Technical Handbrake Mystery Solved

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Technical Handbrake Mystery Solved

Liam

hi friends :waves:
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This may also solve some other people's problems hopefully.

Ok, some back pedalling to tell the tale correctly - I will have owned my Cinq for 3 years next April and before buying I had read of poor handbrakes. The one I bought had a poor handbrake but I was a cheapskate and just left it in gear all the time but come MOT time this didn't suffice.

Anyway, 1st time the handbrake was fixed it passed the MOT, worked for a month then was crap again (partly due to me forgetting I had one and driving away with it on!) so back to the old in gear method!

2nd MOT last year, same thing worked for a month and then nothing, speaking with my grease monkey he said the cable required a lot of adjustment to get very little braking. Also he was adamant that Fiat handbrakes were crap so nothing else could be done.

Monday there was the 3rd MOT and guess what failure due to handbrake! Repairs booked, expected the same thing, went to collect today to be told that Cinq Sporting handbrake cables have 2 adjusters on them and this is the one flagged by computers at the dealers and also the motor factor places but my grease monkey asked to see a 899cc handbrake cable which has 1 adjuster and the cable is shorter in length so the other cable which needed adjustment to take up slack wa the wrong one, the 899 cable was put on and now if I wanted I could do a 360 quite easily!

Only took a while but I know have a very good handbrake and hopefully next year the word handbrake won't be written by the MOT testers pen.

Cheers

Liam
 
Glad to hear you got it sorted Liam. I think with me having the later model cinq my handbrake cable is different than those of the early cinqs, when i first got it Brian and I were fixing the cable back onto the car and he said its different to his (Him owning a 96/97 cinq and me having a 98 R Reg Cinq). The only adjuster i have is on attached to the handbrake lever itself. I think its the same as a seicento.

David
 
Im confused...Are yu saying put the 899cc cable onto the Sporting?

Plus in my experience, both of mine have only had one adjuster - the one that the bottom part of the cable runs thru..
 
arseofbox said:
Im confused...Are yu saying put the 899cc cable onto the Sporting?
Yep, that's it exactly, it's a shorter cable and now that it's fitted the nadbrake is amazing, like it's a different car.

Tom see Andy D's post from Cinqs&Seis: -

Velly cunning - just had a look on ePER without putting in a VIN - there are
indeed two cables. Don't think it's as simple as sporting / sx cables. Using
my sporting's vin - 00977854 it says use part 7684513. Using my sister's SX
vin - 00392398 it also says use 7684513. The alternative part number is
46517955. Looking at the drawings, one uses a lever with extra adjustement
in the pulley mechanism, the other (like mine) has a lever which can be slid
fore & aft in elongated mountings.

AndyD


Have a look on your EPC.


Liam
 
peaster2k said:
Glad to hear you got it sorted Liam. I think with me having the later model cinq my handbrake cable is different than those of the early cinqs, when i first got it Brian and I were fixing the cable back onto the car and he said its different to his (Him owning a 96/97 cinq and me having a 98 R Reg Cinq). The only adjuster i have is on attached to the handbrake lever itself. I think its the same as a seicento.

David
Cheers D, it's great now mate.

My old cables one which was on the car and the subsequent two that also didn't work had 2 adjusters on them and the one I'm using has only one, maybe it's the same as yours now.

Liam
 
The handbrake on the cinqs and seis are different.
On a cinq you have a pulley wheel where the adjuster is and on the sei its a crescent shaped jobby. Its hard to explain i know. Heres the ePER cd picture, explains it better(Cinq on the left Sei on the right).
Incidently these pics were both taken from the cinq section suggesting that some cinqs used the sei system.
 

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Hmm, I'm kinda tired and maybe my brain is not working but I think my car has had the Sei cable on it previously and now it's back to the Cinq one.

Will clarify soon.

Liam
 
My car has the first system on it. I'm looking to change the rear brakes soon so if you can find out, liam? That'd be fantastic :D I can get hold of a 899cc handbrake cable without any hassle at all
 
Ok, seems the plot thickens!

The cable fitted to my car is a genuine Fiat part but it's not any of the ones pictured above!

Well, it is and it isn't. It the cable below WITHOUT the part highlighted which is the adjuster.

Weird.

Liam
 

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Liam,
They changed the handbrake late 97 and used the parts intended for the seicento. You can tell because the handbrake lever looks a bit weedier. I just fitted a new cable to mine last week. Cable is easier to fit as you dont need to remove the lower cover from the lever assembley. My cable is exactly as you describe. It could be that the revised handbrake went along with the seicento type steering wheel/column
 
If there's three different cables I'd suggest you take your number for spares from the vin plate to the dealer to order a new cable, they'll be best on the application they're designed for.

Crayon, have you checked the handbrake faq? a half decent setup should allow locking of the rears at speed.
 
Wwas mint when we had the car but all the handbrake turns have messed it up, even snapped the wheel on the bottom off.
Since then fitted all new
Cable
Shoes
drums
handbrake
pins and springs.
Handbrake works fine, but you really got to pull it up to get it to bite
 
Our's is pathetic. No matter what we do it still rolls on anything but flat ground. I've taken the slack up and checked the levers but it still does it. It had a new cable fitted this time last year by the previous owner. I wonder if they fitted the wrong cable?

It's a 96 sx? what part number should It have?

Jon.
 
CD says 76845613.

Problem with mine was all the wrong cable needed full adjustment just to catch meaning after a few weeks the handbrake was poo again. Best get a garage to order all the cables. find the best one and send the rest back.

Liam
 
Ok, seems the plot thickens!

The cable fitted to my car is a genuine Fiat part but it's not any of the ones pictured above!

Well, it is and it isn't. It the cable below WITHOUT the part highlighted which is the adjuster.

Weird.

Liam

:yeahthat:

My 03 Seicento Mpi the same & I've had it from V.Low (8K) mileage with no recorded cable replacement.
 
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