General Watery Panda

[Herts Hillhopper]

This is what @Herts Hillhopper indicated earlier - but a “2 minute job” to check the duckbills in a 312/9?? They’re hidden away behind that plastic bulkhead thing which needs to be removed (which - for me! - would be half a day’s work and no guarantee I’d be able to finish, never mind put all the bits back together again… )

Yes, easy - you can reach them from the engine bay. I’ll post a link to my ‘how to’…

Edit: see here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/scuttle-drains-no-duckbills.475219/post-4491914

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

You get a great deal of condensate from the drain when parked up, certainly more than you'd expect for the size of car, I've always thought.

Not sure the size of car matters - just how cold the air con is and how much humidity is in the outside air. The actual chiller unit is probably similar size in most cars...?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

This is what @Herts Hillhopper indicated earlier - but a “2 minute job” to check the duckbills in a 312/9?? They’re hidden away behind that plastic bulkhead thing which needs to be removed (which - for me! - would be half a day’s work and no guarantee I’d be able to finish, never mind put all the bits back together again… )

I can just reach them from underneath.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Not sure the size of car matters - just how cold the air con is and how much humidity is in the outside air. The actual chiller unit is probably similar size in most cars...?

Presumably it's a smaller unit than a larger car. Certainly it pees an awful lot more than our XC70 which must have double+ the Panda's cabin volume and commensurately larger unit to deliver that cooling.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. Duckbills seem clear. There is no obvious site for the ingress. Weirdly the boot floor can be wet after a lot of rain. The sloshing water can be seen dripping out from under the car behind the engine compartment - slowly.

Clear duckbills.... You will be the first. I find they need cleaning twice a year. As to the smell thing its nonsense. All the 319 duckbills seem to be made of hard plastic, They are a poor fit and inflexible. If you touch them they come loose and one side is tight to get back, The only purpose is to contain the leaves and debris and prevent it falling onto engine and steering etc. May be.. just about worth keeping, but only just. I suppose better than drain pipes of old that also always blocked up.

This is what @Herts Hillhopper indicated earlier - but a “2 minute job” to check the duckbills in a 312/9?? They’re hidden away behind that plastic bulkhead thing which needs to be removed (which - for me! - would be half a day’s work and no guarantee I’d be able to finish, never mind put all the bits back together again… )

No you get at them through the engine bay under the bonnet. Run your hand along the bulkhead and you can feel them. Grab the bottom and pull and twist and they come out downwards. Needs a little fiddling decribed above to put them back. No need to do surgery.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Presumably it's a smaller unit than a larger car. Certainly it pees an awful lot more than our XC70 which must have double+ the Panda's cabin volume and commensurately larger unit to deliver that cooling.

Agree. May be it just drinks more beer.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

No you get at them through the engine bay under the bonnet. Run your hand along the bulkhead and you can feel them. Grab the bottom and pull and twist and they come out downwards. Needs a little fiddling decribed above to put them back. No need to do surgery.

I just manipulate mine without removal and get a gratifying wet arm when I get it right.

I am aware that sounds rather odd, but we all roll in different ways and not everyone's a duckbill remover.

 

[JayAre]

Hmm, if I can’t see something then… well, I’m not a vet

 

[Guydickinson]

Well I sat in the boot (somehow) with side panels off. Hose ++. Nothing. Then trained hose on windscreen for a while. Drove round the block - water splashing around like before - a lot. So you’re right. Coming in via those vents (forget the name). Is there any guidance anywhere how to take them to bits and see if any break in the drainage? (Presumably).

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Well I sat in the boot (somehow) with side panels off. Hose ++. Nothing. Then trained hose on windscreen for a while. Drove round the block - water splashing around like before - a lot. So you’re right. Coming in via those vents (forget the name). Is there any guidance anywhere how to take them to bits and see if any break in the drainage? (Presumably).

Colleagues linked it earlier in the thread in the expectation that would be what it was - it's almost invariably the duckbills.

 

[JayAre]

Well I sat in the boot (somehow) with side panels off. Hose ++. Nothing. Then trained hose on windscreen for a while. Drove round the block - water splashing around like before - a lot. So you’re right. Coming in via those vents (forget the name). Is there any guidance anywhere how to take them to bits and see if any break in the drainage? (Presumably).

