I am the owner of a '92 Panda 1000 fire with 201,100km on the meter!!!! (that's about 125,000 miles!!!!).

With the gear put in neutral and the engine still cold(in the morning), the revs are gradually dropping to the point where the engine finally stops. I must push the gas pedal all the time in order to prevent the engine to loose revs (something very annoying especially when you are stopped at red lights) . This happens up to the point where the engine warms up. From that point everything seems to work just fine. Yesterday I covered about 50 km with no problems whatsoever, even though it didn't start normally early in the morning.

My mechanic replaced the automatic choke valve on the exhaust manifold but the problem persists.

Does anyone have any idea what else may be wrong?I know that there is a gas solenoid that arranges the engine's gas feed. Do you think that replacing it will do any good?What about the lamda ("λ" as it is in greek) sensor on the exhaust?Does it affect the "cold" running of the engine?

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

All suggestions are welcomed!

I have a panda with the same problem... I had a mechanic look at my spark plugs, leads ect, and yes she's misfiring. (My Panda, not the mechanic...)

I've had to really adapt my driving, so that I use my hand brake as my brake at traffic lights so I can keep my foot on the accellerator and keep the revs up, which is fun, but I suspect quite illegal... lol!

If you DO get the answer can you let me know? Thanks!!

Richard.
[email protected]

There's sth wrong with the ignition system of the engine, that's for sure! Same (but when on the move) problem may also occur with a faulty gas pump. I know that because I replaced everything (spark plugs, new spark plug cables, even the catalyst...etc) up to the point where I discovered a faulty gas pump.

If the gas solenoid is old (as far as I can remember its a Bosch part sth that makes it quite reliable but nevertheless it needs replacement sometimes) it gets a bit tricky. The engine is having ups and downs when in idle, and usually cannot "correspond" to the gas demands when you push the pedal. Misfiring is definitely a clear evidence.(BUT consider also the gas pump!!)

I am thinking of getting a closer look to the solenoid, first thing on Monday. But, unfortunately I don't know if this will solve the "unwilling engine" problem.

My heart tells me to also replace the lamda sensor but my mind tells me not to (considering the price it may have)

At last I will have to follow the mechanic's idea of having a diagnostics test, sth that I see as a chance for him to earn easy money .

I will let you know if I have some news.

I'm not sure how Continental Pandas compare with the UK versions, but if it was a UK specification Panda sold new in late '92 or very early '93 with fuel injection, it would have Bosch fuel injection. (The later ones are Magnetti Marelli and have a twin coil ignition system)..

The Bosch ones have a conventional looking disributor and it is prone to the vacuum advance "popping", which gives you an air leak and rather stuffs up the mixture the engine needs when it's cold. The ignition timing is also retarded, and that doesn't help either.
(You can tell if the vacuum advance unit is popped by blowing (or sucking, if you feel brave) into the tube which feeds the unit - if you can blow through, it's broken).

The vacuum advance cartridge is available separately, despite what some dealers will tell you.

Also the lamba sensor doesn't work for the first minutes of warm up as it has to be up to temperature to work. Later ones have an integral heater to speed the process up - you can tell what sort you have by counting the number of wires the sensor has - 2 is no heater, 3 or 4 has a heater.

You can also get poor part throttle if the edges of the butterfly valve in the throttle body are gummed up with a sticky mess which can be cleaned off with a cloth soaked in something volatile - carb cleaner is ideal, brake cleaner works too, as would petrol.

You can get starting on three cylinders which clears on warm up with a leaking cylinder head gasket.

Wow! Thank you!That's a lot of information. You've been very helpful!I will check as mush as I can and hopefully I'll get to a solution.

Thank you very much indeed....