General The panda has had it.

[christopher watson]

Well not so much the car, but the charging system. I tried to start the car last night in the Tesco car park, and it gave the dying battery noise (rrrrr, rrrr, rrr, r), and wouldnt start. I kept trying to start it, but nothing . so i got a lift off my sister (the clio driver), and went back for my spare battery, which when fitted just made the starter motor click . I then tried to use the jump leads with her car but the positive post on her car is sealed so there was nothing to clamp on to . i put the old battery back in and then i called out the AA who sent out a non AA man who didnt seem to care, he turned the key and the panda burst into life, so its gone from a completely dead battery to something thats working like new . The guy checked the alternator and thats working ok, so it looks like i might be needing a new battery (priced battery today - £47 )

 

[Nuova500]

you had me worried then, but its OK in the end!

 

[christopher watson]

I was just wondering if it could be a loose connection somewhere, as the car started without any help?

p.s. Barry, if my car had really had it, i would have just put it in storage and fixed it when i had the money

 

[Steven]

£47 for a battery seems expensive.

 

[christopher watson]

£47 for a battery seems expensive.

Its was Halfords that said £47, some were much worse - Kwik fit were £69

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Cough cough! £69 f*** off! I got a Leisure battery for £50, my heavy duty battery was £40 (soundy system requiered it!). Check around the smaller shops, i have a great shop down here in somerset called car stock but there is allways one around!
Cheers
Si

 

[Alan.D]

Don't do that Chris I thought the car was finished

I got a huge battery for the BM for £47.

Are you sure it's not the starter motor that's sticking?

 

[christopher watson]

I was going to buy one from a local motor factor for £24 but it only comes with a 1 year warranty

 

[christopher watson]

Don't do that Chris I thought the car was finished

I wanted the most amount of people to look at the thread, so needed the worst sounding title

Are you sure it's not the starter motor that's sticking?

You might be right, as the past week or two, its been starting but sometimes i get a few clicks (bit like a buzz) before it starts

 

[Alan.D]

? and? most batteries are made by the same company and just diff stickers.

 

[Alan.D]

You might be right, as the past week or two, its been starting but sometimes i get a few clicks (bit like a buzz) before it starts

In that case buy a hammer instead of a battery.

 

[mrf94]

lets see starter motor bushes sticking or worn scrapyard job

solanoid burnt end, should come with starter motor

loose battery connections clean and replace clamps

furred up battery conections scrape with knife or use sandpaper
replace clamps after coating with vasoline

bad earth

bad conection on end of starter motor

now your on your own

mrf94

 

[christopher watson]

Update - The panda started today without a problem (or click), but seemed to be running a little iffy (a sort of - rrrrrrrr dip rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr dip rrrrrr), and there was petrol dripping from the exhaust . So i fitted the fuel filter that i bought on ebay (with the help of Alan and his Eper ), and i saw that an electrical connector beside the fuel filter had snapped (good ol duck tape fixed that), the car is now running very nicely, and its only exhaust fumes coming out of the back now

 

[christopher watson]

I havent used my panda for the past two days, and now the back brakes have stuck on

 

[Alan.D]

If your going to leave it a while put it in P on level ground & leave the handbrake off, but stuck after 2 days is a bit soon

 

[christopher watson]

Usually its sticks after leaving the car for only a day, but a little bit of power usually frees it (after a little bit of a bang).