Big gerry
Member
Hi everyone I was wondering do panda ecu need updated do Fiat send out updates?
Technical Panda ecu updates
- Thread starter Big gerry
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Technical Panda ecu updates
I've never had anything from Fiat or had mine done at all, I go by the old saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it 
I may have jinxed it after writing this as my Panda has just had yet another strop as it has now thrown up both airbag lights & the yellow traingle warning both at the same time saying "Airbag Failure & Fuel Cut Off Unavaliable" which after looking on here & youtube videos 500's seem to suffer from this common problem which is faulty airbag modules & the Panda ones are the exact same part with the same part number so it could cost me £360 for a new airbag ECU from Shop4Parts & then it looks like it has to have a proxy alignment afterwards so more cost on topI've never had anything from Fiat or had mine done at all, I go by the old saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it
. I do like my Panda but it's stupid issues caused by unnessesary "crap" thats not needed in my eyes why I generally hate modern cars. To be honest I might think about outing the Panda if it keeps giving me annoying issues & just get a usable daily classic car, I've got my Classic Mini in the garage but it's too good to use daily but if the Panda carries on it might just happen
Unlikely to be the module - more likely a dirty contact in a plug somewhere. Ones such as in the seat belt 'buckle's on the seats are notorious for getting dirt in them, getting wet or corroded.I may have jinxed it after writing this as my Panda has just had yet another strop as it has now thrown up both airbag lights & the yellow traingle warning both at the same time saying "Airbag Failure & Fuel Cut Off Unavaliable" which after looking on here & youtube videos 500's seem to suffer from this common problem which is faulty airbag modules & the Panda ones are the exact same part with the same part number so it could cost me £360 for a new airbag ECU from Shop4Parts & then it looks like it has to have a proxy alignment afterwards so more cost on top
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Mine threw an error due to a dodgy clockspring track (I did have to replace the switch unit to, reliably, get rid of the error). This cheaper than an airbag unit!
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
I wouldnt trust any update to improve things. They do fiddle and my experience isit makes things worse. Think carefully before doing this!
So you mean the switch unit that goes underneath the stereo?
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No sorry; I meant the indicator/light switch unit which includes the clockspring.
I totally agree, leave well alone. I read somewhere once that one of the updates was to just stop the clock jumping ahead of itself, seriously Fiat
mine does it from time to time only takes a few seconds to adjust back to the right time
Ahh ok that makes sense, thanks for that I'll look into it
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Try turning wheel lock to lock a few times - that would clear the error on mine (it doesn't seem to "latch") but it would come back so I had to swap the clockspring, which is no big deal once you have mastered the springs that release the steering wheel centre with the airbag.Ahh ok that makes sense, thanks for that I'll look into it
Car dealers love to tell us ‘they’ll check for any software updates’ and will ‘install them for free’. Because weve all got used to PC or phone software updates we don’t question this. But those PC and phone updates are, more often than not, patches after hackers or virus find vulnerabilities in connected devices that are under constant barrage via the internet.
Cars are not like that. The ECU sits there and does what it needs without an issue. Once in a Blue Moon (timely comment!) they might spot there was a glitch and offer a patch. But normallly for something trivial like a spelling mistake in a warning message. Almost never can they/will they do anything you’d notice. No more power or economy, no smarter interaction with anything. Unless they find an error there. For cars with built in Sat nav, they might offer a map update but really that’s the extent of what a ‘software update’ might do.
Don’t get sucked into the sales pitch. If it’s working then it’s fine.
Well I decided to have a look at the Panda today when I got in from work, turned steering wheel from lock to lock as suggested which didn't work as it's still permanently on so to me that potentially rules out the clock spring, then I disconnected the battery, left for a few minutes whilst having a beer 
& whilst drinking my nice cold beer I noticed something looked a bit odd on the carpet by the footrest next to the clutch pedal, so after unbolting the footrest & removing it I was greeted by puddle of water that had gone through the carpet & on to the sound deadening, so I run my hand along the carpet up as far as I can get my hand up round the back of the dash following the damp trail to which at one point the trail was suspiciously close to the airbag module so I'm wondering if water has maybe gotten in it over time wherever it's coming in the car, it's not the duckbills as they are & always kept clean, then we decided with the battery disconnected to undo the connectors to the module & squirt some wd40 in there as they where very dirty/dusty, reconnected everything back up & tried it, which also didn't work
, my dad's going to have another look tomorrow in case we have missed something but we're both starting to think it could be worse case scenario & be the module itself as we've been all through the car this afternoon, there's companys that you can send the modules to for them to refurb & reset them but I also saw they can't always be repaired depends how far gone they are, I've got a bad feeling about this
& whilst drinking my nice cold beer I noticed something looked a bit odd on the carpet by the footrest next to the clutch pedal, so after unbolting the footrest & removing it I was greeted by puddle of water that had gone through the carpet & on to the sound deadening, so I run my hand along the carpet up as far as I can get my hand up round the back of the dash following the damp trail to which at one point the trail was suspiciously close to the airbag module so I'm wondering if water has maybe gotten in it over time wherever it's coming in the car, it's not the duckbills as they are & always kept clean, then we decided with the battery disconnected to undo the connectors to the module & squirt some wd40 in there as they where very dirty/dusty, reconnected everything back up & tried it, which also didn't work, my dad's going to have another look tomorrow in case we have missed something but we're both starting to think it could be worse case scenario & be the module itself as we've been all through the car this afternoon, there's companys that you can send the modules to for them to refurb & reset them but I also saw they can't always be repaired depends how far gone they are, I've got a bad feeling about this
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Ii had air bag light on Laguna. It was a bad connection plug under the drivers seat. Dealer said cut the plug off and solder the wires. It worked. Poor connections are still possible. If it were me I would get a dealer diagnostic before going that far. I find they do seem to get the issues identified better with the Fiat diagnostic kit.
There may be a development in solving the problem with the Panda(Luigi), I'm suspecting it's a problem with the seatbelts rather than the airbag module
as I've noticed when the ignition is turned on/started up, the 4 people figures for the seatbelts come up on the LCD display but the one for the driver's side rear seat is lit up permanent with no one sitting in the seat so the car thinks someone's in the seat when there isn't & the other 3 aren't lighting up at all when sat in, the seat belt buzzers aren't working apart from the one which is permanently lit up, , so suspect a sensor/sensors have gone somewhere & thrown pretty much all the system out
as I've noticed when the ignition is turned on/started up, the 4 people figures for the seatbelts come up on the LCD display but the one for the driver's side rear seat is lit up permanent with no one sitting in the seat so the car thinks someone's in the seat when there isn't & the other 3 aren't lighting up at all when sat in, the seat belt buzzers aren't working apart from the one which is permanently lit up, , so suspect a sensor/sensors have gone somewhere & thrown pretty much all the system out
There may be a development in solving the problem with the Panda(Luigi), I'm suspecting it's a problem with the seatbelts rather than the airbag module
I’ll check in a mo, but on the Panda, I don’t think the symbols ‘light up’ when a rear seat is sat in, only when the belt is clicked into place. I’m pretty sure there’s not a ‘load sensor’ under the rear seat cushions, only a switch inside the seat belt buckles themselves. (Unlike my other car, a Skoda with a digital dash, where the symbols show three states: empty seat, occupied seat, then that seat belt buckled up).
The front seats do have a sensor in the cushion and you’d expect the right hand most one to come on if you’re sat in the drivers seat while turning the key? On mine, you can drive a little way before the beeper sounds if you don'y put the belt on - far enough to open a field gate and drive though it unbelted so you can hop out to shut the gate once through it.
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