Technical Panda Active 1.1 2008 engine issues

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Technical Panda Active 1.1 2008 engine issues

aniayot

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Hello,

First of all I wanted to say hi to everyone on the forum. I have a Panda 1.1 Active 2008 Petrol, 38k miles on the counter.

I am in desperate need for help. Let me start by saying I have very limited knowledge of cars, including my own. So best I can do is describe the symptoms in easy terms and hope for your support.

Couple of weeks ago I started feeling the engine vibrating. That was especially noticable when on idle. I didn't think much of it until it started happening very often. Then the check engine light came on. Engined stalled twice on traffic lights. Went to the garage, they read the error code - ignition coil. Changed the coil. Seemed fine for a day. Next day same thing happened - went back to the garage, they changed another one. Went away happy, 3 days later - no more vibrations, but the check engine light came on a few times for just a couple of seconds. When the light came on, the car was losing power but still kept going. On the 3rd trip to the garage another symptom - all lights on the dashbord came on almost as if the engine stalled but it actually kept going - I just didn't get any power to the wheels. Had to restart the engine - it happened 4 times in 2 miles distance. It was raining heavily, which may be a factor here.

Garage did some testing, no error codes. They were unable to replicate the issue in any way. The changed the ground wire thinking it may be that. That was last Firday. I tested the car throughout the whole weekend and Monday, it was dry and warm, no issues at all. Yesterday morning (Tuesday) it was raining really badly. Again the issue with check engine light - comes on for 2 second, engine "jumps", but the car keeps going. Happened twice, then it stopped raining and it was fine. In the evening, the same issue with all the lights coming on and no power to the wheels - 3 times in the beginning of the journey, then it was fine. It was raining. This morning it was freezeing cold. Again had the issue with check engine light. After it warmed up, everything seemed fine. This afternoon it was still rather cold but dry, however the engine did lose power to the wheels 3 times in the beginning of the journey.

Other than bad weather I cannot think of anything that connects those situations. Sometimes it happens when I accelarate, sometimes when I break, sometimes when moving slowly in traffic. I have tried accelarting suddenly, breaking suddenly, stopping and starting and there is nothing I can do to replicate the issue, which makes it very hard for the garage to diagnose, since there is no error codes logged. It only seem to happen at the beggining of the journey (first 20 minutes or so) and then the issue is gone until next time I get into the cooled car.


I would be grateful for any advice or idea you can give me. Many thanks!
 
Last edited:
hello , and welcome to FF,:)

you do seem to have been unlucky there, :(

there are a few things that can cause this kind of thing, :rolleyes:
however I would recommend getting the car's battery checked / replaced, as the lower voltage - just after starting, or with the lights/ wipers on - can cause the electronics to struggle.

we had this issue on our 1.1, no problem could be found, @ new Bosch battery for £43 cured it,
and with winter coming on , it could be a sound investment anyway,

Charlie - Oxford
 
After you've checked the battery as above, consider these points also. Common issues with Pandas and others with same engine.

Check or replace the plug leads. Frequent misfire cause.
Ensure connector to engine ECU (Computer) is making a good connection on all pins. Check all the pins are secure, sometimes they may be loose and push away from the connector as it is pushed in.
 
Thank you all very much for the suggestions. I'm making a note of everything as I'll be going back to the garage tomorrow morning.
 
Hello again.


I put the car in the garage and had it back two weeks now. I thought everything was great but my joy was short-lived. Just to summarise (in my own understanding of what's what), the garage changed coil packs (both), spark plugs, installed new battery, changed the wires that earth the car, cleaned all plugs and everything seemed fine until few days ago. The check engine light came on again but there was no change in the car's behaviour. It went straight to the garage and they said the error code points again to the coil but everything on there is brand new. As there was no change in the behaviour and I needed it this week I was driving as normal. Yesterday the car started shaking on idle again. This morning it's worse and the light is back on (not sure what it's for as only just happened on the way to work). Also had some issues with acceleration on lower gears.


I remembered that few months ago the light came on and the code pointed to MAP sensor. It was slightly off when the garage checked it and at that point we decided to leave it and see if the fault repeated itself. Since I've had all those issues, the MAP sensor code never came back again so I never considered it to be the cause. But after all the work that's been done I think the mechanic don't quite know how to proceed and I'm desperate. Can faulty MAP be causing the issues I have?


Many thanks for any help and suggestions.
 
We've had issues on here, mostly with Puntos, but check the ECU connections carefully for burnt contacts, or loose ones that push into the ECU without making a good connection. The plug needs to be checked too. Dirty or burnt ones can be cleaned up.
 
Thank you, could a bad connection with ECU cause the car to shake like that?
 
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