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Save the Panda - an ongoing thread of discovery


SmokinWaffle

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9 minutes ago, SmokinWaffle said:

Thanks kindly for the comments, all.

  

Needs at least new tyres and a battery before I do that!

Question to all: The old battery has been sitting for a year or so - I charged it for maybe a day and a half. It turns on the ignition fine but the aforementioned fault stops it from turning on.

Shall I stick it on charge for 3 - 4 days (this is the charger) and try again - or is the battery most likely scuppered?

 

A complete discharge usually fucks up a modern battery. 

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Just now, Rusty_Rocket said:

The battery might recover sufficiently to start the engine, but you may find you'll need a different charger.  That one you linked is only a trickle charger and a very dead battery will probably need a 'repair' cycle (where it is pulsed) by a smart charger, like a Ctek.  Even after all that, it might be kippered anyway... but worth a go!

It did start when I picked it up with a jump - but I'm thinking that might have done something to it....

I didn't know that - anyone local to Kent got a smart charger?

1 minute ago, sierraman said:

A complete discharge usually fucks up a modern battery. 

Might just got for a new one.

It's got a Yuasa in at the moment, can get a Lion one for £45 delivered with 3.3% cashback on top...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fixed the above image!

Pulled my finger out and got a shiny new Varta battery from ECP, £63 lighter I headed home and popped it on. 

Put the key in, turned it, same failure, no start. Balls. Took it out, gave it a second, put it back in and turned it all the way right away instead of waiting - started right up.

Still had the same failure notice though - ran it for 10 minutes and put it on the drive (it drove and idled much nicer than it did from it's original resting place), restarted it a couple times and it seems to have cleared the failure. Power steering works too. And no engine light somehow? Weird. Not complaining though!

Looking forward to finally clearing it out and attacking it with the pressure washer this weekend as it looks like the weather (fingers crossed) should stay clear - just in time to give me something to do in lockdown!

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Also.....what the hell is all of this shit all over the pedal stalks? Looks like grease but....why....

 

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I think I'll let it idle for 30-40 minutes over the weekend, new tyres on and some wiper blades, throw it in for an MOT and see what happens....anyone know how to get mould out of seats effectively? 

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Turns out I'm impatient so I cleared out all the stuff from it this evening while I left it to idle for 45 minutes or so.

Got up to and held temperature fine, all the bulbs work, heater works (very well), radio and all the speakers work, engine sounds sweet. I expected the exhaust to blow but it doesn't. I really think with some new tyres and wipers this would go through an MOT with little hassle.

The only thing I found is that the passenger footwell is quite moist (underneath the two carpet offcuts and doormat that was used as a mat?! - I think that kept a lot of moisture in tbh), and the driver one is a little wet but that seems from mud. I'm assuming that's an issue with the drainage duckbills that @Aston Martin mentioned? Any help?

I put the heater on max and closed the car for about 30 minutes which seemed to help.

Brake pedal is a bit low, but I've only driven it for minutes at a time to and from my drive/back of my house.

Notable finds inside: 

  • Peppa Pig Lunchbox
  • 4 walking sticks
  • 2 pocket watches
  • Blue Nail Varnish
  • 400,000 recycling bags (or what seemed like it)
  • A nice foot pump 
  • Snow shovel
  • Various tools

It's more dirty than anything - not as bad as I thought. The centre console is the only real grim bit - sweets/something was left in the cupholder that has turned into a rich, gloopy syrup and it's so gross...

I do think that when it's cleaned up - this will actually be a really nice place to be. Thinking winter run-around to save the BX from the salt?

PXL_20201105_173255541.jpg

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16 minutes ago, SmokinWaffle said:

Turns out I'm impatient so I cleared out all the stuff from it this evening while I left it to idle for 45 minutes or so.

Got up to and held temperature fine, all the bulbs work, heater works (very well), radio and all the speakers work, engine sounds sweet. I expected the exhaust to blow but it doesn't. I really think with some new tyres and wipers this would go through an MOT with little hassle.

The only thing I found is that the passenger footwell is quite moist (underneath the two carpet offcuts and doormat that was used as a mat?! - I think that kept a lot of moisture in tbh), and the driver one is a little wet but that seems from mud. I'm assuming that's an issue with the drainage duckbills that @Aston Martin mentioned? Any help?

I put the heater on max and closed the car for about 30 minutes which seemed to help.

Brake pedal is a bit low, but I've only driven it for minutes at a time to and from my drive/back of my house.

