General First Fiat - and a few questions

[MrMattK]

Good morning, I've been reading on here for a few weeks prior to buying and am now the proud owner of a 57 Bravo Dynamic 1.9 Multijet 150.
So, now I've had it a couple of weeks it's time for my first post with a few questions.
I have to say it's a massive step up from the Xsara Picasso (3 kids!) I've been driving round for the last two years (I've managed to fob that one off to the Mrs!).
Now I can overtake other cars and go in to corners with the confidence that the car will still be on the road when I get out the other side!

Anyway, the questions:
1) What is the lump halfway up the front door window seals? Never seen anything similar on any other car before.

2) Is there a way to turn off the AQS recirculation thing on the climate control? It keeps coming on whenever I'm briefly in traffic leaving me with recirculating air.

3) How accurate do people find the MPG on the trip computer compared to real life? Last car was around 10% optimistic with the numbers on the screen.

4) Sometimes the engine seems to turn over quite a bit before firing into life. Other times it starts straight away. Any ideas what this could be? Anyone experienced anything similar? I'm doing as the handbook states and turning the key fully as soon as the coil light on the dash goes off.

I'm sure there'll be nmore questions in the future, but for now I'm loving driving a good looking car with a bit of life to it!

Cheers.

 

[Eklipze3k]

Welcome to the forum

As I don't drive a Bravo myself I can't answer all of your questions, however:

1 - These are common on a lot of cars, though interestingly not all Bravos have them. As far as I know, they are very basic water deflectors. When you're driving in heavy rain my experience is that they push the water up to the top of your door windows, so that you can still see out the side.
4 - As diesels don't use a spark to start, all then need is heat and compression. The glow plugs (that coil symbol) pre-warms the cylinders to allow the engine to start easier from cold. The act of compression also generates heat, so when it doesn't start immediately it's just because the cylinder wasn't quite hot enough. Replacing the glow plugs is certainly an option, as they may be nearing the end of their useful life, the car is 8 years old now

 

[neilshep]

Welcome to the forum

4 - As diesels don't use a spark to start, all then need is heat and compression. The glow plugs (that coil symbol) pre-warms the cylinders to allow the engine to start easier from cold. The act of compression also generates heat, so when it doesn't start immediately it's just because the cylinder wasn't quite hot enough. Replacing the glow plugs is certainly an option, as they may be nearing the end of their useful life, the car is 8 years old now

I've found that the fuel pump is still getting up to pressure when the glowplug light goes out. If you turn the radio and aircon off, then turn on the ignition, you may just hear the fuel pump going. When it stops, start the car!

 

[MrMattK]

Thanks guys.
According to the handbook I should get a warning light if there's any problems with the glow plugs.
It's in for an interim service on Friday so I'll ask the garage what they think.

Thanks for the tip off on fuel pump - I'll give it a listen when I finish work tonight. The thing that's confusing me is that it's completely random, sometimes it starts pretty quickly, other times takes a while, but it does always start.

 

[MrMattK]

So, after another week of driving it I've got to agree with you Neil about the fuel pump. Leaving it for a few more seconds after the glow plug lights goes out seems to do the trick.
I can also hear the pulsating noise of the pump (sounds like it's behind the climate control unit) slow down and stop if I listen carefully.
Thanks for the tip.