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Technical Clock resetting when ignition switched on!

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Technical Clock resetting when ignition switched on!

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Chas in Greece

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Hi,

When I put the key in the ignition of my Panda Dynamic 1.2 recently the clock resets to zero and sometimes the fuel guage mis-reads. No other electrical problems.

This normally happens in the daytime when the outside air temp is in the high 30's low 40's but not when it has cooled down at night. Strange?

Car kept in open.

Have read that this could be a fuse?

Anyone have any ideas?
 
Chas in Greece said:
Hi,

When I put the key in the ignition of my Panda Dynamic 1.2 recently the clock resets to zero and sometimes the fuel guage mis-reads. No other electrical problems.

This normally happens in the daytime when the outside air temp is in the high 30's low 40's but not when it has cooled down at night. Strange?

Car kept in open.

Have read that this could be a fuse?

Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Same problem of the clock resetting on start up and I read this and thought - can't be - the engine fires up straight away! Just seven days later on a cold morning the battery was dead as a dodo.
 
Yep, it's the battery on it's way out. The next stage , if you don't change the battery, could be the odd power steering fault and/or strange starting problems.
When you change the battery, think about getting the bigger size listed for the 1.3 Multijet diesel, it may well be cheaper than the smaller original battery and will fit the battery holder.
 
Ain't it nice of Fiat to let you know by the clock exactly when you need to change the battery!

They'll be giving you a dash display soon, letting you know when to change the car!
 
This issue (and others related to it) is more common than you might think.

Scarcely a day goes by on the forum without my making a post that includes the word 'battery'.

It's probably not a good idea to keep using a battery until it fails outright. Have a read of this post.
 
Last edited:
well like most modern cars these days there is a lot of electrical equipment as standard ie electric power steering central locking electric windows ect ect so it is no surprise to me that a battery has a hard life and needs changeing regularly
 
rick500 said:
well like most modern cars these days there is a lot of electrical equipment as standard ie electric power steering central locking electric windows ect ect so it is no surprise to me that a battery has a hard life and needs changeing regularly
Click to expand...

Many modern electrical devices measure battery voltage digitally and shut down completely or refuse to function if the voltage is outside specified limits to protect both the device and the battery. Mobile phones and computers are two good examples of this - your mobile will report 0% battery and shut down before it completely flattens (which could permanently damage the battery).

As little as a thousdandth of a volt could be the difference between a system such as the PAS working perfectly, or not working at all.
 
Last edited:
Sweetsixteen said:
Ain't it nice of Fiat to let you know by the clock exactly when you need to change the battery!

They'll be giving you a dash display soon, letting you know when to change the car!
Click to expand...

I've no need for the dash display to tell me I need to change my car... Every time I go anywhere near the dealers for a part or anything else, they usually try to sell me a new car.
 
It might be just in case residents tried new battery terminal.
If no other symptoms do not meter itself bad?
Take the PANDA, but diverged from recent car on each terminal,
but in Japan they pulled one, even a little less loss repair methods.
Came with my poor English skills???
 
Hello everyone - help needed please! We have a lovely little Panda 1.2 basic model we bought new in 2011 to charge backwards & forwards to the golf club etc, as a runabout here in Exeter. Only done 17,000 miles, no problems whatsoever until now. Every time we've used it recently, the clock resets itself. Our clock / odometer screen is the single line one (called the STANDARD in the User Manual). I have seen lots of suggestions that the battery is on the way out. BUT in our case, even if we leave the car for a couple of weeks when we are away (as we did recently) the car ALWAYS fires up first time even on a VERY frosty morning as today without any probs AND without the starter motor turning over with that slow sickening uh-uh etc when a battery is dying, so we cannot see how the battery is the culprit, & I don't feel I should buy a new battery just to see if the clock works OK. Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated please.
 
PEANUTS STROMBOLI said:
AND without the starter motor turning over with that slow sickening uh-uh etc when a battery is dying, so we cannot see how the battery is the culprit, & I don't feel I should buy a new battery just to see if the clock works OK. Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated please.
Click to expand...

Modern cars rarely do that.
When the battery hasn't enough juice they fail to activate the starter motors relay, so just tend to "click, click, click" the relay repeatedly rather than whirr whirr whirr the starter motor, a la 1970's.

They also divert power to this circuit to gain a clean start, so when it's getting low it will no longer power "needless" circuits like the clock so it can power the starter, hence the clock resetting and flashing after a start up.

You might start suffering power steering issues and warnings as that's a power hungry system that relies on good battery power.

A decent new battery will sort it, but batteries need attention, they just don't like being ignored!
Short trips, long periods of idleness and cold/heat quickly kills them off.

If you are short tripping and/or leaving it stood for a while, use a battery charger on it every 4 to 6 weeks.
You'll prolong it's life quite a bit.
 
PEANUTS STROMBOLI said:
Hello everyone - help needed please! We have a lovely little Panda 1.2 basic model we bought new in 2011 to charge backwards & forwards to the golf club etc, as a runabout here in Exeter. Only done 17,000 miles, no problems whatsoever until now. Every time we've used it recently, the clock resets itself. Our clock / odometer screen is the single line one (called the STANDARD in the User Manual). I have seen lots of suggestions that the battery is on the way out. BUT in our case, even if we leave the car for a couple of weeks when we are away (as we did recently) the car ALWAYS fires up first time even on a VERY frosty morning as today without any probs AND without the starter motor turning over with that slow sickening uh-uh etc when a battery is dying, so we cannot see how the battery is the culprit, & I don't feel I should buy a new battery just to see if the clock works OK. Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated please.
Click to expand...

Measure the voltage drop as you crank the engine over.

An old analogue volt meter is better as the cheap digital are normally too slow.

Without measuring as it fails any suggestions are an educated guess.

Mine use to reset. Volts use to drop to below 8 volts while cranking. Yes it would still crank and start fine. Yes a different battery fixed it. Did run it like this for about a year as it didnt bother me and it was only occationly.
 
Those are definitely symptoms of 'new battery required'. Time to invest in a new good quality battery.
 
I had my starter motor replaced.

Now when I turn the engine on the clock goes back to zero. Also I count miles every time i fill the tank. That also goes to zero.

Has the grage done something or like suggested here I need a new battery? At £80-£100 want to be sure I do need one. thanks
 
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