Notable finds inside: 

  • Peppa Pig Lunchbox
  • 4 walking sticks
  • 2 pocket watches
  • Blue Nail Varnish
  • 400,000 recycling bags (or what seemed like it)
  • A nice foot pump 
  • Snow shovel
  • Various tools

It's more dirty than anything - not as bad as I thought. The centre console is the only real grim bit - sweets/something was left in the cupholder that has turned into a rich, gloopy syrup and it's so gross...

I do think that when it's cleaned up - this will actually be a really nice place to be. Thinking winter run-around to save the BX from the salt?

PXL_20201105_173255541.jpg

Duckbills

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/272828-loose-plastic-thing-full-water.html#post2784973

 

You squeeze them open, you might have to get your finger in there as it'll likely be all crud.

 

Is the windscreen scuttle like a lake?

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18 minutes ago, Aston Martin said:

Duckbills

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/272828-loose-plastic-thing-full-water.html#post2784973

 

You squeeze them open, you might have to get your finger in there as it'll likely be all crud.

 

Is the windscreen scuttle like a lake?

I see! I'll give that a go at the weekend. 

Scuttle is dry as a bone funnily enough. I'm wondering if it's just because he put a doormat in the passenger foot well while it was still wet from being outside - he was struggling with dementia or similar from what I understand. :-(

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1 hour ago, SmokinWaffle said:

I see! I'll give that a go at the weekend. 

Scuttle is dry as a bone funnily enough. I'm wondering if it's just because he put a doormat in the passenger foot well while it was still wet from being outside - he was struggling with dementia or similar from what I understand. :-(

It does sound like duckbills. 

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28 minutes ago, Aston Martin said:

It does sound like duckbills. 

I’d put money on these being clogged. The scuttle on mine was normally dry but after a rain storm it would fill up. 10 mins job cleaning them and the problem hasn’t returned. 
I’ve just ordered a new rear axle and shocks for mine and doing a thorough underbody clean up in prep for winter. Such good cars, perfect for winter with a great heater! I can’t believe how rust free the body is despite it being 14 years old and clearly abused.....

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On 11/5/2020 at 9:23 PM, Aston Martin said:

It does sound like duckbills. 

 

On 11/5/2020 at 9:55 PM, Ian_Fearn said:

I’d put money on these being clogged. The scuttle on mine was normally dry but after a rain storm it would fill up. 10 mins job cleaning them and the problem hasn’t returned. 
I’ve just ordered a new rear axle and shocks for mine and doing a thorough underbody clean up in prep for winter. Such good cars, perfect for winter with a great heater! I can’t believe how rust free the body is despite it being 14 years old and clearly abused.....

Investigated in the dark today as this was playing on my mind...

Where the duckbills are meant to be - there is nothing. Just a hole. I wonder if that's part of the problem - but it lets water flow freely...?

It seems that the dampness in the footwells - on the passenger it's one localised spot closer to the seat and nothing near the front of the car is damp at all. The drivers side is just damp in a patch of mud that was sitting under the mat. I really do think it's just where the doormat that was the floormat was put in wet - I suppose time will tell.

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12 hours ago, SmokinWaffle said:

 

Investigated in the dark today as this was playing on my mind...

Where the duckbills are meant to be - there is nothing. Just a hole. I wonder if that's part of the problem - but it lets water flow freely...?

It seems that the dampness in the footwells - on the passenger it's one localised spot closer to the seat and nothing near the front of the car is damp at all. The drivers side is just damp in a patch of mud that was sitting under the mat. I really do think it's just where the doormat that was the floormat was put in wet - I suppose time will tell.

Chances are you’re right then. If the little plastic drain pieces are missing then it won’t be filling the scuttle up. Maybe a good vacuuming and perhaps a dehumidifier in it overnight would give you a better chance of assessing if it really has an issue?

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Well - today was very very satisfying:

PXL_20201107_101645686.thumb.jpg.d75de2ed95472f78f3be9b57e97ff8de.jpg

 The BX took most of the brunt of the crap from it - sitting broken on the driveway next to it (I washed it off once before this too):

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Spent about 4-5 hours on the outside, was hard work but very worth it. Scrubbed up so well using some AA Wash & Wax, my £10 bargain Facebook pressure washer and a Screwfix wash mitt - can really tell it's only done 35k. Best paint I've ever had on a car and it's so bright! Cleaned out all the grime and mould that had built up in the door rubbers (that took a while) and cleaned all the door shuts ect.

