General 69HP 1.2 engine pulling away problem

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General 69HP 1.2 engine pulling away problem

Mylife61

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This seems to be a common problem with late MK3 Pandas with the 69HP 1.2 engine. I have read and taken part in previous discussions here however my car is just coming up to three years old and I thought I would see if anyone had found a fix for it I can have done under warranty.
In a nutshell sometimes when you accelerate briskly from stationary in first gear the engine cuts out like it has hit the rev limiter even though the revs are way less. Either backing off the accelerator pedal or pushing it down fixes it but does cause quite a jerk. It's frustrating in what otherwise is a great little car.

Thanks

Peter
 
It's possibly a sensor, but I don't have a clue which one, there are loads of them. When you get it sorted please let us know what the outcome was and don't let it go beyond the warranty period as FIAT are not too well known for their goodwill gestures.
 
The only thing that fixed it was to disconnect the battery for 24 hours, unfortunately the problem came back in a couple of days. Maybe there is a clue in that.

Peter
 
This afternoon I decided to have a look under the bonnet to see if any of the electrical connectors were loose, Anyway I unbolted the air filter housing, who at Fiat designed that rear fixing should be given another job, and think I may have found something. Once the three bolts are removed the housing is attached to the engine by two hoses. The fatter one is connected to the camshaft cover and the thinner one loops over the top of the throttle body and is attached under the throttle body somehow. Anyway this thinner pipe has a long split along it. The pipe is not that flexible so I don't know if the split goes all the way through but seeing how long the split is I guess it must do. Anyone know what this pipe is for and if it would cause the problem, I am having?

Thanks

Peter
 
Sorry no but as you say it is a breather hose. It is the thinner but longer of the two hoses from the air filter assembly that goes over the top of the throttle body heading toward the bulkhead then dives down under the throttle body and is attached underneath. It does not go down as far as the sump. I cannot imagine that a breather venting into the engine compartment rather than the air filter will make any difference however I guess there are quite a few nuances that can affect fuel injection systems. As this problem only happens when accelerating hard in first gear I guess the ECU is being told to provide lots of fuel but then for some reason it is then being told somehow to cut the fuel. It is when the throttle pedal is moved up or down slightly that the ECU starts to provide fuel again. The engine will only either cut due to lack of fuel or lack of sparks. Bearing in mind the car is fine 99.99% of the time I cannot imagine it is an ignition problem

Peter
 
Here is a picture of the hose with the split. Apologies for the photo being on its side, I am not sure how to turn it. If the photo was the right way around the back of the air filter box would be top left, bulkhead top right and throttle body at the bottom. The hose is split along the top edge.

Peter
 

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This seems to be a common problem with late MK3 Pandas with the 69HP 1.2 engine.
In a nutshell sometimes when you accelerate briskly from stationary in first gear the engine cuts out like it has hit the rev limiter even though the revs are way less. Either backing off the accelerator pedal or pushing it down fixes it but does cause quite a jerk. It's frustrating in what otherwise is a great little car.

Thanks

Peter

Hi Peter

Did you ever find a cure for this? Mine is exactly the same and as you say it is frustrating to say the least. I have tried all manner of things in driving style, but it seems inconsistent, so sometimes I can floor it and it will go other times not, sometimes om a lighter throttle.:confused: I had thought it may be related to the clutch pedal sensor, but even if I am off the clutch it will still do it (or not). It is only in first gear.... and very irritating:(

Cheers
Nigel
 
Nigel,

Kind of. I ended up changing the ECU however that made the car even worse. I then sold the car less than 24 hours later, last July. I am the owner of a 2015 Hyundai i10 1.2, a great little car. In the past I had driven a few new Fiat Pandas, both 1.2 and twinair, the Hyundai has almost as much power as the latter with the smoothness of the former and is a much nicer car.

All the best

Peter
 
Nigel,

Kind of. I ended up changing the ECU however that made the car even worse. I then sold the car less than 24 hours later, last July. I am the owner of a 2015 Hyundai i10 1.2, a great little car. In the past I had driven a few new Fiat Pandas, both 1.2 and twinair, the Hyundai has almost as much power as the latter with the smoothness of the former and is a much nicer car.

All the best

Peter

Hi Peter

Oh, I must say that selling the car was not an option I had considered; I only bought it in february!! The i10 is a car I did seriously consider, but many I saw had rust bleeding out from under the screen rubbers and from behind trim and that rather put me off. Hopefully you have one of the good ones!! Many thanks for your reply anyway, food for thought!

Best wishes, have a good bank holiday weekend

Nigel
 
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