many thanks.
tried that.
one of the leads ''appears'' to have a hole in it.
arc from that to ground.
new leads and plugs ordered.
That's great news. Sounds like you've cracked it! Funny how very often the simplest solution works - and I know because, being a pessimist, my default position is to always assume the worst! At least then I'm often pleasantly surprised when the answer is easier and cheaper to sort than I at first thought!
At ten years old, if the leads have not been changed before, you've really done quite well and renewing them is probably a good idea anyway, even if they had looked faultless. Do you know when the plugs were last changed? As you're doing leads it might be a good idea to maximise the advantage with a new set of plugs. And have a careful look for contamination/verdigris deposits in the coil connections.
I'm not a fan of power washing/steam cleaning engine bays. The last one I did was our old '92 Panda Parade. She had developed an oil leak from her camshaft sprocket seal which left the front of the engine in a right mess. I cleaned down the whole of the engine with Gunk and washed it off with the garden hose before renewing the seal - it looked lovely! Unfortunately it took a week before she ran again! She would crank on the starter but gave no sign of firing up. A couple of days of fault finding as and when I could spare the time showed there was nothing wrong with the timing (I'd fitted a new timing belt when I did the seal), plenty of fuel being supplied but no sparks. Narrowed down to the crankshaft sensor. Spent a couple of days trying to source one cheaply without success. Then on the Saturday morning, sitting in her driving seat, thinking about what I might do and "talking it over" with her - I know, I'm totally nuts! - I twisted the key and she leapt in to life! I can only guess that water had been shorting something, either in the sensor or its wiring/plug, which had now dried out in the warm summer weather (and yes I had tried to dry everything with both rags and compressed air).
Commercial cleaning equipment uses really aggressive chemicals which can, in the long term, eat into ally casings etc if not thoroughly washed/neutralise. I always feel more confident, when buying a used car, if the engine bay is a little grubby with just the smallest traces of oil weeps around driveshaft seals etc. To me, that's an "honest" car.
Good luck with the new leads. Do you know about "Shop4parts" for Fiat spares? I have no connection with them other than being a very satisfied customer. Genuine or quality pattern parts at very affordable prices. They are my default "go to".
Regards
Jock
Hang on. I said 10 years old above didn't l? 2018 now - '98 car. Oh dear, that's 20 years?