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inCollage_20201107_113226309_2.thumb.jpg.29d174721157688efa7de341af8d1a00.jpg

Sills and all the metalwork aside from the big ol' dent in one of the sills are mint (obviously - but I'm used to old and jap cars so it's a rarity to me!). The bag is on the door in that picture as I think I found out part of the issue why the inside was damp...

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Somehow the drivers door want bent at the top?! Really weird. Left about a 3CM gap just straight into the interior. I bent it with all my might at the top and slammed it super hard a million times and it seems to be somewhat fine now - although not exactly straight, but time will tell if it goes back.

Midway through doing the rear of the interior, didn't take too many photos as it was so dirty I just wanted to get it done. 

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Looking better:

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Went over every square inch with antibac wipes and scrubbed the hell out of it - all the plastics looks much nicer. Bleached the steering wheel with a weak solution to get the mould off. Next step is the seats with a weak bleach solution and some upholstry cleaner.

The cup holders had the stickiest substance I have ever encountered in my life in. Like a weird liquid syrup, it just stayed on my hands forever and I couldn't get it to absorb to anything, just spread it around. Lost the black lining at the bottom as it just disintegrated into syrup...

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Ended up removing the centre console (3 bolts!) and washing it with bathroom cleaner, bleach, scrubbing it, literally everything that was under the sink and got it looking decent:

PXL_20201107_135426203.thumb.jpg.b703e454ffe4e5edca54fddc25860be8.jpg

I know it doesn't look amazing - but it's no longer sticky and no amount of cleaning would get the remainder of that staining. Can't see it when it's fitted.

I noticed something cool that when you change where you want the air blowing - it sounds mechanical and works really well, totally blocks off all other things you don't want it to blow through. About 0.0000021 seconds after I noticed that it stopped changing and now no matter what I do it just blows through the vents on the dash. Is this the little gear/thing that you were talking about @Ian_Fearn& @morrisoxide? Irritating.

 

Also took it on it's first proper drive around the estate after putting some air in the very cracked tyres just to see. Drives well enough, decent place to be - but the brakes are shockingly bad and soft - when I got back I could smell burning after I did a hard brake from 40MPH (which took far too long to stop!) and the right calliper was smoking like a good'un. New disks and pads are in order I think.

Making full use of the drive:

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I leave you with this absolute masterpiece:

PXL_20201107_101839557.thumb.jpg.3db7a7bd21c2e39089df7e4fe8eac38e.jpg

Tomorrow I have to attempt to fix the BX and try not to get distracted with the Panda...

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Great work, it looks fab. 

There's 2 identical coloured (no idea on spec) ones like these 2 and 4 doors down respectively. 

Both owned by horrible old bags though so at least you're bucking the trend 🤣🤣🤣

They don't seem to ever have any major issues with them, seen a few flat tyres and batteries getting charged/inflated by neighbours but they always seem to be on the road. 

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It’s looking great. Has somebody tried to break into it at some point? I can’t see any other reason why the door would be bent. It’s definitely not a common issue.

Regarding the blower...... I suspect you’ve found the reason the Eleganza models are generally considered less desirable on the used market.

I wish mine was that blue. The metallic blue on mine is far too grown up for a Panda!

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On 11/8/2020 at 12:56 AM, vaughant said:

Great work, it looks fab. 

Cheers!

On 11/8/2020 at 8:35 AM, Ian_Fearn said:

It’s looking great. Has somebody tried to break into it at some point? I can’t see any other reason why the door would be bent. It’s definitely not a common issue.

Regarding the blower...... I suspect you’ve found the reason the Eleganza models are generally considered less desirable on the used market.

I wish mine was that blue. The metallic blue on mine is far too grown up for a Panda!

I'll do some research on the blower - what a pain! It's a lovely blue. Good point on being broken into, maybe!

On 11/8/2020 at 8:58 AM, stuboy said:

block of wood on striker plate, window down and bend back?

Good plan.

MX5 finally sold, so now the panda has a home in the garage for now. Hooray!

PXL_20201108_155936779.jpg

Edit: Just looking at the heater/blower location issue - seems if the flap / plastic has snapped it's a doors off, dash out, airbags out, aircon drain and bodge/glue/pin...christ.....

