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Classic Fiat Panda not starting!

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mt2man Posted a lot Posts: 1,366	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!mt2man @mt2man
	Mar 6, 2012 19:06:33 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Hey guys I'm in need of some help, my girlfriend bought a fiat panda as a non runner and i was given the task of getting it up and running for her first car! Bassically the bloke was using it for 18 months without fault, then one day it just stopped starting. He had a few people look at it and bought new spark plugs, dizzy cap and coil and condensor. I have fitted these and no luck. No spark, then after a few attempts i realised the rotor arm wasnt moving at all! Took the cambelt cover off and yep it had snapped luckily the fiat FIRE engine is a non interferance engine so the valves wouldnt have hit the pistons or anything ;D so i fitted the new cambelt, went to start it up it had a very very poor spark but still wouldnt start. Having had a look at the firing order they had it set up as 1234! So i set it up to 1342 but no luck in starting it. Looking at the points i cant see the gap opening at all? Am i right in thinking it must have worked before the cambelt snapped so it must be something i have done?! Obviously i don't know what the person before me had done to it, they obviously had messed around because of the dodgy firing order. I have ordered a new points cassett, rotor arm, another condensor and ht leads but these havent arrived yet so I'm hoping they sort out the problem. Is there anything I'm missing It is deffinatly getting fuel, and i have used a choke before so I'm pretty sure that is nothing to do with it, I'm sure is electrical! Thanks Jack


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jrevillug Posted a lot Posts: 3,520	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!jrevillug @jrevillug
	Mar 6, 2012 19:26:18 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Sounds like a points/condensor issue to me. No gap = poor spark and miles-off timing. There will be a way to adjust the gap - probably a case of loosening a screw and moving the static contact mount. With a decent gap, check the spark. If it's small and very light blue/yellow, then it probably won't run - and the issue is probably the condensor. It it's a fat blue spark then all is good - perhaps except the timing. It would be worth cleaning the contacts of the points too - if it's been standing a while there might be corrosion, which will prevent conduction when they are closed. It's possible that the engine was only just running before the 'belt went: if it snapped the cambelt I bet it hadn't seen decent maintenance in a while, and most people don't know how fast old cars should be - if the points are closing up they'll just accept that it's a slow car and won't know to do anything about it. It's also possible that if it's been standing a while it'll be less tolerant of a dodgy spark than when it was in daily use, so you ned to make sure that the spark is tip-top before trying to start it. Whereabouts are you? If you're in the south west and don't have any luck I'd be happy to have a look at it for you.
	Caution: As the buoys marking the shoals are often out of position, mariners are cautioned to be on their guard when navigating these shores 75 Imp 72 Clan - What? An update? Never!

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mt2man Posted a lot Posts: 1,366	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!mt2man @mt2man
	Mar 6, 2012 19:42:14 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Thanks for the tips! Yeah the car had only covered 60k miles and the person we got it from was only the second owner who got it from a bloke who was getting rid of it because he was to old to get under it and clean the dirt of after he went out in it in the rain! haha, the second owner didnt really look after it though. And yeah i did think about adjusting the gap, reading online i think its simply a allen key to adjust it, but for the sake of £10 i bought all new to try and resolve the problem and make it last a fair few more years. The spark was a very light blue and very weak and intermitant. It seems to have abit of a mind of its own. It is only a 750cc so I'm not expecting it to be a very fast haha, but its not very heavy so shouldnt be too bad for a first car. I'm in Portsmouth/Fareham area, so not very close to Bristol, but i appreciate the offer . I had a similar problem with my mini, but i gave up and bought electronic ignition and it solved all my problems, I'm starting to think thats the route i should have gone down haha


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sheffieldcortinacentre Posted a lot Posts: 2,279	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!sheffieldcortinacentre @mk3bakkie
	Mar 7, 2012 1:11:48 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	re check the belt timeing too as tightening the tensioner sometimes throughs it out.
	theres more to life than mpg & to much power is just enough.

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rodney Posted a lot https://www.facebook.com/RD-vehicle-transport-and-recovery-services-525622614268010/ Posts: 1,677	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!rodney @mrrodney
	Mar 7, 2012 3:01:34 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	yeah id check the cam timing as mentioned , you may have timed it up wrong,.
	facebook: rodney dean / rd transport

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mt2man Posted a lot Posts: 1,366	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!mt2man @mt2man
	Mar 7, 2012 17:47:05 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	I havent taken the cambelt off to properly check it, but turning it over by hand when it reaches TDC the marks on the flywheel line up to around 5 degreese and the rotor arm is in the correct place for number 1 lead. So it seems its lined up properly?


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grumblespeed Part of things Grumbleweed Posts: 45	Classic Fiat Panda not starting!grumblespeed @grumblespeed
	Mar 7, 2012 22:59:05 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Mar 7, 2012 17:47:05 GMT mt2man said: I havent taken the cambelt off to properly check it, but turning it over by hand when it reaches TDC the marks on the flywheel line up to around 5 degreese and the rotor arm is in the correct place for number 1 lead. So it seems its lined up properly? check the other end, don't forget the position of the rotor arm relative to the cap is adjustable on the top dizzy mounting bolt so just because it looks more or less right as is could just mean the dizzy's out by about the same as the camshaft and the cam timing is still wrong. You only need to take the cambelt cover off and see if the notches on the crank and cam pulleys line up with the corresponding marks on the end of the engine.


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