Technical Broke down today...

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Technical Broke down today...

Pink Princess

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Hi everyone!

Just joined the forum, hope someone can offer some help..

I have a Pink 2010 reg 500C and on my usual commute to work today in traffic my console beeped at me to state the radiator temp was excessive and turn the engine off (basically overheating).

I pulled over and popped the bonnet, there was no steam but once it cooled down I opened the coolant cap to discover no coolant... (My fan had been on a lot lately but I thought it was just due to the warm weather). I've only owned the car a couple of weeks!

I limped it to a local supermarket and bought some coolant but it immediately poured out on the floor beneath the engine to the rear passenger side. Like a typical woman I called my husband to come and rescue me (he is an amateur mechanic) and he quickly found a coolant pipe which has become detached. It's a fairly small pipe which sits directly under what seems to be an ECU control module to the right-hand side of the engine as you look at it straight on. He didn't have time to look at it in any detail yet so we're unsure if it's broke or just popped off

Is this anything someone else has encountered? Has anyone got a diagram of the coolant pipe I'm describing I can look at or can anyone with a Haynes Manual take a snap of the coolant system for me so I can show my husband?

Need to get her fixed up ASAP :(

Thanks in advance
Rach x
 
Hi it's probably the thermostat housing which is plastic and often breaks, check to see if the current housing is plastic or metal, if plastic replace it and refill and all good.
£20 for new stat plus coolent, check the level for several days after filling, use a strip of card in tank to check level, and be EXTREMELY careful with the bleed screw in the heater hose.
 
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The original hose clps are typical of manufacturers all, cost cutting. They are very cheap and a failure is frankly not surprising. I have had to change on on the inlet pipe at the turbo on my Bravo and was actually surprised myself at how poor the original was. I hope you get this fixed cheaply and that the car then goes well for you. Not the best start, but hopefully a one off. Likely the car was losing coolant and that why someone traded it in. Anyway, good luck.
 
Sounds like the pipe that connects to the main metal water pipe. I've replaced one of these hoses and it's quite an easy job. I use reusable jubilee clips rather than the ones that come on the car.

If its the water pipe(metal) that runs behind the exhaust manifold and in front of the engine that its come off from, then its possible the pipe has failed(mine failed but because I pushed a screwdriver through it to test its life=zero) this pipe is reasonably easy to replace at modest cost.

Keeping a 500 going after say 5 years old requires FAR more replacement parts than you would expect on such a young car, thankfully most parts are very cheap but to give you an idea I spent £1200 on parts that I fitted on our 6 year old car, that said its unlikely they will ever need replacing again.
 
Keeping a 500 going after say 5 years old requires FAR more replacement parts than you would expect on such a young car, thankfully most parts are very cheap but to give you an idea I spent £1200 on parts that I fitted on our 6 year old car, that said its unlikely they will ever need replacing again.

IMO OEM component quality is one of the biggest weaknesses of the 500, and a good reason for replacing what fails with aftermarket parts from reputable manufacturers, where possible.

If you're planning on keeping one for 6yrs+, there are a couple of potential rust traps that are worth protecting; one is the rear beam, particularly the area around the spring cups; the other is the sump.
 
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Hi it's probably the thermostat housing which is plastic and often breaks, check to see if the current housing is plastic or metal, if plastic replace it and refill and all good.
£20 for new stat plus coolent, check the level for several days after filling, use a strip of card in tank to check level, and be EXTREMELY careful with the bleed screw in the heater hose.

This sounds very likely as my husband took a closer look when he finished work and saw that there is a small black plastic pipe still within the hose which has snapped off..

He hasn't taken the control module off yet to see what it was that has broken but it sounds like what you describe so I'm glad to hear it's probably a cheap fix!
 
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You don't need to remove/disturb the ecu, but removing the battery and it's tray gives much better access, with that removed also check the condition of the "engine earth strap" going from the gearbox to the body of the car often its badly corroded but is a £3 off ebay if you need one ( 8mm hole size 250mm long-I think)
 
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You don't need to remove/disturb the ecu, but removing the battery and it's tray gives much better access, with that removed also check the condition of the "engine earth strap" going from the gearbox to the body of the car often its badly corroded but is a £3 off ebay if you need one ( 8mm hole size 250mm long-I think)

Continuing on from what John says, if you do remove the battery & tray, then I'd change the clutch fluid (a 10min job at most with the battery tray removed). I'll bet it's not been done since the car was built. See this thread.
 
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Continuing on from what John says, if you do remove the battery & tray, then I'd change the clutch fluid (a 10min job at most with the battery tray removed). I'll bet it's not been done since the car was built. See >Link< this thread.

Many thanks for the heads up! I'll get him to check it out although the car's clutch seems fine at the moment (touch wood)
 
Continuing on from what John says, if you do remove the battery & tray, then I'd change the clutch fluid (a 10min job at most with the battery tray removed). I'll bet it's not been done since the car was built. See this thread.

I completely agree. Change the clutch fluid while you are there. It made a difference on my last Panda and really is easy while you have access. It should be a 2 year service item really.
 
Hi it's probably the thermostat housing which is plastic and often breaks, check to see if the current housing is plastic or metal, if plastic replace it and refill and all good.
£20 for new stat plus coolent, check the level for several days after filling, use a strip of card in tank to check level, and be EXTREMELY careful with the bleed screw in the heater hose.

no body adding a link to the thermostat failure threads..?? :confused:

I've looked in both FAQ's and GUIDES.. there is no mention..:eek:

strangely my 2004 panda has needed non of this remedial work.:)
 
If you only bought the car a couple of weeks ago and it was from a dealer you should go back to them and get them to sort it or at least pay for the parts for your prtner to fit.

Robert G8RPI.

Brought it private mate

Can anyone inform us how the hell these clips work? Got the yellow part of the fastener off but the clip will not come off the old thermo housing!
 
Got it all done in the end, some nugget had plugged the thermostats electrical clip on upside down!! No wonder it was such an effort to get it off...

Fingers crossed there is no more issues (hope the headgasket didn't blow)

Thanks for all your help everyone!
 
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