General Problems with my new cinq :-(

[mollsmum21]

Hi all,

Im new to this site and have a couple of problems with my car and im hoping someone out there will help me out lol

I bought the car on friday, its a 1997 Cinquecento SX, 900cc.
The car is in great condition but when i drove it to the petrol station i struggled to start it, but thought it was me and got it going and off home i want happy as larry.

However after a day i have the following problems, if anyone can help

1). Engine seems to be hard to start, this is if its hot or cold, it turns and turns but doesnt want to fire, then everntually it goes.

2) Every so often it just cust out when im driving, this has only developed this evening.

3). When the engine is left ticking over and gets hot, the fan kicks in, but it cuts the engine off. There isnt a temperature gauge in the car so i dont know how hot its getting, is it supposed to do this, surely the fan should kick in earlier to cool it down.

4). The fuel gauge seems to be all over the place never giving the right reading, it can be empty then full depending which corner i take lol, i assume this is the sender unit ??

i hope someone can help me out lol

emma

 

[allanhelen]

:wave: Hello and welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of owning a Cinquecento.

I'm no expert on the 899cc cinq but there are some around i can tell you however for your last point that all Cinq fuel guages are the same and the lights come on very early especially when cornering.

Just a bit of background on the car does it have a service history? and when was it last serviced? what milage has it done?

Are you planning on getting your hands dirty and doing bits yourself or taking it to a garage?

 

[mollsmum21]

Hi there, thanks for replying,

It hasnt got any service history with it, its just clicked 60,000.
My husband changed the spark plugs and the air filter yesterday, but it hasnt made a difference, he doesnt mind gettig his hands dirty, and is cheaper than a garage lol.

 

[rallycinq]

I'd start by checking when the engine has failed to start whether there is fuel and/or a spark present.

If fuel seems to be absent, and its easy enough to check by turning the car over while watching the fuel in the TB. If you can't see a flow of fuel I'd go with a fuel filter. Its under the car in the middle and is often ignored during a service.

If fuel is there, I'd then be looking a filth on the crank sensor.

Oh, and Welcome.

Cheers

D

 

[mollsmum21]

hi there rally,

so how do i check if fuel is present ? Whats a TB and where is it located?
There should be a spark as they are new spark plugs thats in.
Wheres the crank sensor so i can have a look ?

cheers

 

[rallycinq]

TB is the throttle body on top of the engine. Remove the cap and look into the top while someone turns the engine over.

The spark plugs might be OK, but if they are not getting a signal then no matter how new they are they won't work. Check for a spark

Crank sensor is pointing at the toothed wheel on the crank pulley.

Cheers

D

 

[andre88uk]

My cinq fuel gauge comes on at just above 1/8thof a tank so i could be doing nearly 100 miles on that ... i would not worry about it to much just dont let it go to low.

also check to make sure you have coolant in the car as this may help keep it colder?

 

[pasotibbs]

It could be the main relay at fault (white box on the N/S inner wing)
My Cinq randomly would not start unless I turned the ign off and on again, I eventually traced it to the relay (dirty contacts not always making contact) and replaced it.
Mine never cut out while driving or when the fan cut in but failure of this relay would stop the engine.
The give away for me was that when the ign was first turned on the fuel pump didn't run (if you listen carefully you should hear the pump run for a couple of seconds)