General 175/50R14 Tyre pressure on Seicento?

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General 175/50R14 Tyre pressure on Seicento?

hi Tara

you should have a skinni under the tailgate carpet it needs to be inflated
 
hi Tara

you should have a skinni under the tailgate carpet it needs to be inflated


'Skinni' means nowt to me, so I had to really think about what you were saying before it registered....

Did you mean:
"You need to inflate the spare wheel tyre too" :p
 
Hi Tara

yes but it is limited to 50 mph
and you inflate to pressure on the tyre
it is not a normal spare

Noel
 
Hi Tara

please can you confirm that

the radiator fan comes on occasionally?
the heater output is hot if it is on hot
and the level of coolant in the header tank stays the same when the engine is cold from one day to next
 
Hi Tara

please can you confirm that

the radiator fan comes on occasionally?
the heater output is hot if it is on hot
and the level of coolant in the header tank stays the same when the engine is cold from one day to next


Yes - the fan comes on
Yes - the heaters definitely get hot (though the air con is not as cold as it should be, but that's last on the list of things to look at / worry about)

I haven't checked if the coolant level changes from day to day.

Why do you ask? :)
 
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if the heater was not ok and the fan was not running intermittently then you would need to have it checked. ASAP.

the level of the coolant in the header needs to be constant when cold check day to day initially then weekly the level should be constant.

if it goes down the leak needs fixing promptly.

some (Fiat) autos are temperamental some reliable mine gets good mpg but eats parts girl on next block never has anything wrong.
 
you have air-con...? thats pretty rare in the UK, i had it but took it off to make space in my engine bay for more go faster bits O:)

If its not getting really cold you probably have a refrigerant leak somewhere, its worth going and getting it leak tested and the refrigerant topped up - It will only get worse and worse, and eventually once empty all the rubber seals dry out and it all needs taking apart and refurbing at that point - easier and much cheaper to go get it leak tested, any leaks fixed and it topped up now, the temptation now the weather is getting cooler to just leave it until it warms up again but i recommend sorting sooner ;)

Sure google will find someone local to you that can do it (requires specialist equipment that most 'normal garages' will not have).
 
you have air-con...? thats pretty rare in the UK, i had it but took it off to make space in my engine bay for more go faster bits O:)

If its not getting really cold you probably have a refrigerant leak somewhere, its worth going and getting it leak tested and the refrigerant topped up - It will only get worse and worse, and eventually once empty all the rubber seals dry out and it all needs taking apart and refurbing at that point - easier and much cheaper to go get it leak tested, any leaks fixed and it topped up now, the temptation now the weather is getting cooler to just leave it until it warms up again but i recommend sorting sooner ;)

Sure google will find someone local to you that can do it (requires specialist equipment that most 'normal garages' will not have).


Hi Blu :)

I've noticed that the normal heaters don't blow cold either - the other day on the coldest setting, they blew really quite warm.
Today when I tested the blowers, they were cooler but not cold. Is this why the air con doesn't feel very cold either?

Oh and when I turn the normal air blowers on the highest speed, there can be a rattling sound coming out of them for a while (like a piece of tin foil is blowing about inside the system)
 
Might just be dead leaves that have got into the inner pipework - mine does it too .... figure once it dries enough it will disintegrate and fly out in 5 million bits :)

As for air temperature, remember if you're not using the aircon then the coldest air you will blow is the outside ambient air temperature minus whatever the heatermatrix removes from it on the way past ( not much).
 
well on a non air con Sei the outside air enters the intake at the wiper pivots and passes through the heater matrix.

the matrix always has coolant in it and its temperature is controlled by a stop valve if the valve leaks even when turned off the air is always going to be warmer than ambient all you can do is divert the air to the screen and turn on heater fan and open window and sun roof.

Don't think the valves like hard water.
 
do you have an air-con button on the dash i guess would be a pertinent question here.. On the centre console there is 5 buttons, on most sei's there is a blanked one on the far right - if you have air-con is will be an actual button with a snowflake symbol on it.. Like in the pic below..
centralconsole1_small.jpg


Other big give aways would be the condenser, which looks like another engine radiator behind the bumper on the passenger side. metal refrigerant pipes going through the bulkhead to the heater matrix is another give away.

