Twin Air troubles

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Twin Air troubles

Mussolinisrevenge

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Nov 13, 2019
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Oxenford, Gold Coast, QLD
My 2013 Twin Air Panda is a great car once it has warmed up, but, first thing, when it is cold it is not.

It starts quickly enough but within second is popping and banging, most cold starts see the engine warning light and stop start warning lights lit up and the overpowering smell of unburnt fuel. the engine seems to run on only one cylinder and there is distinct tappet noise.

Endure this for about a minute, turn the engine off and it then restarts and runs normally.

I have taken it to the Gold Coast Fiat experts who are as baffled as me. It did have the wrong oil in the engine (Castrol 20W 40 I think)and the spark plugs were completely burnt out (most likely due to the use of 98 Octane fuel I was told) and so both were replaced but the problem is still there.

I have been told the likely culprit is the solenoids operating the inlet valves and that if this is the case it is going to be ruinously expensive.

My confusion is that once warm the motor runs perfectly. The new spark plugs and correct oil have it running better but I have to start the car and let it idle disturbingly until it starts to show some heat before "resetting the ECU" by restarting it before each drive.

I'd appreciate your wisdom/advice/lessons from experience. This is my first twin air fiat and I have no experience to base problem solving on. Thank you.
 
Are there any fault codes in dictating a misfire? You should be able to narrow this down to the specific cylinder, swap the coils and see if the misfire moves to the other cylinder.

It's possible that it's failure of the uniair module, but strange that it works after being restarted.
 
Hi there
The fault codes the first time I took it to the garage said a misfire on cylinder 2 but there were also codes for general misfire. They have swapped the coils around without any effect. On the first start up after the oil was changed the poor running was immediately stopped by the mechanic inputting that the oil had been changed into the computer ( however that is achieved?)
 
I think that you perform an oil change reset and it allows the uniair module to account for newer oil, but I think that this is not generally done now for some reason.

I would investigate the uniair failure symptoms as this is a common symptom.

Unless it's a cold start issue which rectifies after switch off and on but that could be any number of causes.
 
We also have a 2013 TA Panda

Unknown history.. 2 owners low mileage

But thats no guarantee :eek:

Ive had a 2013 punto TA from new.

The panda runs totally differently..
Perfect running from a hot..or cold..start

BUT..
Leave it so its 'halfwarm' and it will bugger about for a minute or so.. then as the temperature climbs then it is back to 'normal'

Supplying FIAT specialist found no faults stored..and changed plugs as a precaution

No change.. it still runs like 80's cars with the TwinChoke Weber fuel evaporation frustration. :(

But I can say 99.9% certain.. its NOT a fuel supply issue.

The uniair COULD be compromised.. but in 13,000kms that isnt likely

We have added the same again ..another 10k miles.. exactly the same :eek:

Shame you cannot get one of the old 'colortune' sparkplugs in it to see what the burn is like on its stumbling 1st run
 
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