Technical Panda 100hp One week into ownership: electrical trouble brewing...

[Strapontin]

Hi all!
Picked up a 2008 100hp in white with 20k miles on the clock a week ago.
Love it so far, great fun to drive although a bit on the bouncy side to the pregnant wife's liking...

Problem encountered:
First night I had it, engine stalls, restarts without problem, think nothing of it.
Jump to yesterday, engine stalls again (clutch was in, caosting to a stop) once again restarts no problem. Starting to think something of it...

Today: get to start the car, it starts, reads EBD system failure (or something to that effect), then cluster dies (engine still going) engine dies 20 seconds later. Then engine will start, cluster is dead, engine dies after 15-20 seconds.
Do this a few times, engine starts, cluster lives, everything normal, drive home.

Once at home, check battery: 12V on the dot.
Try to start the car: cluster dead, engine starts but dies right away.
After a few tries, engine starts, cluster is alive: check engine message and light are on, car drives fine, starts fine and CEL remains on.
Voltage with car at idle: 13V
Voltage with car at idle and every possible accessory on: 11.5V or so (crappy multimeter...)

So: what gives?
I'm hoping bad ground somewhere? Any ideas?

Not exactly thrilled as this is our only vehicle and I need it to be reliable for the wife and 18 month old...

Thanks in advance!
Phil.

 

[jrkitching]

So: what gives?
I'm hoping bad ground somewhere? Any ideas?

It may be as simple as just putting in a new battery. The battery needs to be in decent shape for the electrics to work reliably & if it's the original, it'll likely be due for replacement after 4 years.

 

[Pandablues]

:yeahthat:

Ours did similar - sort of - before finally refusing to fire up at all one cold morning (lots of idle periods and then very short runs). After pulling the battery for a full recharge it's never been a problem since. Suspect a poor connection as neither terminal seemed that tight.

 

[Dcthebear]

That voltage with everything on is too low. It should be constant and certainly higher than 12 volts. I'd say battery too but the alternator should keep the volts higher than the battery so may be worth getting both looked at.

 

[Strapontin]

Well, fired it up when I got back from work, CEL is gone, everything seemed fine... Checked the voltages again, battery at 11.5V, alternator at 13V and down to 11V with everything bumping.
I ordered a battery charger so will do that first and retest everything. Also ordered a ELM327 so I canU get and clear the codes.

If voltage are still crap after charging battery I guess it's time for a new battery and alternator. Bummer. Any idea of cost to get the alternator done on a 100?

And also: thanks for the responses and ideas!

 

[Strapontin]

As an additional update (because I'm delusional and imagine you care), I took the car back to where I got it, the auto-electrician had a look at it and ordered an ignition switch from Fiat.

Parallel to this I ordered a new battery (Bosch S4, £51 delivered) because, yes, the original is nearing the end of its life.

I'll retest everything when I get the car back since I don't see how the ignition switch could play with the voltages like that...

Opinions on the matter?

 

[Pandablues]

Other than that I'd have tried a full charge before buying a new battery and also wonder.....why a new ignition switch?

 

[Strapontin]

Other than that I'd have tried a full charge before buying a new battery and also wonder.....why a new ignition switch?

Yeah. I got a charger as well and intended to start by charging the battery but got carried away when I found the Bosch for cheap and figured it was probably due anyway.

Of course everything arrived as the car sits at the shop so that I cant try anything...

And the ignition switch has to come from Italy?? Isn't that a fairly common item that I would have imagined would be available in the UK?

 

[Matthen]

Yeah. I got a charger as well and intended to start by charging the battery but got carried away when I found the Bosch for cheap and figured it was probably due anyway.

Of course everything arrived as the car sits at the shop so that I cant try anything...

And the ignition switch has to come from Italy?? Isn't that a fairly common item that I would have imagined would be available in the UK?

Probably, if you know where to look. IME though, Fiat dealers only order from Fiat, which is why it took them 7 days to get hold of an EGR Valve for our Multipla...

Of course, they may have been fibbing, but who knows.

 

[Strapontin]

Ignition switch was changed this morning.
Wife picks car up: proceeds to back into something and scratch back corner...