love it to be this!

Click to expand...

correct its screwed into thermostat housing.

the fan relay in on the front of the battery tray. inbetween the fan and battery.

the fact that you have no dash only adds to the probabilty that you have instrument panel problems, if the wiring is supporting the weight it could easily get damaged.

i forgot to mention, we can be certain that it is not actually overheating because it gets to max on gauge within 5 mins, and thats not possible.

Jug
Yes certainly strange it would reach it so quick and that was from total cold! Also noticed that the fuel gauge is reading nothing and that isnt right either! Can't find any obvious wiring damage. Connectors on rear of instrument panel are ok and pins are all straight.
Im thinking of perhaps getting a seperate temp gauge to plug in and see where im at. It's the only feature i really need from the instrument panel.

Will have another look later on.
Many thanks for your help. I will let you know how i get on.

Matt

SORTED!!!!

And the answer was.........none of the above.
Well not quite. It was to do with the display. When removing the interior i had removed an earth which i thought was for some equipment that i was taking out. Turns out it was for the dash too.

I was sat in the seat thinking what the hell is it, and i saw it. Turned the ignition on, stuck it on some bodywork and hey presto. Temperature fell to almost nil. and i had a 3rd of a tank of fuel!

Unbelievable. 2 days work for that! lol

Many thanks for your time Jug. I think your comment about the speed which it appeared to heat up convinced me to look harder inside so thankyou!

Right.. now just gotta take the glass out, the fuel tank, add an electric fuel pump from a cavalier and a regulator...........oh bugger it im off to the pub!!

NIce one mate, get some piccys of your racing to 'show off' your mobile!

mountainmachine said:

NIce one mate, get some piccys of your racing to 'show off' your mobile!

Click to expand...

Work in progress!!

Nice one i like the blue and white stripe.

:woot:

by the way, the spray bar blockage is very very common, if that was blocked you can almost guarantee the oil pick up pipe is also blocked. i know from other memebers that it is a good idea to bathe the pipe in parrafin to reomve the sludge inside.

jug said:

:woot:

by the way, the spray bar blockage is very very common, if that was blocked you can almost guarantee the oil pick up pipe is also blocked. i know from other memebers that it is a good idea to bathe the pipe in parrafin to reomve the sludge inside.

Click to expand...

i removed and soaked the spray bar and got the blockage out with some wire - The blockage was rock solid! Like i say it runs sweet now as i rectified it before permenant damage, but which is the pick up pipe for future reference (is it seperate to the spray bar)? I this a pipe which runs from the bottom to the top of the engine? If so, how easy is it to remove?

It's the pipe that sits in the sump.. sucking the sludge out of the bottom of the sump and up into the spray bar

i dont know how to remove it, i havent owned a 1.4 before, but several people on this forum have done it so hopefully someone will be able to describe how to do it for you.

ah right. How easy is the sump to remove? Might take that off and clean out when i do an oil flush.

sump is just a few bolts, not sure if you need to loosen the gearbox off a bit to get it off (usually dont but on some cars you do), but either way the gasket usually makes it very difficult to prise the sump off once the bolt sare removed, often making people (me) think there must be more bolts.

Its good to have you backjug! LOL

bandido41 said:

Its good to have you backjug! LOL

Click to expand...

i wrote that post before my ban, but thanks anyway its good to be back.