So we finally took our Panda on a decent run, just 50 mile round trip into the Peak District to the Oil Can Cafe near Holmfirth, there was a Practical Classics event on there and the weather was great so figured a Sunday afternoon drive would be perfect. Jenny also finally got to drive the car and the name is now confirmed, from this day forward he shall be known as Demitry
.
Before going we gave the interior a good hoover and fitted (sort of) the stereo. Stereo head unit went straight in with no issues, correct connectors were all there. Speakers however were another issue and will remain so (more on that later).
Things to be looked into, based on drive. Any advice greatly appreciated as ever:
The alternator is a little noisy, it doesn't seem to be causing any issues but makes a slight (though audible from inside the car) sort of whine. Not something that I'd want to pull over about but not something I'd be happy with prior to an international road trip! I had a quick search on the forum and something came up from Kolza circa 2012 about changing just the bearings? Though no conclusion on that thread that I could find. Is this something that can be done/is recommended? There are loads of different alternators out there which claim to be right for the car, any thoughs on if they are and if there are some to be avoided and some better than others. Obvious question, is this likely to cause me issues or is this something that is likely to go on forever (creaking gate and all that?). Could it be caused by incorrect tension on the belt? It does not seem too tight but obviously this is something I removed while doing the timing belt, I don't know if it was noisy before as never drove it!
A warning light came on, appears to be injector (or the shower wasn't working
). This only came on while we were coming back down the hill on the return into Manchester, where we were effectively engine braking for a long time. It did go out again as soon as we had to actually use the engine once we'd returned to level ground. Any thoughts on if this is an issue or just the car reacting to the unusual conditions created by a very long stretch of downhill behind a Kia?
Other than the above my main concern is the stereo has absolutely no bass what so ever, probably not a Fiat related problem! Also I have yet to find somewhere to fit my fairly large 6'x9' speakers, mostly due to the depth of the magnets. I did think it'd be cool to make boxes for them and mount them above the tailgate but I'm a little worried they would still come down too far... for the time being I've got them bungee chorded to the parcel shelf:slayer:.
Apologies for the lack of pictures despite having been out in a national park and then parked up with a selection of great cars (including a Jensen Interceptor and a couple of E-types), this is in part due to me still having managed to avoid smart phone ownership and in part due to my shame at having not cleaned Demitry properly yet!
Thanks again
Phiz