ian450

Thanks Tom. I'm near Basingstoke, bit of a trek. Might be down your way sometime though, got relatives on Hayling, I'll drop you a pm. Had another look but darned if I can see anything wrong. Sounds sort of under the passenger footwell so could be the lower mount I suppose.

I'm getting a strange irregular tapping noise when I pull away or sudden deceleration as though when the engine twists or shudders under load something is loose. Weird thing is it's worse in cold weather and/or until it's been driven for a while and warmed up. Done the full lock hard acceleration test and doesn't seem to be (or sould like) CVs. Had a lumpy tickover for a while and maybe this has worn a mount or linkage, but don't know, nothing obvious but haven't had a really good look yet. Anyone got any ideas what's worth checking or had this before. Cheers for any help. Oh yes it's a 1.3mpi '97

Had recent experience of coolant temp sensor failure, the gauge stayed at the bottom, no movement at all. The coolant temp was fine, the heater got hot quickly etc, there was just no signal to the gauge. If the heater is producing less heat/taking longer and the gauge eventually moves just a bit then maybe the thermostat/housing is more likely at fault. Replacing the cts is a piece of cake if that's the fault. Both items seem to commonly fail.

I've just dried my carpet out on the passenger side, it was a real pain. If the carpet feels really wet there's likely to be a lot of water underneath, it gathers in the felt underlay and in all the crevices in the floor pan. Hopefully yours isn't so bad yet. If I remember correctly there is a drain plug under a sticky square cover under the carpet but I doubt this will get much out because in my case at least, it was so sopping and due to the shape of the floor. I spent most of the day with a vax machine. You can prise the carpet from the edges of the trim and lift it to some extent. Taking out the whole carpet is a bit of a job. Check the carpet in the rear too, water may have got there. Feel under the passenger seat, there's a join in the carpet and you'll be able to get your hand under it to feel if it's wet underneath. I removed the passenger seat to lift the carpet, not too difficult, just a few allen screws. Mechanic could do that in a few minutes. Hope that's some help.

One of my headlight adjusters never worked when I got the car, then one day it it was working fine. But unless there's about ten people in the back I can't see much use for it!

Electrical problems sound like voltage regulator. As suggested though the the intermittent wipe can be varied between 2 and 35 seconds by switching the wipers on (to the intermittent position) and let it do a wipe, then switch off for the interval you want between wipes, then back on again. It then continues wiping at whatever interval you set. Or something like that anyway, confused the hell out of me and I thought the wipers were faulty.

It only takes a few minutes to check the gaskets for leaks. Spray WD40 on them with the engine running and if the engine note changes it's getting sucked in. Replacements cost about

If it's not actually shutting properly, do you mean the catch isn't holding it fully shut. If so maybe the catch is stuck open and needs a bit lubing and freeing up. I seem to recall mine was quite dry and stiff when I got it. I also find that the bonnet never fully shuts when I 'drop' it down. I have to lower it so it rests on the catch and then push it shut firmly with the palm of my hand.

That sounds like it was a crudded up butterfly valve/throttle body bore which can cause the engine to stall at low revs, I think it's quite common. You should avoid any damage when cleaning it, like leaving score marks with something sharp. I cleaned the valve and throttle body bore with an old toothbrush and carb cleaner which seemed to work fine. However in my case the actual cause of the poor idle was a leaky inlet manifold gasket, which is also quite common it would seem.

Worth checking a few simple things. I'd be thinking things like corroded contacts on the CTS, dirty butterfly valve and maybe leaking inlet gaskets as suggested. Might be none of them of course but all easy to check. Are the plugs sooty and is the economy poor, these would suggest an over rich mixture.

I'm certainly no expert but when I changed mine a mechanic friend told me this. If the CTS fails and reports a cool engine when it's actually hot, it would run rough because the mixture would be wrong (too rich presumably). Logically that seems to make sense but someone please say if it's wrong. Mind you if the thermostat has failed, then the coolant is too cool anyway. If you've already changed the sensor with no change, I would rule it out unless it only ran rough on the old sensor, in which case you might have more than one fault. Be interesting to hear what the dealer says.

Could be a clue to the problem perhaps (thermostat?) if the heater is not as hot as usual. One thing I like about the Felicia is that the heater gets warm fast, even before the gauge has moved much. Handy for me because I often have to be at work at some godawful early hours, so quick demisting is a bonus. So maybe you'd still get a reasonable amount of heat in the cabin even if the thermostat is open, but only a guess, not had a thermostat problem myself (yet). Anyway, if the dealer's going to sort it so much the better. BTW I asked about the colour of the sensors and they were none the wiser what the difference was. There was a 1.3 in the workshop and it had a blue one. The parts man thought either was ok. Seems to work fine.

Sounding more like it could be the gauge then, bit of pain to get to I think. Could be blue or yellow collars are not critcal, anyway got to go the the local dealer later for some gaskets and I'll enquire to check I've got the right one (and what the difference is). If one of the mechanics is about I'll see what he reckons, let you know if there's anything to say.

