Fiat Punto Car Heater slow to warm, in combination with warning light
Tone
My girlfirend has a Fiat Punto ( T plate).
She describes the following symptom of very recent:-
Car heater slow to warm up (even noticeable on shorter journey which is what
she tends to do).
She has checked oil and coolant levels which are ok.
I asked her just to double check against the owner manual the exact light
she is seeing.
She mentioned thermostat and Im inclined to agree with her, and I think the
warning light may be confirming the thermostat being stuck open.
Tony
Me
"Tone" <v8roc...@yahoo-remove.co.uk> wrote in message
news:109f75m...@corp.supernews.com...
Stuck open thermostat will produce the symptoms you describe, not good for
the car in the medium/long term but much better than being stuck closed!
Usually a fairly easy job on most cars.
Tony
Hi
I agree, I hope so as I could fix easily at Ł10 myself probably.
Unfortunately, the facts arent quite right Ive just discovered - she hasnt
been altogether clear with me. So it could be a mix of things and I think I
might need to seek professional help or at least see the problem for my own
eyes to gauge some facts.
It was a fortnight ago (only real long distance ago) she first noticed any
problems - driving home 40 miles or so and was then she noticed the light
(which she now has confirmed owners manual says "warning light for when
engine coolant temperature is too high".
Subsequently she found that the water was low/to minimum and filled it up
(and this bit was missed out from my point of view).
She says she saw the light again today and of recent, but isnt every day,
but thats only driving really short distances of a mile or two, barely
enough to warm the car.
There was going to be a plan of her coming the 40 miles again to see me, but
I might put that on hold, If Im not the one driving to be there to turn the
engine off it if needs it!
Im a bit concerned about the water loss, it may be either overheating (how
would she not notice this? mind you the cheap fiats dont actually have
proper temp gauges to be fair) or its leaking. She has reported neither, but
I'd probably expect it not to leak or this would be quite apparent as Ive
told her to check levels (when it goes colder) everyday.
Then again it could have been low anyway, and so loss of water may not be
relevant - even though I encourage her to check but I bet she wouldnt be
able to tell me the last time it was ok before that, would you expect any
woman too...
My dad doesnt think thermostat would cause the light, so Im a bit confused.
Half tempted that she should either get a quote from a garage to see what
they say, or get the breakdown company out when she isnt at home, arent they
there to help you indicate faults if you're halfway out from home?
Ive an old Haynes manual (for VW) actually, explaining overheating could
be: - low coolant, faulty cap, themostat stuck shut, clogged rad/matrix.
As you accurately said, slow warm up could be:- thermostat stuck open or
incorrect.
Even worse, coolant loss- can be damaged hosing, leaky water pump or rad, or
blown cylinder head gasket.
Its 40+ miles for me to drive out but I might be tempted so that I can look
at the problem first hand.
Many Thanks for your advice
Tone
"Me" <m...@myhouse.com> wrote in message
news:c78lr2$hpr$2...@sparta.btinternet.com...
SteveH
> Im a bit concerned about the water loss, it may be either overheating (how
> would she not notice this? mind you the cheap fiats dont actually have
> proper temp gauges to be fair) or its leaking. She has reported neither, but
> I'd probably expect it not to leak or this would be quite apparent as Ive
> told her to check levels (when it goes colder) everyday.
> Then again it could have been low anyway, and so loss of water may not be
> relevant - even though I encourage her to check but I bet she wouldnt be
> able to tell me the last time it was ok before that, would you expect any
> woman too...
I assume this is a 1.2 with the FIRE engine?
They're an absolute nightmare as far as the cooling system goes.
With the same lump in our Cinq. sporting, we did the following in trying
to sort out the overheating / loss of water:
Reverse flush the system
Replace thermostat
Replace radiator
Replace fan switch
Try some super-whizzo 'Summer Coolant'
Replace water pump.
It was at this point we solved it. Think it needed doing at about 65k
miles, but a car that's done a lot of shorter journeys than out Cinq was
doing it's entirely possible that you need to do at least some of the
above (most likely the water pump, IME).
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #
Brian Hall
probably due for a change in one about now. I would suggest the car is
not run anymore until this is looked at or else it could mean a new
head as well.
Tone
news:170fef79.0405...@posting.google.com...
I am not doubting the possibility of course (I had a Rover 820 go on me at
80ish k) but this car has supposedly done 46k (which I have no reason to
doubt given history we have).