According to @Herts Hillhopper it’s quick+easy:

Yes, easy - you can reach them from the engine bay. I’ll post a link to my ‘how to’…

Edit: see here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/scuttle-drains-no-duckbills.475219/post-4491914

Be very interested to read how quick+easy it is for you - I suspect you’ll need to dismantle the entire scuttle if there’s more than just water in there…

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

According to @Herts Hillhopper it’s quick+easy:



Be very interested to read how quick+easy it is for you - I suspect you’ll need to dismantle the entire scuttle if there’s more than just water in there…

To clarify: if done regularly and before anything ‘solid’ forms in the drains, it really is very quick and very easy.
If they’ve never been done, then, one time only, you’ll need to remove the scuttle cover (which I detailed in a different post). The whole process to dismantle, hose clean and reassemble takes 30 minutes tops.
Don’t doubt me until you’ve tried it - plenty of ‘happy customers’ here feeding back that it was a simple exercise…
Edit: link to the ‘how to’…
Post in thread 'Scuttle Panel removal'
https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/scuttle-panel-removal.431064/post-4529477

 

[Bonefish Blues]

To clarify: if done regularly and before anything ‘solid’ forms in the drains, it really is very quick and very easy.
If they’ve never been done, then, one time only, you’ll need to remove the scuttle cover (which I detailed in a different post). The whole process to dismantle, hose clean and reassemble takes 30 minutes tops.
Don’t doubt me until you’ve tried it - plenty of ‘happy customers’ here feeding back that it was a simple exercise…
Edit: link to the ‘how to’…
Post in thread 'Scuttle Panel removal'
https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/scuttle-panel-removal.431064/post-4529477

I haven't done that. I just do it a little more often, since the 'bills are at the lowest point and any gunk collects in them, to be flushed away when manipulated. They clear well enough for my satisfaction without any dismantling.

 

[Guydickinson]

Thanks very much all. I think I managed it. The duckbills were brim full of - what was basically - muck. All cleared now.

 

[Panda IIs]

Thanks very much all. I think I managed it. The duckbills were brim full of - what was basically - muck. All cleared now.

Great set of photos there - thank you!

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Thanks very much all. I think I managed it. The duckbills were brim full of - what was basically - muck. All cleared now.

Wow, they were full. But now can be kept clear by the occasional ’wiggle from underneath’

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

I haven't done that. I just do it a little more often, since the 'bills are at the lowest point and any gunk collects in them, to be flushed away when manipulated. They clear well enough for my satisfaction without any dismantling.

Exactly: no need to dismantle if kept clear from underneath. It’s only where they’re neglected and solidify that any dismantling is needed.

 

[s2bear]

Have you checked your duckbills? These are in the panel below the windscreen, where the wiper motor mechanism sits. Accessible when the bonnet is open, from the outside. What usually happens is the drainage holes have duckbill type ends on and these get blocked with leaves and detritus, causing this area to fill up with water when it rains.

If you have sloshing water sounds when cornering, a difficult to demist windscreen, or wet front carpets then this is probably the cause.

The good news is this is easy to sort and costs nothing. Either by removing the duckbills and cleaning them, checking you put them back as they also help reduce fumes coming in to the cabin. Alternatively a bamboo cane pushed through the duckbills will also do the job. I keep a bamboo cane in the boot of my Panda for this very reason.

If you use the search bar at the top of this page and type in duckbills, you’ll get plenty of info on this issue. Hope you get it sorted.

+1 for this. Ours did the same and it was a 5 minute job to clear the drainage holes. If I turned hard left I’d have to take my foot off the clutch or I’d get a wet foot.

 

[JayAre]

Just a point of interest re the owners who’ve experienced “duckbill issues”: are their Pandas generally left outside in the rain? I’m lucky enough to be able to pamper mine, keeping it safe inside a garage. So the question is, are the water ingress problems being experienced attributable to poor design, making the Panda (all models, or just the 312/9?) vulnerable to water ingress if it’s mostly parked up outside?

 

[A3jeroen]

Parked outside it collects leaves. They clog the duckbills.

gr J