Assuming it's the blend door and not the white plastic bit which I'll check one evening this week. Paging @Aston Martin and @morrisoxide for assistance! :)

Unsure if it goes hot and cold but I think it does....I'll have to check that too! Think I broke it myself by changing the location of the air blowing at max speed - maybe there is a reason it only ramps up to 3 below max as standard. Still - looks like a super common fault.

Edit again: Ooh, I might give this a go and I've also found the two attached PDF's. Although it seems like that is for if it only blows hot or cold and doesn't adjust - not to do with the positioning of it. Maybe someone can help.

Blend flap fix.pdf Panda100hp_BlendFlapFixGuide.pdf

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I’ve never done this job but it’s been a problem since probably 2005. I’ve actually considered buying a broken one just to have a go at fixing it. Alternatively, considering the number of these in the scrap yards now, have you considered converting it to the manual version from a Dynamic?

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27 minutes ago, Ian_Fearn said:

I’ve never done this job but it’s been a problem since probably 2005. I’ve actually considered buying a broken one just to have a go at fixing it. Alternatively, considering the number of these in the scrap yards now, have you considered converting it to the manual version from a Dynamic?

I didn't think that was possible from my research - as all of the gubbins on the Eleganza is done via actuators/flaps, so it'd require a fair amount of part swapping as far as I can tell

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2 hours ago, SmokinWaffle said:

I didn't think that was possible from my research - as all of the gubbins on the Eleganza is done via actuators/flaps, so it'd require a fair amount of part swapping as far as I can tell

No doubt it would need a sizeable chunk of parts but these things are super easy to work on and it kinda resolves the problem forever...... rather than glueing bits of worn out plastic back together.....!

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If its like mine the heat will come on if the fan is on full and you hit random buttons like the reculation button etc. But the second you lower the fan past half you can hear the flap thud.

I 'fixed' mine using similar to the 100HP instructions you posted above. But instead of glue/melting the original tab in, I made a slot with a soldering iron with the flat blade in the flap as in the 3rd pic. I first used a scalpel blade (replaced later with a piece of metal)  for the new tab wedged in with two bits of plastic.

1245292908_IMG_20191116_094809smaller.thumb.jpg.21cb306939495b44c621cfd2636d8bce.jpgIMG_20191116_094813smaller.thumb.jpg.096b1a9090516bd6ca9fd0a720b4817c.jpg

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Make sure the heater is on Lo setting (were the blend door rests when broken) I found the correct angle for the slot by offering the actuator up with the new metal tab in with some blue tack  to mark an indentation of the tab then copied it with some masking tape not in pic.

For the life of me I can't remember how long the new tab ended up being, think it depends on how deep the slot on the blend door is. 

Also something to note is, if you force the actuator back on and the slots don't quite line up or if the new tab is too long, the casing of the actuator pops open revealing many cogs. This happened on mine but I fixed it with hot melt glue.

Another useful link. Post 67 is where I found this solution. 

https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/297997-panda-100hp-no-hot-air-heater-5.html

Good luck.

 

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8 hours ago, Supernaut said:

I absolutely love the colour of this.

I need to find an excuse to try out a Panda sometime. My sister has a 2013 facelift one in purple and I covet it.

Me too! It's so bright, I want it to be called Electric blue but it's probably not. I'm just going to pretend it is.

3 hours ago, morrisoxide said:

Good luck.

Thanks a lot for that guide, really appreciate it @morrisoxide.

So - after a day of worrying and fretting in the back of my mind that I was going to have to take the dash out, chase broken actuators and broken flaps spending time and money - I just got in it and gave it a go and.....it just worked?

Switches between dash vents, windowscreen vents and footwell without fail. Didn't turn the engine on or try to warm it up as it was in the garage and it's late, but very weird. Maybe it was just having a funny five minutes?

Relieved either way. Means I can order disks and pads in the knowledge it won't be a pain to use when it's MOT'd.

Edit: Disks, pads, oil, oil filter an wiper blades ordered, £68 or so total. Then I'll get the tyres fitted and we should be ready for MOT!

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Pretty much the same as the Panda we had for a couple of years, never put a foot wrong. Mrs Cade now has a 500L, but still talks about the Panda. Was just thinking the other day they seem to be disappearing fast- the early ones..  still one of the best cars on the road in my opinion. 

 

post-62-0-44810800-1513868196.jpg

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Looks like someone tried to break into it for sure. If you wind the window down, open the door, you can usually put your knee in the centre of the inside of the door and pull it straight just by grabbing the top of the door and doing the reverse of the original manoeuvre. Don't over do it though as they bend really easily.

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