General My New Cinquecento

[logarkh]

So I've purchased a Cinquecento as my first car, I don't really know much about cars so I guess I'll be asking a lot of questions. At the moment I don't have a digital camera in the house due to it being on holiday (without me) so I'll post some pictures another day! It's a blue Cinquecento S with tinted side and rear windows.

I got a Cinquecento because I hear that they are relatively straight forward for the budding car enthusiast. It cost me £200 and has 79,000 on the clock. I gave it a good vacuum today so it looks a fair bit nicer inside although I still need to wash everything down, probably even the fabrics as well as giving the outside a proper wash and get it waxed and polished. I've also debadged the rear end.

There are a few things that need doing as well as the fact that I will be wanting to modify the engine, interior or the car and exterior. The first thing is that the battery has died, I'll try jump starting it as soon as I'm able to but if that doesn't sort it out then I'll get a new battery. Next up is that the biting point is way too high for my liking, I've got a Haynes manual and have seen a guide on here that gives me plenty of advice on how to adjust that.

My next problem is that the red fuel injection light is showing up on my dashboard! Does anybody know what problems that could indicate and how to solve them? I'm also having a problem with my rear windscreen washer nozzle isn't providing any water, although the front one works so does anybody have a clue as to how to fix that?

So thanks for reading the post, I'll try and have pictures up in a few days and will get the inside of the car cleaned up in the meantime.

 

[rallycinq]

Most of your questions are answered in the FAQs.

Have a look there and come back to us with any you don't understand or can't find.

Cheers

D

 

[logarkh]

Thanks for the reply... unfortunately I didn't find anything in the FAQs about either of my questions although I did find something in the guides section about my washer problem. I did exactly what it says and there doesn't seem to be any kind of blockage in the actual washer or the pipe that goes through the rear door. I've also checked the connections underneath the washer fluid reservoir and they appear to be fine.

 

[fingers99]

For the rear washer, try swapping over the connections (under the OS front wheelarch). If you discover that the rear now works and the front doesn't you need a new washer motor unit. (Scrappy -- any Cinq one will do, Sei ones are different).

As to the warning light, could be a number of things. Any other symptoms?

 

[logarkh]

Okay I've just tried what you suggested and now neither the front nor the rear work so I'm putting it down to one of two things. Either I've messed up, or I've got a faulty motor and a blockage in the tube leading to the rear. The latter seems unlikely so, do you just swap around the rubber tubing or do you have to swap around the wiring as well, or is it just the wiring that you swap around and leave the tubing alone? I'd have tested this in more detail today however I have to get on with studying so if you could get back to me with an answer and I'll try it out either later tonight or tomorrow.

Regarding the red fuel injection light, I didn't notice any problems while taking the car for a quick test run but it was only a short test run and the battery died not long after the car got parked on my drive.

 

[fingers99]

You can swap both. Swapping connectors will test the motors, swapping the pipes will test for blockages.

 

[logarkh]

I have not had the time to do much yet, however I have just fitted a new rubber mounting on the exhaust to sort out the rattling noise I was getting sometime. I've also purchased all the items I need to fully valet the car and I'm going to try and make a gap in my studying for it. I'm going sort out the window washers in the next couple of days.

 

[logarkh]

Haven't been around in a while, I've sorted the battery out which got rid of the battery light obviously as well as the oil light and helped to reduce the amount of time that the injector light is on, I've put some redex in with the fuel now and I'm gradually seeing reductions in the injector light coming on. When I give it a proper test run I'll let you know what else I think needs doing.

Next up, increasing performance! Any suggestions?

Edit:// Oh yeah, I've messed around with the windscreen washers a little more. I had a leaky pipe leading to the rear washer and I need a new washer motor as mine's broken.

 

[fingers99]

Next up, increasing performance! Any suggestions?

Not a lot you can do economically with that engine, but there should be something in the FAQs or Guides.

 

[BumbleBee]

Whack a turbo in it. :slayer:

 

[levemircento]

Next up, increasing performance! Any suggestions?

whoa whoa!! one step at a time!! you have only just got this car yeah? and as you mention studying I assume you are a first time driver?

Before you start tweaking things in search of an extra horse, get the car running good as standard and get everything working properly, along the way you will learn about your car, how it drives, and what you need to do to keep it maintained.

You mention the washer fault, if you have a blocked or leaking pipe, either at the bottle or along the pipe, the motor WILL work. Check all your fuses, you can do as above post and swap the electrical connections over, to see which pump if any is at fault. if the pump is working, but no water at the jet then poke a pin down the jet, the rear pipe has a one way valve as it passes the front of the car, the pipe can split here, so check that.

As I said, get her up and running nice, and reliably before starting any mods