danilob

Usually a bad EVAP valve will throw an error in the ECU. I have tried multielectrode OEM NGK BKUR5ET-10 spark plug and I didn't like it at all, now I have BRISK DR15YS which are a grade colder (designed for CNG converted engine) and with a single electrode. They are really good, maybe next time I will try the OEM Champion. Spark plug gap should always be 0.8 mm. How is your valves clearance? (Sorry if I have missed it in your thread). Oh, I forgot to mention, my idle speed raised slightly with a new alternator, the old alternator was not putting enough volts for a proper spark. Is your Felicia an MPI? If so then check the coil pack for burn marks around the rubber parts. If not check the integrity of the distributor or the spark plug cables

Hi D.Fylaktos! I read all the thread, hopefully I didn't miss anything. I don't let my car warming up at idle, just a minute of normal driving and the revs are exactly 850 (with a slightly fluctuation of about + - 30 rpm). I had a similar problem with my Felicia. I have never had fuel consumption problem as my Felicia, in a highway going 110 km/h did an amazing 650 Km before the low fuel warning light turned on. Anyway, Recently I have noticed that my cold starts are not like they used to be. I mean, I used to have 1100 rpm, then within a minute of normal driving they fell down to 850. Now I have like 980 rpm on cold starts (in this period, it's about -2°C). Everything is the same, I didn't change anything. The only thing I did was resetting the adaptation of the throttle body with motordiag simos manager and VAG-COM after a good cleaning, as I had the famous sticking idle problem. To me it's not a problem, the car warms up fine, temperature is fine and runs ok (despite spark knocks when hot as described in my thread)

I ordered what I need for a good oil change, unfortunately the plug was listed as "in stock" but yesterday I have received an email that says that in reality, it's not, it was cheap and I will need it anyway so I have said to ship it whenever they have it in stock again. I have also bought a Liqui Moly Engine Flush and, as you have suggested, a box of sealing washer. If the plug doesn't arrive in time, I think I will reuse the old one with a brand new washer. Maybe it's just dirty and it's not as bad as it looks. I totally agree but my computer science professor always told me that "The main fault in computer science sits between the keyboard and the chair". Programs are made by human, another philosophical question is "Would you ever fly in an full autonomous airplane with an autopilot software written by yourself?". As far as I know Felicia Siemens ECU (1,3 MPI Felicia has the Siemens Simos 2P ECU) has a bug in its firmware that causes the famous "sticking idle" problem. Who knows if my specific ECU with my specific firmware revision is bugged or there is, in reality, a problem that leads to the Faulty ECU error? I have managed to get my hands on the most recent revision of Simos 2P ECU. It should have the most optimized firmware revision with also faster memory chips (source: http://jmjm.cz/clanky-skoda-felicia-1300-mpi-siemens-simos2p.php#simos-hlavni-komponenty). I will do some tests when I have enough time. My girlfriend Coupé has the same 1.8 engine as the Barchetta. Fortunately it's maintenance is not as expensive and complicated as the 20V 5 cylinder version. They are completely different, one is an "exotic" Italian sport car, the other is a tough, built-to-last Czech little tank. Fortunately the Fiat Coupé is not as weak as other Fiat cars, since it was assembled by Pininfarina, but it's not as solid as the Felicia, especially with interior trims. My Covid was mild too fortunately, I had fever for just two days and then only some flu symptoms, now I'm 100% fully recovered, thanks for asking! My chain rattles exactly like that

You are right, in fact I think I will do an oil change after the seafoam, and I will book the car for the timing chain only after a few months, so there will be two oil changes in a shorter period of time and thus the oil should be as clean as possible for the new chain and sprockets. I know it could be not so miraculous as many ads said and I don't expect anything in particular, but if there is even the slightest chance that it can reduce knocking, then I want to try it. I have a mini camera and I will check if something changes or not. I will keep you updated! Giving the fact that the car needs a total repainting, including engine bay, I think that while the engine will be out of the car, it's the perfect time to do it, hopefully in the near future and with people that love and can do their job. As nta16 suggested I will replace the oil drain plug and its washer, what's the size of that bolt for a 1.3 MPI oil sump? I have found M14x1.5 with a16mm long thread but on another site it stated that it's for the 1.6 oil sump

