Hay Guys, New Punto Owner Got Problem!

[liaison]

Hay Guys, Just thought i would pop in and say hi!

Well found this place via google and thought it would make a good start to ask a very n00b question.... well here goes....

I passed my test in january and have only had my car for about 4 weeks! I have a small P reg Fiat Punto 1.1 (i dont know alot about cars so please bare with me when i try to explain things!!) and it blew up on my way home from work... well it started to shudder when i was at a junction and then suddenly cut out?? it took about a min to start back up. Anyone know what the hell is wrong with it as i dont have a clue???

I have included 2 photos as some pipe has blown on the engine?? can anyone help explain whats wrong before a call the garage and make a complete idiot of myself!! Thanks in advance guys!

 

[dave]

Thats Just The Hot Air Pipe, It Wont Be That,

 

[liaison]

Cool... so thats not too bad then(i'm guessing here)? is that easy to fix?? Any idea's on what could be up??? someone has mentioned to me that the timing belt could have jumpped a cog (or somthing along those lines??) as the car has become very sluggesh esp' going up hills?

 

[richcinq]

Could be the cambelt slipped a tooth as it was running fine then all of a sudden died. Is it really poor on performance or just a bit sluggish? Has the fuel economy changed?

 

[liaison]

Just seems to be sluggish... and seems to take a wile to pick up speed? It also takes a bit of time to start now? this and most mornings it seems to start straight away? very strange? Fule econemy seems to be ok tho! .... it has seemed slow for a little wile, howerver this may be just due to my lack of inexperience driving it as i havent been driving too long! anybody else here drive a 1.1 punto s (p reg) and notice its very slow up hill?

 

[richcinq]

Well its bound to be a bit slow up hill because its a 1.1 and the punto is a reasonable sze car for an engine that size. Has the uphill performace got worse since the cutting out?

 

[liaison]

Not sure.. bit scared to drive it just incase the engine folds on me I was lucky that i was only a couple of roads away from where i live when this happened. The power reduction is very noticeable tho! Me thinks its a trip to the garage asap to get it checked out! Do you think it will be safe to drive it roud the corner to work (then to the garage)? or am i best off leaving it and getting someone to pick it up (recovery?) Sorry for all the questions? this is all very new to me and my Dads all the way down south! Thanks for answering tho!!

 

[AppleSei]

Are oil/water/coolant levels all fine?

 

[liaison]

I've had a quick look and they seem to be ok! will check again in the morning when its light! Thats what i was looking for when i noticed the blown pipe and freaked out a little bit

 

[CinquePunto]

the pipe wont be the problem, the first thing I would check is the Lambda sensor, this affects performance at low revs, and can affect how quickly the throttle will fully open

 

[Fiat Fan]

welcome, hope ya get your car sorted

 

[liaison]

Thanks guys, little bit more settled now!! gonna get it looked at tomorrow! i hope its not too seriouse!

Then is down to doing it up a little bit! :yum:

 

[dave]

check coil packs, either by taking out a plug and checking for a spark, or with a meter as in the guides https://www.fiatforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=82

 

[liaison]

Thanks for the info on the ECU, was looking for that well off to sleep on it now, will let ya know when its fixed!!

 

[liaison]

Hay Guys, My cars fixed!!!! lucky one of my friends at work husband's a mechanic! The heat exchange was fixed (took him two mins) and the problem with the cutting out, stuttering & loss of power was due to the cover on the timing belt..... this had fallen off and got stuck and was trapping the belt causing it to slip!!!... cars driving ace now!!!!

Time to head over to the other foums and see how i can customise my baby!!!

 

[Bunny]

Welcome :wave:

Good to here you got your car sorted.