If it is the head, which the advice about getting it checked ASAP for free
has finally sunk in for her, then I would entertain doing the hg myself, as
I done this kind of work before. Its only the recon of a head timeconsuming
really, removing the cam, valves and cleaning them up and carefully
reassembling to specified torques but for a low mileage engine should be
pretty straightforward clean and replace - assuming that the block and head
arent warped or pitted. Perhaps a skim would be an idea anyway, depending on
the condition of the face. Most dealers say they always skim though (whether
they do or not, perhaps).
The small dealer we bought it from seemed of some repute anyway unlike some
that I've bought from, even though the service history on it was a little
sketchy and it was due a service as soon as we got it, which we did. Other
than that its been a pretty smart motor for £2k. Unless this is common for
Fiats of this mileage I am surprised if it is the gasket.
Tony
Brian Hall
gaskets and it is not that unusual for it to happen before 30k miles
and very likely from 30k - 50k. Our Punto is now on 29k and we are
just waiting for the temperature gauge going into the red, the heater
to start gurgling or not warming up then we know what the most likely
cause is. We have had lots of other problems with the car but not this
one yet.
I think in car repair terms it is a fairly straight forward job but
quite what is involved I don't know.
I'm sure I have been told that a casting or design fault with the head
causes this problem. I think if you do a search on the internet you
will find many references to Punto head gasket problems and possibly
more info on what the root cause is.
Anyway I wish you good luck with the problem and hope I'm wrong as I
tend to be a bit of a Fiat pessimist these days are our experience
with a Punto and Fiat dealerships.
Regards.
Brian
Dave Plowman
Tone <v8roc...@yahoo-remove.co.uk> wrote:
> I asked her just to double check against the owner manual the exact
> light she is seeing. She mentioned thermostat and Im inclined to agree
> with her, and I think the warning light may be confirming the thermostat
> being stuck open.
I've not known any car to have a warning light indicating a stuck open
thermostat. The symptoms of a stuck open thermostat is the engine running
cold - so any warning light would be on while the car warmed up in normal
circumstances.
It could be indicating low coolant level. This could cause the heater not
to work - and if this is the case could well damage the engine.
The most usual cause of a heater being inefficient is a faulty or wrong
thermostat, but it could be an airlock or a blocked heater matrix.
Whatever, I'd find out what the warning light really does mean first.
They're there for a reason.
--
*Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view
Dave Plowman dave....@argonet.co.uk London SW 12
RIP Acorn
Tone
ARGH. It is head gasket. Dont fancy a £500 bill so I think I'll take it on
myself for a portion of the cost. And replace many of the bits that might
not get replaced during service for the sake of it.
Thanks for your help!
Tony
A Quinn
> The small dealer we bought it from seemed of some repute anyway unlike
some
> that I've bought from, even though the service history on it was a little
> sketchy and it was due a service as soon as we got it, which we did. Other
> than that its been a pretty smart motor for £2k. Unless this is common for
> Fiats of this mileage I am surprised if it is the gasket.
>
> Tony
>
It's a Punto, so its not unusual for the head gasket to go. Mine went at
45K. It's worth getting the head skimmed just in case, not expensive.
A good way to tell if the gasket has gone is to check the oil filler cap for
mayonnaise, better done when the engine is cold. Or look in the expansion
tank for signs of oil. A slow to warm heater is a good sign of the head
gasket gone, water is leaking into the cylinder and being burnt off as
steam, and the water level falls to below the level of the heater matrix,
although the water [coolant] expansion tank shows MAX as there is an air
lock from cylinder pressure holding it high.
Tone
I just have a question about the head bolts.
......Angle tightening 10 head bolts at stage 3, 90 degrees.
All the bolts have been through stage 1 which is torque at 22/30, then stage
2 which is 90 then meant to go through aother 90 at stage3.
Well some were a bit stiff even though bolts were oiled so I was hesitant
and made not of them. Namely central lower head bolt (awkward one mostly
obstructed by wire in the head and narrower bolt area) and the far right
lower bolt. All the others were relatively ok to turn easy.
I dont know precisely what angles I did those two bolts but they've been
through stage 2 and say maybe 30-40 degress of stage 3 instead of the full
90.
I have two choices, loosening the bolts (all of them or just the specific
ones?) or loosen off all the head bolts in sequence and do it all again
which is safer. I could also use light grease supplied instead of oil, as I
didnt notice the sachet until AFTER the bolts were in, but I'd have to
remove the head bolts bearing in mind I've already re-attached the inlet and
exhaust ports. Typical eh.
WHAT do I do ??? Pah.
Tone
Tone
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