Hi,

I have a 1992 Panda 1000 CLX. It generally goes very smoothly, but this week, suddenly, the engine has become very lumpy indeed, to the point of being undrivable. The facts are:

- When it happened there was a sudden loss of power and the car stalled. Eventually it re-started but was driven the short distance home very, very slowly (side roads, hazards on etc)

- On trying to start it at home, it will start reluctantly, sounds lumpy, mis-firing and stalling out if I lift off the accelerator pedal. It smells unusually strongly of petrol under the bonnet after trying to start it

- There appears to be no fliuds leaking/loss. Oil is clean and at the usual mark

- I haved checked the distributor which seems very clean and in good condition. Plugs and leads all look fine

- It has been cold over the last week or so (well, for London any way!)

I was erring towards a problem with fuel or ignition but was stumped by the fact that it was a sudden event rather than a gradual deterioration of performance

Does anybody have any suggestions?

Many thanks

Probably the coil/spark related

hi Torridon1, i was just about to start a thread explaining my recent problem on the way to the shops, when i noticed you had already written pretty much the exact same symptoms of what my panda has just done lol. i agree with goodgirl156, that was what i thought as well, so i have just ordered a new coil and will arrive tomorrow, when i get it fitted i'll post on here how it goes, hopefully it will solve the problem.

Hi powerpanda,

Thanks for getting back to me. It is comforting to know that this sort of thing happens to other people too!

I will await your news with interest. (Our Panda will not be sitting quietly for a weekend or two. I will not be fixing anything in snow, but I see you are in Newcastle, so you must be proper hardcore!)

Thanks again

Torridon1 said:

Hi powerpanda,

Thanks for getting back to me. It is comforting to know that this sort of thing happens to other people too!

I will await your news with interest. (Our Panda will not be sitting quietly for a weekend or two. I will not be fixing anything in snow, but I see you are in Newcastle, so you must be proper hardcore!)

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Living in lewisham is pretty hardcore most of the year...

wat ya talkin aboot its bloody T-shirt weatha this man!

ha ha, na i'm no hardcore when i went out today i was wearing two pairs of trousers and two coats! anyway i got the old coil off then popped into my local parts shop to pick up the new one, but they had been sent the wrong one, so hopefully it will be there by tomorrow or the next day, so will let you know how it goes when i get it, hopefully it will fix the problem

powerpanda you have PM

right... here's the latest, i fit the new coil yesterday while it was caking it down, and started it up and it sounded nicer and ran a bit smoother so i took it for a drive, got about two mile away from home (fun walk home) and then it suddenly spluttered a little then died on me and wouldn't start up again. so doesn't seem like the coil has solved the problem but on the plus side it did run smoother.

anyone got any suggestions on what else could be the problem?

Have you tried all the electrical connections on the engine. Might be worth doing that first as its the most inexpensive option.

Did it make an atempt to fire once it had died? Or was the engine just turning over with no hint of life?

Any smell of fuel while trying to start it?

I doubt you did, but did you have a spare plug with you and an asistant to check for spark when it wouldnt fire?

Harllequin said:

Have you tried all the electrical connections on the engine. Might be worth doing that first as its the most inexpensive option.

Did it make an atempt to fire once it had died? Or was the engine just turning over with no hint of life?

Any smell of fuel while trying to start it?

I doubt you did, but did you have a spare plug with you and an asistant to check for spark when it wouldnt fire?

Click to expand...

hi, it has new spark plugs and a new distributor and i tried some of the electrical connections, but will check them again

it did make one attempt to fire but after that it just turned over and it started to smell of fuel.

and yes i managed to get my mate to check a spark plug but it was working fine. as for what i'll try next, i was thinking a new condensor then checking the points again... i'll get there in the end.

Like others on here from time to time and even more so in this weather I have had the timing belt slip a couple of teeth....worth checking maybe..

Is it fireing up from cold ok?

What dizzy does it have? Is it electronic have points?

I'd go for the condenser next too Powerpanda, points are quite expensive and generally reliable on the FIRE engine, just make sure they're set right.

Torridon1, Dist. cap and rotor arm might be worth a try, otherwise you're probably looking at an engine management problem. Make sure all plug connectors are dry and making good contact as a start point.

right i think i have now solved the problem, being quite new to the whole panda scene i knew nothing really about the ignition set up but now seem to have it sussed, i'm not sure if you have the same set up as me torridon1 (magneti morelli) but after replacing the coil and having no luck i trawled through the forum looking at old posts and noticed that there was a lot of mention of a electric ignition module causing the same problem so i got a new one (intermoter part number: 15450) and fitted it yesterday and bingo it seems to be working a treat, it now starts and runs like new!

i bet if i had been more clear with my original post and said exactly what set up i had then everyone would have told me that would have been the problem in a few seconds lol :doh:

Bloody hell!!!

Kidda I've got one spare you could have had from my attack of Panda electrics

Powerpanda,

Well done on sorting out your problem (and maybe mine). You must be pleased. A poorly panda outside the house is very depressing!

Where is the Electric Ignition Module that you replaced located? Was it easy to replace?

I will to begin eliminating possible suspects by replacing the parts that may be at fault. As your symptoms were so similar to mine, the electric ignition module seems a good place to start (if I indeed have one etc)

If this fails to work I will be back to the forum before the next step

Thanks to everyone for their help so far.

Torridon1 said:

Powerpanda,

Well done on sorting out your problem (and maybe mine). You must be pleased. A poorly panda outside the house is very depressing!

Where is the Electric Ignition Module that you replaced located? Was it easy to replace?

I will to begin eliminating possible suspects by replacing the parts that may be at fault. As your symptoms were so similar to mine, the electric ignition module seems a good place to start (if I indeed have one etc)

If this fails to work I will be back to the forum before the next step

Thanks to everyone for their help so far.

Click to expand...

Is your Panda a carb'd or injection model? They changed over in 92'. If it is a carb I don't think it won't have electronic igntion so therefore it wont have the module, if it is an early injection model (bosch system with distributor) it will have the module.

To clarify all 4x4s had carbs but had electronic igntion, but all carb'd 2WD Pandas had non eletronic ignition.

Thanks for the information.

As you would expect, mine is a 1992 model so currently unsure. How do I establish whether it has electronc ignition or not? My guess is that it is not, as the coil goes straight to the distributor and they go straight to the spark plugs - no electronic boxes of tricks inbetween.

Thanks

The ignition module is on the side of the distributor. It will either be a little black or silver box.

You can just see the top of it in this pic on the right hand side. Its the bit on the other side from the flying saucer.

https://www.fiatforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=74535&d=1267463582

Thanks for the picture and the description. I will have a look in daylight and update on Tuesday/Wednesday