Hi, I have a 2006 Fiat Panda 1.2. It has a flatspot during low rpm acceleration when the engine is at normal operating temperature. On cold startups it doesnt have the flatspot until its at normal temperature. Also there is a "rattling" sound coming from the engine when the car is revved at a constant 2400 rpm.

Could anybody post me info on this problem

The rattle could be the exhaust heat shield. Check if any of the fixings bolts have fallen out/slackened off.

The rattle isnt a "hard" rattle on the outside of the engine but rather something "deep". All the fixings on the engine is fastened and not loose.

My first concern is the flatspot under acceleration. No engine warning lights are on. Thinking about buying an OBD cable to maybe see if there's error codes.

bruce1234 said:

My first concern is the flatspot under acceleration. No engine warning lights are on. Thinking about buying an OBD cable to maybe see if there's error codes.

Click to expand...

Hi ,
I suspect a sensor is slightly out of range - giving you an incorrect mixture when warm - BUT o.k. when cold,
Try disconnecting the battery overnight , then reconnect , and start-up without any throttle input, and let it idle until properly warm - then drive as normally,
this takes all the sensor settings back to " factory settings" - then they re-learn as you drive,
this works well on all our FIRE engined cars..!!,
Charlie

Charlie.

Thanks very much. will try this tonight and at the same time i bought new spark plugs too to install. The car is 6000km from the 100 000km service which should change the spark plugs.

Theo

hi

i have driven the 1,2 .. isent it one long flat spot lol .. sorry bad humor !

i support getting a OBD II cabel like the ELM327 1.4 and fiat ecu scan.. check temp sensors..

Update:

Disconnected the battery terminal last night. This morning, started the car and let it idle to normal temperature. When it started to heat up, i noticed a misfire. It misfires for about 3 seconds, then runs smooth again. When it misfired, i heard a clicking sound coming from the cylinder on the left (left cylinder when in front of the car). It had a spark jumping from the plug-lead to the cylinder head when it misfired. What is the source of this problem? (A faulty plug lead, Coil pack or spark plug)

Did not change the spark plugs because the guy gave me the wrong sparkplugs....(seems 1.2 pandas has a number of different plug versions)

Possibly the lead was damaged when the plugs were changed (how mine are OK makes me wonder, I was pulling so hard on two of the things I could have gotten work as a Panda lifter). Try pushing the offender down onto the plug, making sure it's connected properly. Otherwise I'd say you need one replacement lead - cheap way - or a full set - the ouch way.
Or...worst case scenario, you cracked the plug when fitting it! Try removing and replacing with on of the old ones and see if the fault remains.

Did not change the plugs, because the parts dealer gave me the wrong plugs and when I removed one plug, it still looked fine. The wire is on a plug that I didn't remove. I did pull the lead off though. Will swop out 2 leads to figure out if it is the lead, then replace it.

Could it be the "distributor"?

The don't have distributors. It'll be the HT lead failing. New set for about £20 and all will be good again

So I unplugged all the ht leads and re-seated them and changed the very dirty aitfilter too. Problem solved. No more misfire

... and the flatspot and engine noise at 2400rpm?

flatspot is gone. engine noise i suppose is just tappets or valves. A noisy tappet is a happy tappet!