I've had cars stall suddenly when coils were failing. It's hard to diagnose as they can be intermittent long before they got totally titsup.

portland_bill said:

Two more things to check then.
IAC idle air control valve, controls the air supply when the throttle is closed. Might need a clean - carburettor cleaner spray.
Vac hose to servo, make sure no splits of leaks, extra air in will cause weak running.

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This is where to look.

A leaking vac hose from the brake servo or a rusted/holed servo it's self tends to cause a stumble when the car tries to return to idle when you brake to a stop as it interferes with the air being inducted.

You might be able to rule out the first if you can replicate the fault at a stand still, by reving up and pumping the brakes as it returns to idle.

If so it might be worth blocking up the servo take off on the manifold and try it again see if goes away. If it does it's the pipe/servo that leaking or the one way check valve is buggered.
(don't try this and try driving it, you'll lose assistance to the brakes and crash)


The idle control valve in the throttle body can become clogged up, but they are known to fail as well.

If you remove airbox and look down the throttle body, the idle control is inside the smaller of the two chokes.
Try a good spray of carb cleaner down there and leave it to evaporate.

If you knew how it should perform normally, I would suggest logging it via a scan tool, but you'd probably not make sense of what it's doing.

Perhaps there's someone that could bench test it for you if you get it off.

A quick update.

I drove the car yesterday, trying To replicate the stalling but still couldn’t, no matter what I tried. I took it easy and drove into town and around a few car dealerships and thankfully it worked fine. The revs at idle are still down at 750-800 though. But no stalling.

We’re now thinking it must have been a bit of dirt or blockage in the fuel supply which has somehow cleared itself out.

Each of the spark plugs checked had been burning fine, though in place since 2016. They’re genuine Fiat FPT ones. I bought new ones from AUTODOC in January and they turned out to be the wrong size despite being listed as compatible with the 60hp engine. The ones I got yesterday, NGK ones from a local motor factor also were the wrong size ...

I saw a nice 2015 Easy panda model in red. I’ve enquired about it and might possibly buy it on Saturday. Though my panda is working again and may well last another year or another week, it’s looking like time to source a replacement in the pursuit of dependability. Because this was a bit of a nightmare with work and other commitments.

There is always a trade-off between cost and reliability with older cars. Simple to diagnose stuff is fine but when odd things start to happen it could be anything.

Before you plump for the new car clean out the things discussed. If it's still looking flaky then you know its time to move on.

Without having to strip it down too much, I'm using it now this week to go to Omagh (about 30 miles from me) each day.


I'm going to make a new thread about the car I'm planning on buying. But this one will likely be kept in the family for my sister's bf if he gets his driving license sorted. Because even a few months of car is worth it for free?!


That, or sell it for maybe £300? But I'll keep the forum updated.


Thank you to everybody who has ever replied and assisted me with this 2005 Fiat Panda Dynamic. I can't believe it's been 3.5 years with the car, but if it wasn't for signs of trouble ahead and its age I'd happily keep it for another ten years! Lol


I'm also planning on putting together a video summarising my journey with the Panda from October 2015 until now. Many things have changed and it's been nothing but remarkably great company throughout! Despite it's Italian nature to rattle or have the odd part fall off...

SB1500 said:

Without having to strip it down too much, I'm using it now this week to go to Omagh (about 30 miles from me) each day.


I'm going to make a new thread about the car I'm planning on buying. But this one will likely be kept in the family for my sister's bf if he gets his driving license sorted. Because even a few months of car is worth it for free?!


That, or sell it for maybe £300? But I'll keep the forum updated.



Thank you to everybody who has ever replied and assisted me with this 2005 Fiat Panda Dynamic. I can't believe it's been 3.5 years with the car, but if it wasn't for signs of trouble ahead and its age I'd happily keep it for another ten years! Lol


I'm also planning on putting together a video summarising my journey with the Panda from October 2015 until now. Many things have changed and it's been nothing but remarkably great company throughout! Despite it's Italian nature to rattle or have the odd part fall off...

Click to expand...

Evans Halshaw have a few Pandas they want rid of. This one comes with optional low miles and tasteful steering wheel cover.

It's a target to aim for.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...from=2015&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

SB1500 said:

No codes! Checked it on a friends OBD reader. And I’ll check if there’s any yoghurt under the oil cap but I know oil and coolant levels were all good just before that journey began I checked them

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There are code readers and code readers. I do not trust generic ones to pick up that much. I have a misfiring Seat and the code reader also says its OK. It clearly is not. Try MES or get a Fiat diagnosis. In this case that may well save you so much heart ache and time it would be worth the cost. Dont forget to bargain with the garage on cost I have found they can be quite accommodating when asked nicely if they can help keep the cost down especially if the car is presented with the panel removed to make access fast. I hope you get it sorted. Its often easy to sell on and buy something else, but all your work getting it up together goes down the drain each time you change.

AB100 said:

Evans Halshaw have a few Pandas they want rid of. This one comes with optional low miles and tasteful steering wheel cover.

It's a target to aim for.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...from=2015&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

Click to expand...

Unfortunately here in NI I’m seeing two 2015 Panda Easy models, one for £4,4K and the one I’m interested in at £5.3k. If the dealer will drop it to under £5k I’m thinking of going for it. Here’s the link...

http://www.curtiscars.co.uk/used-ca...asy-hatchback-red-manual-petrol/id-243487323/