Technical 1.1 Petrol Panda Spark Plug Gap?

[henryrym]

Done a quick search, but can't find any info on for spark plug gaps for our '04 1.1 Active Panda - can any one help?

I've never done a Panda plug change before - looks like I need to remove the air filter plastic to get at them - hopefully remove a few bolts and then do the plugs, or is it more complicated?

Thanks

 

[doctorchris]

Gap on new plugs is preset so no need to adjust.

 

[lewey]

It isn't more complicated than you say, so go for it. Don't gap the plugs is my advice, use as they are out of the box. Modern ignition is very powerful and will bridge the gap. They expect large sparks these days. There is a risk of gapping the plugs poorly, damaging the electrode a little or making the gap too small that isn't worth it in my opinion. I don't know what the official line is and what others think, but this has been fine for me with systems newer than the late 90s.

 

[henryrym]

Got the plugs from Unipart - I'll pop them in tomorrow and see how she goes!

Thanks

 

[Pandablues]

At least check none of the gaps have been closed up in transit Gap is 0.9mm

 

[henryrym]

Dropped the replacement plugs in yesterday - the originals were set at 1.2mm, the Unipart supplied ones were set at 0.8mm, so re-gapped them to 1.0mm.

Can confirm that it was really easy - two bolts to remove the air filter gubbins and the plugs are there to take out - peasy!!

Now runs very sweetly, have just done a 100+ mile trip on motorways and B roads averaged 49+ mpg, sure that's an improvement on what we got before.

Thanks for the help, my only concern was that I seem to have an oil leak as the plugs had a light coating of engine oil on their outsides - none on the plug innards I hasten to add! The car has done 34,000 miles and I suspect the plugs have not been changed since new as they were the original Fiat ones.

Thanks again

 

[kmor panda]

Put in a new set of plugs in a 06 Fiat Panda 169, 1.1 engine and it was kicking on idle, and lacking power. The gaps were between 0.8mm and 1.1mm, so set them all to *1.22mm (closest to 1.2mm and the engine idle runs at 750 rpm (748-752), perfectly smooth, with both the kicking gone and the power returned. According to all the research I've done, Fiat engines want large sparks with large gaps.

One can't guarentee new plug gaps as any knock will change the gap.

* Feeler gauge 0.50 + 0.40 + 0.30 measures by verneer to be 1.22mm

 

[koalar]

Put in a new set of plugs in a 06 Fiat Panda 169, 1.1 engine and it was kicking on idle, and lacking power. The gaps were between 0.8mm and 1.1mm, so set them all to *1.22mm (closest to 1.2mm and the engine idle runs at 750 rpm (748-752), perfectly smooth, with both the kicking gone and the power returned. According to all the research I've done, Fiat engines want large sparks with large gaps.

One can't guarentee new plug gaps as any knock will change the gap.

* Feeler gauge 0.50 + 0.40 + 0.30 measures by verneer to be 1.22mm

NGK BKR5EZ @ .8 mm should run fine my 05 1.2 and 1.1 06 were

no idea why yours doesn't

at around 2mm the spark will fail to jump and can damage the coil pack

here in the UK NGK spark plug gaps will be spot on.

 

[kmor panda]

NGK BKR5EZ @ .8 mm should run fine my 05 1.2 and 1.1 06 were

no idea why yours doesn't

at around 2mm the spark will fail to jump and can damage the coil pack

here in the UK NGK spark plug gaps will be spot on.

My NGKs were 0.8 to 1.1mm. It seems that when they swam across the sea, they expanded the gap ;-).

In reality, they all should have been the same, but any knock in transit can easily change the gap. The cardboard tube that they are packed in should stop this. It is always a good idea to check the gap first. I didn't and needed to remove new ones and reset the gap correctly.

2mm may be too large, but it will not damage what is a transformer (coil pack). A short / verry narrow gap will burn out the transformer (coil pack). It may cause a fault in the leads as it will burn through what is a weak spot in old leads searching for the shortest path to ground.

 

[koalar]

My NGKs were 0.8 to 1.1mm. It seems that when they swam across the sea, they expanded the gap ;-).

In reality, they all should have been the same, but any knock in transit can easily change the gap. The cardboard tube that they are packed in should stop this. It is always a good idea to check the gap first. I didn't and needed to remove new ones and reset the gap correctly.

2mm may be too large, but it will not damage what is a transformer (coil pack). A short / verry narrow gap will burn out the transformer (coil pack). It may cause a fault in the leads as it will burn through what is a weak spot in old leads searching for the shortest path to ground.

this is how I see it, right or wrong

the bigger the gap, the harder the coil pack has to work, the hotter it runs, the quicker it fails

the only one I have failed was the over plug type, this had a faulty spring connection to the plug, it was enough to take out the windings