It is pretty rare option in the UK and i would be surprised if it has Air Con at all really.
 
Hi Blu

Yes the car really does have the red central air con button :)
When pressed, you hear the usual little noise that tells you its come on (on other cars, I've even felt the engine drop a little when activated)

I can take a pic next time I go out to the car (its not parked at my house)
 
Might just be dead leaves that have got into the inner pipework - mine does it too .... figure once it dries enough it will disintegrate and fly out in 5 million bits :)

As for air temperature, remember if you're not using the aircon then the coldest air you will blow is the outside ambient air temperature minus whatever the heatermatrix removes from it on the way past ( not much).

I had a ginormous dead moth hidden behind a vent once that blew out in bits (I was near sick as I have a phobia over them!)

The noise from behind the dash is more like a light piece of metal blasting around behind there as the sound is quite loud and tinny if you get me :)

As the heaters never blow cool, then from what you've said, they never will until the outside temp is very cold...trouble is, I won't need cold blowers then :-(
(When I first bought the car, I had to keep the blowers totally off, as the heat coming out of the vents was unbearable)
 
The heater cock might not have closed completely. But on all the Centos I've had it takes quite a while for the ducting and bodywork to loose the heat they've soaked up to the air, so you get air at ambient.

For reasons I don't understand, the MR2 becomes cool much sooner, while the Volvo T5 (which has air con which doesn't work) never really does, such is the heat soak from the turbo and exhaust.

A slightly drastic step would be to turn the blower on full and spray water from a pump bottle into the vents. That'll cool it quick!
 
Well when the outside air is -2C the heater does not get that hot, but the auto starts pretty easily and can get above 60 mpg on long runs.

But before it gets to near reaching 1C you need screen washer anti freeze in the reservoir bottle cause the bottle gets no heat from engine. It would have been better sited over the gear box near to a coolant hose.

The other cold weather problem is the fog lamps are useless in fog - 100% bling.
 
Hi Blu

Yes the car really does have the red central air con button :)
When pressed, you hear the usual little noise that tells you its come on (on other cars, I've even felt the engine drop a little when activated)

I can take a pic next time I go out to the car (its not parked at my house)

Well as fingers says if the heater is always hot rather than ambient then you probably have cock issues, have a search theres loads on this been posted over time. If thats the case then turning it to cold isn't actually doing anything so you still get hot..

But in anycase, AC systems should be sealed but leaks do happen and refrigerant boils at really low temps so there is often hardly any trace of a leak, but it will leave an oil residue at point of leak generally (R134a in this case, boils at -26.6 degrees). Once you are sure the cock for heater control is working go get the AC leak tested and topped up, google or yellow pages should find somewhere local that can do it. But do specify that you want it leak tested rather than just topped up - if its leaked then it will still leak so it needs locating and sorting (which involves completely removing all that left in it, then repairing and then should be refilled with fresh new refrigerant). I would leave it off until thats been done as i don't know if they have a fail safe to prevent them running in the event of refrigerant loss and that could damage it and it will be costly to replace.
 
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you probably have cock issues

Erm I'm not sure here's the place to discuss such things....:devil:


I will check out previous threads on the subject, but I forgot to mention something that kind of adds up now (I think)
When I get home in the car after short around town drives, I have noticed a 'hot' smell when I get out of the car - such as when you've got a radiator leak and the coolant is dangerously low (I hope I'm making sense, but I remember this smell from when I had a leak on a van in the past) Oh and the fan seems to run a lot too when stood still.

The coolant level is fine on the car, but if the refridgerant is boiling somehow when the AC is off, would this account for the smell I notice?

Thanks
Tara
 
No you won't smell ac refrigerant.

The rad fans on these do come on and off alot in traffic but shouldn't smell either. Why fiat omitted fitting a temperature gauge to the sei we will never understand. But if your coolant level is staying same and the overheating warning light doesn't ever come on i wouldn't worry too much. Just remember it should be flushed and renewed as a service item.

Fitting a gauge is always a good thing on the sei, there is a guide on here ;)
 
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