Thank you so much to d.fylactos and nta16 for such a detailed and comprehensive guide. I will follow your tips and instructions very carefully! When I have replaced the O2 sensor I have noticed that the drain plug screw was quite beat up, I think they reuse the same plug over and over but since there are no leaks, I think they have at least replaced the washer. Seafoam Intake spray should have a more "direct" effect, given the fact that it should be sprayed through a vacuum hose directly into the intake manifold, I will report my results! Thank you for your compliment, as an IT Developer I'm used to troubleshooting something I don't have hands on and so I know how much info and details are important. The reason why I have replaced so many parts is because the car had always something "off". I mean, it did run, but not 100% ok. Scanning the ECU reported nothing but the "01177 ECU 37-00 Faulty". It turned out that every single sensor and part affected the drivability of the car in a way or another. They did work good enough to not trigger any error, but not good enough to let the car run good. When I said that replacing them did not change anything I refer to the spark knock problem only. Sorry, I should have mention it. Speaking of "improper diagnose" in this poor Felicia I have seen atrocious "fixes" and they all led me to think that the main reason for such a disaster was the broken thermostat and lazy mechanics. Here is my theory and what I have found during all the work I have done on this car: At some point of its life, the thermostat did broke (classic Felicia problem with broken plastic clip and years of tap water) Due to the broken thermostat, the CNG reducer (that picks up coolant to heat up the CNG from the thermostat housing rear hose) can't heat the CNG anymore and the car had problem on CNG A very "intelligent" mechanic, fixed the problem by blocking the cold air intake port inside the air filter housing, letting only hot exhaust air in and restricting the air flow by putting a cap with a small hole between the air filter housing and the plastic hose that goes in the throttle body cover The thermostat problem didn't show up because, in the meantime, tap water was used, the coolant tank was slightly cracked and the radiator was barely working Hot air is way less dense than fresh air so the engine had to pull harder, all of that with the fuel pressure vacuum line disconnected. Because of that a lot of oil vapour got into the plastic throttle body cover, the throttle body, MAF sensor and intake manifold and eventually into the cylinders, creating all of the deposits. When I have cleaned the throttle body I couldn't even see the screws on the valve because of the oil deposits. In the meantime there was always a coolant leak, another "intelligent" mechanic suspected the heater radiator, so he filled the coolant system with an industrial amount of leak stop and put a plastic garden water tap to exclude the heater from the system. When I have disconnected the CNG reducer coolant hoses, they where entirely clogged with dark brown sand, fortunately no other hoses where clogged and the rest of the system is clean. It was super disgusting. I have photos if you are brave enough 😂 The car had run like this for years. As far as I know my girlfriend's grandfather wanted to junk it and buy a Fiat Panda, so he stopped doing any work or maintenance. He passed away in 2012, right before junking it. My girlfriend was a novice driver at that time and she needed a car and that's the story how my Felicia survived. She told me that the car used to run very badly, until I have started to put my hands on it. Now she has a wonderful and in mint conditions red Fiat Coupé, and I have my white beloved Felicia. The thermostat problem did show up when I fixed the radiator, coolant tank and I pour the proper coolant. Every little piece I changed, improved the behaviour of the car. You may wonder: "is the ECU able to report any other error code besides the 01177 ?" and the answer is yes it is. When I have replaced the throttle cable, I have set it a bit too tight and the ECU throwed the error about not being able to perform basic setting, or when I have investigated over the O2 sensor, I have driven the car with the sensor disconnected to see if there were any improvement (just for some minutes) and the ECU did throw the O2 sensor error. I don't know why the 01177 error is always there, is the ECU really faulty? Besides the spark knock, the car drives beautifully, it revs up quickly and it sounds way healthier than before. Anyway, the timing chain is the next of the list, unfortunately this is my only car and I have just recovered from Corona. I will do the Seafoam and oil change treatment, I will check for any metal residues inside the old oil. Then I will search for a (hopefully) good workshop and book my car for a timing chain replacement. It's noisy, but not as noisy as I have heard in a video in another thread and the amount of noise didn't get worse in this two years. Thanks again for your suggestions and your opinion! In this two years I have checked the clearance three times and I had to make adjustments the first time only, in fact there was a tapping noise. I have checked them so many times because I didn't feel confident about setting them right due to my lack of experience and the "fear" of a beginner. Now that I gain some experience and confidence I'm not that "paranoid" anymore 😂 Anyway, I have followed the guide RicardoM wrote. Exhaust and intake valves are made by different material in my engine so I have set their clearances accordingly. Oh my god! Read above, we are on the same boat! 😂 Sorry for my long answer and thanks again to everyone for the help!

