MikeR371

Mine's getting taken away tomorrow to the Great Car Park in the Sky. I won't be there to see it go. I left the key and V5 in the glovebox, gave her a hug, a big hug, then walked away with a tear in my eye. Never thought I'd say that about a big lump of steel. But 16 years is a long time.

As mentioned on another thread, my Felicia is going to the great car park in the sky. It's got about 1/2 tank of petrol still though. Is it easy enough to siphon this out via the filler cap, or would there be something to prevent this? Felicia 1.3 petrol 1997.

I recently tried to sell my 1997 1.3 with 93k miles on the clock. No interest on ebay or gumtree at £250. Scrapping it now, been offered £138 on reward recycling.

I'll have a look at the gearbox/speedo cable tomorrow. I haven't topped it up for a long time though and the main oil has needed topping up a couple of times lately, but maybe that's leaking somewhere else.

Felicia '97 1.3 For a couple of weeks now there's been a small amount of liquid on the driver's side mat. I thought it was just water from my shoes but it slowly dawned on me that this wasn't drying out. It smells like oil and it feels like oil, but it's reasonably clear and as far as I know there's not much here carrying oil that could leak(?). Called the AA out this morning on a different matter and asked what he thought. He seemed to think it might be a brake fluid or clutch fluid leak. Any thoughts?

Update to this. In the daylight this morning I can see that it's as simple as low coolant (I think there was a leak in the radiator a few years back fixed with radweld). Not sure why this would cause the starting problem(?) but I've topped up the water and it seems fine now.

Ok I'll give that a go in the morning, I was thinking something similar as the footmat is damp and doesn't seem to want to dry out. Bit more info though I came home tonight to find it still parked on the road (no parking ticket!). It started first time absolutely fine and ran well. I drove it 1/2 mile to the off-licence. But it wouldn't start again, same issue. I waited 10 minutes while it cooled, then it did start after a few seconds of cranking and a touch of gas. I drove in circles for a while, it seemed that the air blower was cooler and the temperature gauge was higher than I expected. So I'm thinking maybe the thermostat might have gone? But would this cause the starting problems? I ran it for a while until properly warmed up, the blower was warm but not hot. When I switched off it then started again no problem.

Felicia 1.3LXi, 17 years old now. Not had a huge amount of trouble, major thing was a few years back when the speed sensor needed replacing. Today's issue seems similar but not exactly the same so I'm thinking it's not this again. The engine cut out this morning and much cranking wouldn't get it going. I left it a few minutes and it's almost starting. It idles very badly (and very slowly) for maybe 20 seconds but then stops instead of kicking into life. I tried giving it a bit of gas but this didn't help. Then it just wouldn't start. It was doing something similar last night in terms of starting, but then it kicked in and was fine. But today - nope. Had to leave it by the road and come to work on the bus. Any ideas what this could be?

Thanks for the help TeflonTom. One last question (promise!): you say the v60 controls the angle of the throttle plate when idling - my problem occurs when travelling as well as when idling, so could this still be the problem?

Hi sorry to resurrect this but my problem continues, only it's now happening on most journeys after maybe 20 minutes driving. It lasts for a couple of minutes then the engine runs fine until it starts again maybe 20 minutes later. I took it to the garage and the guy checked the ecu and cleaned out the throttle body (said it was quite dirty). Seemed ok for a day but then the problem is back. I have no idea what a "v60 stepper motor" is! I have googled it, checked on jorily and eurocarparts without success, and there's no mention of it in my Haynes manual. Can you (or anyone else) help? I've got the MOT coming up very soon..

Changed the voltage regulator at the weekend and that problem seems to have gone away. However, it didn't solve a couple of other issues. The airbag warning light is on for no obvious reason. And the car has a habit of revving uncontrollably on occasions (and sometimes accelerates by itself - thankfully my brakes are ok). I hoped this might be a related electrical problem but seemingly not. It's a garage job now I think.

Right, voltage regulator it is then. New one ordered this morning from Jorily. Thanks people.

I keep getting a voltage surge (well I assume this is what it is). The wipers will go faster, the fan runs faster, the headlights look brighter (and they blown in the past as well). It's quite random though, happens only for a couple of minutes in say a 20 minute trip. Any ideas?

I just tested the voltage while idling and with some revs and it's a steady 14v. Is there anything else I can try or am I going to have to get a diagnostic scan? Never needed one before, guess I have to get this done at a garage... :(

Airbag warning light came on tonight. Felicia 1.3 1997. Never seen this before! Lost the manual, do I need to worry? I'm a very careful driver... I'm not too bothered if it's simply not working, but is there any danger of, say, it going off by accident?

Felicia 1.3 1997 80k miles. As soon as I start it up I can smell burning oil. Literally within seconds from a cold start. Had a look for oil leaks but can't see anything obvious. No smoke that I can see either. Anyone know what this could possibly be?

Occasionally, maybe once a month, the engine seems to get a mind of its own, revving by itself. But not constantly, it's almost as if someone is pumping the accelerator a couple of times per second. When it does this the pedal feels as though the tension has gone slack. If I pull over and wait (engine on or off) for a few minutes then it goes away... until the next time. This sort of sounds similar to another recent problem, the answers to this involved changing the throttle body or the thrust sensor (I tried disconnecting the battery for 30 mins this didn't work). A thrust sensor seems to be £150 on eurocarparts, while a throttle body is £342. Eeek! Is there anything else I could try? Or which should I try first? And can anyone recommend a good website where I could find these parts second hand?

Hi all. My engine doesn't seem to be warming up properly. The gauge doesn't move at all now, and the air coming into the car is warm but I'm sure it's not as warm as it should be and definitely cooler than it was this time last year. I've googled a bit and it looks like replacing the thermostat may be the answer. Can anyone confirm this is likely to be the issue? I can see on Jorily that I could get a new one for about a tenner, is it difficult to replace?

I'll give this a go later in the week. Thanks!

When still or moving I release the brake pedal or the handbrake, and there's a loud squeak coming from the back somewhere. I've just had both rear wheels off and had a look inside the drums, but it wasn't clear where the noise was actually coming from. I used a bit a grease where I could see moving bits but this didn't cure it. Anyone any idea which bit is most likely to be causing this?

Ok will give this a go. Thank you!

I don't know if I can describe this very well, but here goes... While warming up, the engine repeatedly revs every second or so briefly. When warm (if it had a choke I would describe this as when the choke comes off) it sounds fine. Driving ok, but if I take my foot off the gas it seems initially to slow very quicky, as though there is nothing happening in the cylinders. Then the engine cuts in, then out, in, out repeadtedly. So it's sort of a jerky motion. But only when moving, when stopped the idle speed seems fine. Anyone had anything similar to this? I did have a problem with the engine cutting out completely a few months ago, but I got a new speed sensor and this solved it. Don't know if this is relevant.

Yes it's the same thing. Crank sensor = speed sensor.

Yep both in the Haynes. Changing the speed sensor is as easy as changing the temperature sensor.

Did the throttle body clean and replaced the speed sensor, and it seems to be running fine now. At least, I tested it twice for 30 mins then again for 40 mins and it didn't cut out. Thanks all!