If it's any help here's what I can say about when I changed mine, from memory at least. The car is a '97 1.3mpi Old one: chisel shaped plastic end, O ring captive, yellow collar New one: Round flat metal end, separate O ring, yellow dot. To change it, this is what I did. First of all I unclipped it and yanked it out, got covered in hot coolant, and put it back sharpish. I went in swearing at my stupidity and changed my shirt while the engine cooled some more. Second attempt, the engine now completely cool and for good measure depressurised by slackening the filler cap. Put a rag around it but this time there was virtually no spillage anyway. Put the new one in firstly placing the new O ring on it. Topped up any lost coolant (mainly due the first attempt) in the filler tank and screwed the cap down. Gauge now fine. Couple of thoughts for you, sorry if any seems obvious but best mentioned just in case. Is blue the right colour code. Mine is yellow, maybe it's wrong but someone here can confirm that no doubt. Is there an old O ring still in the orifice, hence the new one won't fit. Does your heater get very warm quickly. If so should think the thermostat is shut when cold as it should be. If you want it I can probably find the part box and get the suppliers name and part no. I think they're based in Andover Hants. They have a web site. Hope that helps if only a bit.

Forgot to mention, I tested the gauge was ok first. Haynes manual 3.6/11 there's a explanation of how, quite easy.

Same symptom on mine when I first got the car. Was the coolant temp sensor, that's the 4 pin one by the thermostat. Cost

You're right, it seems to be quite common. The screen seal on mine is leaking. Feel the padding under the dash and see if it's wet (around the bonnet release). On mine the water comes in at the bottom corner of the screen ie the lowest point. I unclipped the trim from the screen pillar for a better look and could see a water track from the seal corner. I'm going to run some black silicone sealant under the seal in the corner, maybe all around, Halfords sell it, recommended for windscreens etc. A word of alarm, yesterday I prised the carpet up to let it dry. It was sopping with a puddle underneath, so I used a wet and dry vacuum cleaner which got nearly full by the time I'd finished, nearly a gallon of water under there and in the carpet! Also, to get under the bottom edge of the seal I removed the screen trim (the plastic between the screen and bonnet). The two plastic retainers (one beside each wiper) were a pig to pull out, unless there's some special technique I don't know about. Hope that's of some help.

To report back on what I wrote above, tried tightening the manifold bolts, didn't feel very tight at all. Still leaking a bit but definitely an improvement in running. Will need a new gasket to fix completely but this is looking almost certain to be the problem in my case (and not too uncommon it would seem). Worth checking.

I think it's an under-rated car, which is good because you might get a lot for your money and if you just want honest A2B transport, it's probably a good choice. I've not had mine very long but done some longish journeys and found them really quite pleasant and as good as most other similar cars. Nippier than you'd expect, straight and sure ride, good space (and you can completely remove the rear seat and make it like a van) low insurance group. There seem to be many about with low miles maybe because they've had mature owners.

Apart from niggling problems mine's be very reliable. Wish I'd known more about them and what to check before buying though. As said above be methodical when you view, give it a decent road test, not just around the block, to make sure it drives and idles smoothly and steadily hot and cold. Check the temp gauge is working (about half way or so when hot). Windscreen seal leaks seem common and a right pain but can be sorted. Check the footwells are dry and try to feel inside the soundproofing under the dash especially below the windscreen corners. Headlamp levellers can fail, but probably not too important. Expect fairly heavy steering if not PAS and the engine is naturally a bit tappety, which needs periodic adjustment.

This might be worth checking. I think I might have found the cause of my lumpy tickover and high consumption. It was suggested here to look for intake air leaks and I asked a mechanic friend his opinion also. He thought a lambda sensor fault to be possible but reckoned an intake air leak to be more likely as even a slight one could upset the lambda readings and cause it to richen the mixture. He mentioned that he had a car that whistled due to a leak at an injector. The other day my car made a loud whistling (for a while until I revved the engine). So as advised by my friend, today I got a can of WD40 with the tube attached to precisiely direct the spray and, with the engine running, sprayed all the intake gaskets (ie base of throttle body, injector bases, manifold gasket). Sure enough when I got to the manifold gasket at the left cylinder (nearest the alternator) the engine note changed a lot, so it must be sucking in the WD40 through a leaky gasket. Continually spraying at this point smoothed the tickover quite a bit. I didn't have time to investigate further but next I'll check the manifold bolts are tightened correctly. If that doesn't work it will be a new gasket, a fairly straightforward job I think and hopefully that will make a difference. If you haven't checked this it might be worthwhile, only takes a few minutes.

Try the breakers, I've had several (for various cars) for

4 wire lambda sensors on ebay at

Much grumblage indeed, these systems can be a bit of blank cheque. Finding the problem without the right test gear is the rub (and I think even with it it's not always conclusive-could be this could be that) My sister paid several hundred to diagnose and replace a couple of sensors on a corsa. Might be worth cleaning if you're brave enough. Got some info on cleaning at the fiat coupe owners site. Like to know how you get on. I'll see what else I can find out, in the meantime got a pool of water in the footwell to mop, b****** windscreen!!!

Try a google search on lambda sensor symptoms. I got some useful info. Testing looks difficult without specialist gear. Certainly not sure but from reading the results of the search it could well be lambda at fault or something related upsetting it (eg air leaks, maf, poor earthing etc-try the search). Such a problem is likely to cause poor economy, rough or random idle, wrong mixture etc. Sounds like mine alright!!! fyi mine doesn't tend to stall, if stalling, butterfly dirty? I just filled up and got 30mpg with a mix of long/short journeys. Don't drive it hard, seems poor, compares or not? Also did a search on cleaning lambda sensor, that was interesting, lemon juice:confused: But I'm not recommending anything!!! it's only what I read.