I think I will try seafoam, I have found a German seller that sells both fuel additive and intake spray variant. From the CrisFix video it did something in a short soaking time and without fuel additive, I will also add the fuel additive and I will let the product soak for more than 5 minutes, before going around on high engine revs. Then I will change the motor oil with some good Castrol GTX Ultraclean 10W40 and oil filter. Is it necessary to raise the car for an oil change? It will be the first time for me. Anyway, hydrogen cleaning, if done properly, should dissolve carbon build up instead of chip it up because hydrogen has a combustion power (I don't know if it's the proper name) way higher than regular fuel, that's what I have read online I would obviously prefer a proper cleaning by removing the head but unfortunately I don't feel confident at all to do it and I don't know anyone I trust that could do this

I have seen it and yeah, they looks very similar. Unfortunately Seafoam is not sold here in Italy and I don't know any similar alternatives Mine looked a bit better but I definitely felt the difference and the lack of responsiveness As I said I'm not the one who neglected it, I have the car since two years ago and since then I have addressed a huge amount of other problems in my free time. I'm not a mechanic, I'm a self taught and as my knowledge increases, so does my ability to recognize problems and negligence by the previous owner or lazy mechanics. I'm doing my best, the more I learn, the more surprised I am by fact that the car, despite all of that, has run and it's still running.

Observing the pistons led me to the same conclusion. One thing I forgot to mention is that, when engine is hot, releasing the gas pedal sometimes makes the car kangooring for a second, especially on low gears and low revs. When the engine is cold it didn't happen. I don't know if it's relevant or not, maybe it's the stretched timing chain or the ECU or it's just a consequence of fuel continuing burning right before the cut-off I have seen several methods including spraying water mist in the intake, using seafoam and hydrogen cleaning. I would avoid taking apart the engine as I don't feel confident enough to do such a big job. I'm worried about pieces of coke that could lay around valves, piston rings, oil passages and kat. Do you have any suggestions? Anyway, thank you for your opinion and your time. Out of curiosity, what were your other theories?

I have just created the thread, I have tried to describe it at my best and I have included also some info that could be useful, let me know what you think, thank you

