Hi ppl
I have a problem on my uno fire (999cc engine, 1989 model)
When i drive slowly engine works fine, however when i press the gas pedal hard, there is a knocking noise inside the engine bay. a friend of fine told me its pinking.. what is pinking and how do I solve the problem???
Pinking is something I've only seen on the Punto. The red paint turns pink under the clearcoat and there's not much you can do about it
Ah you mean pre-ignition (a.k.a. pinking, detonation)... usually a tinkling sound. This may be because you have got low-octane fuel in the tank - it has to be 95RON. Or perhaps the fuel companies are saving money by using inferior blends. Try another tank of petrol. In NZ our petrol is called '91' and '95', so it's the more expensive of the two. I find it a bit confusing in the UK because I think even the cheaper one is 95 at most service stations - but nobody knows what you're on about when you ask "is this 95?"
If tinkling persists, you need a timing light to check the ignition timing. I use the flywheel marks that line up with notches in the clutch bellhousing - there is a small rectangular window. As you look at the flywheel, the notch furthest to the left is 0 degrees, and the next notch is 5 degrees.
With the engine idling (nice and slow), pull off the vacuum advance pipe from the capsule on the distrbutor and seal the end of this pipe. Connect the timing light pick-up to number one spark plug lead (or number four - it doesn't matter). The timing light also needs power from the battery clips. Shine the timing light in the rectangular window and you should see a notch on the flywheel - and this notch should be 'frozen' (by the light flashes) in line with the 5 degree notch on the window. If not, loosen the distributor (two 10mm nuts) and turn it slightly to adjust the timing.
It's well worth checking the timing; if it's wrong, you lose performance and economy. If it doesn't solve the problem, remember that occasional pinking/pre-ignition is not serious and you can usually drive in a way to avoid it. Prolonged pinking/pre-ignition melts pistons.
-Alex