Good morning to everyone, I have a Felicia 1.3 MPI, 136M engine and lately I noticed a pinging noise when the engine is in its operating temperature. The noise is not synchronized with rpm, it looks random but fast, like "tick tick tick tick" and occurs at any revs, especially on low revs, when I accelerate. It's not regular like, for example, tappets noise. It doesn't seem to occur on idle. The engine runs ok, it doesn't misfire or it doesn't have any hesitation while accelerating. The car has about 200.000 km and in most of them the car has run on CNG. Since last May the car runs exclusively on petrol due to a fault in the CNG system. The car has run great on CNG, about 300 km with 13 kg of CNG (11€ in Italy) with only a slightly loss of power on low revs. What I have replaced: MAF sensor, throttle body (I have done the TBA reset with motordiag simos manager and VAG COM), throttle body gasket, air filter, fuel pressure regulator and its o-rings, fuel pump, O2 sensor, thermostat, coolant temperature sensor, spark plugs, ignition coils pack and EVAP valve, nothing improved or changed anything Useful info: I have the car since 2 years ago and I don't know anything about previous owner maintenance routines, but judging from the exterior, he didn't care at all The car has run with some cheap Motul oil, 10W40 The car has been overheated three times in its life, in one of them the car has run 2 km with no coolant at all, no obvious damage occurs and headgasket seems fine The car has run a lot of time with a broken thermostat (stuck open) and tap water, now it uses the proper coolant. I have flushed it frequently to see if there were signs of rust in coolant, no rust so far The car has run a lot of time with the vacuum fuel pressure hose disconnected (I'm sure a mechanic forgot to plug it in) so the car has run very bad with rough idle or revving like crazy while at intersections I did a compression test: from the first cylinder: 16 bar, 15.5 bar, 16 bar, 15,5 bar, factory specs should be from 11 bar to 15 bar I regularly check the valves clearance Temperature is perfect, a steady 90°C with good warm up (temperature checked both with instrument cluster gauge and VAG-COM) The car doesn't eat oil or coolant, it doesn't smoke white, blue or anything like that. I have tried different sparkplugs, now I run with single electrode BRISK DR15YS 1334 that are a grade colder and they are designed for CNG, I have checked the gap before installation. I have tried also OEM NGK BKUR5ET-10 multielectrode but the engine runs better with BRISK I have checked for low fuel pressure, I didn't measure it with a gauge but I have disconnected the return line and fuel pressure looks quite strong I have checked and cleaned all the injectors, spray pattern is perfect. I have also checked them while running with a stethoscope and all of them work perfectly I have checked the hall sensor on the flywheel, I cleaned it and there are no damage I have cleaned all electric contacts I could find and I have checked for damages There are no fuel leaks or vacuum leaks that could led to an extremely lean condition I usually use regular 95 octane fuel, I have tried a full tank of premium 100 octane fuel but nothing changed, I have also tried various fuel treatment additives but nothing improved the noise Last time I have run the car on CNG I didn't heard any pinging noise, maybe because CNG has an octane rate way higher than petrol, it should be around 120 There is no pinging until the engine is fully warmed up. Timing chain is noisy, it is still the OEM one and maybe it's so stretched that it could slightly affect timing I don't know if knock sensor is working, but due to the CNG system, it's impossible to reach it without disconnecting a lot of CNG stuff While scanning the ECU errors with VAG COM, it always reports the code 01177 ECU 37-00 Faulty, but this error was already there way before the pinging noise started to be heard. I know some history of the car because it was my girlfriend grandfather's car. She took the car in 2012 when he passed away and then she donated it to me two years ago because I have spent a lot of time and money to fix stuff. I love this car, I have a pretty bad scoliosis ad I had surgery, I have never been in a more comfortable car than Felicia. I did a 1000 km trip with her and my back was still as good as I had just got up from bed. I want to give my Felicia what she deserves, no matter how much money and time I will spend. She must stay with me for another long time. Anyway, I used a camera and I took a look inside the spark plug holes and I think that there is a lot of carbon buildup that could become super hot and could ignite the fuel before the spark, In Italy there is no product like seafoam, I have to look for a similar product. Here is the photos: https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/7959/1DgFqj.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/955/R9nRjn.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/930/uBLo3h.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/6545/s1rvxl.jpg

Update: I have installed the new alternator, AS-PL model A9034. In my case It was more difficult than expected, definitely a four hands job. The most difficult part was putting the belt on the alternator pulley because the belt was still a bit tight, despite the tensioner was loose, and at the same time you have to pay attention to the belt on the PAS pump pulley. Then it was just a matter of aligning the bolts holes of the alternator to the holes on the bracket, I put the upper bolt first just enough to hold the alternator in place, then I have released the tension again to align the bottom holes. I have also carefully cleaned the ring terminal of the live wire and checked for any shorts. The new alternator came with a testing certificate, voltage regulator already installed and metal bushings ready to be pressed in, while screwing the bolts. Now the car has a steady 14.3V with all sort of electrical load and even the engine sounds healthier and is more powerful, I think that the spark was not strong enough before and most of the fuel remained unburned. Now I have to sort a pinging problem that occurs when the engine is in operating temperature, but I will start another thread. Thanks to everyone for the help!

Update: I have managed to remove the old alternator, I had to find a short enough 14 mm open-end wrench because the radiator was in the way while releasing the tension of the belt. The alternator was stuck in its mounting bracket, I had to gently hammer it until it came loose. An advice for those who want to remove an alternator in a 1.3 Felicia with PAS or AC (I don't know if it's the same on other models): pay attention to the bottom radiator coolant hose and the power steering pump, the alternator was way heavier than expected and could fell down. Anyway, the old alternator seems quite worn: corroded connections and screws, sound of loose tiny wires inside while the rotor is rotating and very stiff and noisy bearing. The new part is on its way, it should arrive next Thursday. I already have the Haynes Manual and it helped me a lot (not always), but replacing alternator in a Felicia with PAS or AC is not well documented.

I have found AS-PL alternators for about 100€ (product number A9034) from Germany and they look pretty much identical to mine with external voltage regulator too, plus the brand seems ok. They differ only by an extra wire coming from the voltage regulator that goes to the live stud. I would replace the entire unit because I am pretty confident that I can do it by myself. In my area mechanics are insanely expensive, for example, they made me an estimate of about 400€ for replacing the fuel pump and when they see my poor Felicia they always tell me to junk it and buy a new car like a Fiat Punto or Panda or a modern VW. Because of this I don't really trust any mechanic here. I have sprayed some rust penentrant WD-40 (not the regular one) and I let it sat for hours but it didn't help. The oil leak is from the previous owner and it was from the oil cap and the cam cover seal, I have already replaced both but I haven't clean the leak yet and unfortunately it goes all the way down to the oil sump and the bottom engine guard Thank you for the diode array bolts info! I have never noticed that

Thank you so much Ricardo, unfortunately rust is all over the paint with tiny little superficial rust dots, the car sat outside for its entire life so it got ice, snow, salt, rain and direct sun. Anyway, judging from your photo it should definitely be the tensioner bolt, my goal is to replace the alternator without dealing too much with the aux belt 💪

Goodevening, this is my first thread in this forum. You all helped me so much with my beloved Felicia 1.3 MPI Comfort GLX, 136M engine with power steering. I was dealing with a low output alternator. The first symphtom was a faintly dashboard battery light that increases its brghtness depending on the electrical load (i.e. headlights, foglights, rear defroster, blower etc. The second symphtom was that headlights and, in general, every bulb of the car decrease their brightness on low revs or if I, for example, turn on the blower. The battery is brand new and I have tested it also with another good known battery, both of them are from a reputable brand. I have measured the output at the battery and it is: Idle, no electrical loads: 12.7 V Idle, with headlights and blower: 12.3 V At 3000 rpm, no loads: 13.1 V At 3000 rpm, with headlights and blower: 12.9V The problem got worse gradually in two years. I had a good known working voltage regulator but it didn't solve the problem so this morning I have checked the wirings: the live connection on the rear of the alternator was totally destroyed and corroded, so I decided to unscrew it to clean it. And this is how my nightmare begins: When I have tried to gently unscrew the live wire, the alternator live stud broke inside, it was entirely rusted. I have tried to follow some other threads in this forum for removing the alternator, but I had no luck releasing the tension on the belt. I have tried to unbolt the alternator but the bolt on the bottom seems to spin freely and removing the upper bolt seems useless because the alternator doesn't move at all. What could I do? I have done some minor jobs to this car and I have some basic tools. I have the Haynes Manual but this type of alternator is not well covered. Here is some photos: is the last one the tensioner release bolt? https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3082/IyjeS6.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/9689/qJbCWZ.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2113/GJXYdm.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/1600/5Baw2z.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/22/Vrjgrx.jpg Thanks to all in advance and sorry if I made some grammar mistakes, I'm italian. Here Felicia are somewhat rare, I have seen three in my entire life. Mine is from 2000, it was my girlfriend's grandfather car and unfortunately he did not treat it very well.