[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

However, I have been seeing that the car gets to 2/3rd with A/C ON in City traffic and also kind of nudge the 1/2 mark in stop & go traffic at times and then come down to 2/3rd. Thankfully, it has never breached the half mark or stayed close to that for a longer time.

Would like to know if this is normal or should I take it to the doc.

With the GTX, the fan will shift to high speed the moment it goes slightly above the half way mark. This behavious is without A/C.
With the A/C on, it would always stay at 30% mark and not budge beyond, since the fan works at high speed.

I had noticed similar behavior in my car and after a month or so of driving, found out that one of the hoses had a very very slight leak. It was so small, you would notice a tiny stream of water leak only when the engine is hot.

Do check your coolant level. Chances are, it will be below the required mark.

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Without AC, it'd climb to around 2/3rd and would trigger the second stage fan and then cool down further.

Your fan resistor is faulty thus not triggering on the low fan speed mode. Temps should be at or just below half with AC off if your low speed was actually working. Get it checked/replaced. With the AC on, the fan is triggered to run at full speed irrespective of the temperature and hence helps with keeping the temperatures lower.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

.... Do check your coolant level. Chances are, it will be below the required mark.

The coolant level indeed was low. Just topped it up with water now for checking the leak. Will check again in the morning before I drive. There was a leakage some time back in one of the steel lines or so & it was replaced at R.S. Motors. Not sure what other hoses are leaking.

The coolant is green in color, hopefully it leaves some stains where its dripping.

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

Your fan resistor is faulty thus not triggering on the low fan speed mode. Temps should be at or just below half with AC off if your low speed was actually working. Get it checked/replaced. With the AC on, the fan is triggered to run at full speed irrespective of the temperature and hence helps with keeping the temperatures lower.

The fan itself was replaced in the recent past - I'll be quite disappointed if the relay shot in such a short time. Also, just checked and even the 2nd stage fan is not as vigorous as it used to be - the wind blast & sound are both a bit muted than I have experienced before.

A visit to Murugan's garage is in order this weekend. This car manages to keep me busy somehow!!

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

There was a leakage some time back in one of the steel lines or so & it was replaced at R.S. Motors. Not sure what other hoses are leaking.

It's always better to replace all rubber hoses along with the steel lines. They are cheap, but can cause a lot of trouble if they give up at a wrong place and time.

This car manages to keep me busy somehow!!

Makings of a great project car. I believe this is the car's way of demanding some extra care and attention.

Regards,
Shashi

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

The fan itself was replaced in the recent past - I'll be quite disappointed if the relay shot in such a short time. Also, just checked and even the 2nd stage fan is not as vigorous as it used to be.

Its not the relay - it will be the fan resistor. Its not a part of the fan motor and it sits on the fan shroud.

Simple test - When the car is warm/hot, stop on the side and turn off the car. If the fan continues to keep running for ~30 seconds after the key has been turned off, your low speed is working fine. If it doesn't, low speed isnt working and the usual culprit is the resistor.

When my fan resistor had died, an electrician soldered a piece of wire across the resistor terminals. This meant my low speed started working, but the fan would run on full speed and my temps would never cross 25-30% without AC. The loud racket was very evident when the car was turned off, I soon replaced the resistor with a new one.

Interestingly, cost of a new resistor has shot up from 649 to 2500 recently.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

It's always better to replace all rubber hoses along with the steel lines. They are cheap, but can cause a lot of trouble if they give up at a wrong place and time...

Well, I believe in this, but most A$$ / garage never try to do this as either stuffs are difficult to procure or the ROI vs effort may not make business sense. Murugan is the one who resurrected the car - so he might be motivated to trouble shoot everything. Let's see how it goes.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Makings of a great project car. I believe this is the car's way of demanding some extra care and attention...

I'd have loved to take that extra pain if indeed I was tweaking it. The car is stock and I am struggling to keep it trouble free, so that's a bit annoying.

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

...Simple test - When the car is warm/hot, stop on the side and turn off the car. If the fan continues to keep running for ~30 seconds after the key has been turned off, your low speed is working fine. If it doesn't, low speed isnt working and the usual culprit is the resistor....

Is it the low speed fan which works when the car is shut down? I used to think it's the high speed because of the noise it made (when these were working fine).

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

Interestingly, cost of a new resistor has shot up from 649 to 2500 recently.

is this the correct part? Anyway, I'll confirm the root cause before buying such an expensive part.

http://www.99rpm.com/fiat/radiator-f...lio-stile.html

Edit :: @Sunny, I might drive to bangy soon to get a leather steering job done. Is there a way we could catch up? Would love to have you take a look at the car and give me some feedback.

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Is it the low speed fan which works when the car is shut down? I used to think it's the high speed because of the noise it made (when these were working fine).

Yes its the low speed fan.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

is this the correct part? Anyway, I'll confirm the root cause before buying such an expensive part.

http://www.99rpm.com/fiat/radiator-f...lio-stile.html

Yes thats right. If you're not willing to spend so much money on a resistor, you can wire up a bank of 10W-50W resistors of the correct resistance in parallel; it might even be more reliable than the original and way cheaper.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Edit :: @Sunny, I might drive to bangy soon to get a leather steering job done. Is there a way we could catch up? Would love to have you take a look at the car and give me some feedback.

Let me know when you're heading this way, we can meet up.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

The coolant level indeed was low. Just topped it up with water now for checking the leak. Will check again in the morning before I drive. There was a leakage some time back in one of the steel lines or so & it was replaced at R.S. Motors. Not sure what other hoses are leaking.

The coolant is green in color, hopefully it leaves some stains where its dripping.

That means the leak is very tiny and if it is falling on the engine, it will evaporate, instead of falling on the ground.

My advice, when the car is hot, open the hood and check with a flashlight for the leak.
In any case, you will be better off letting the doctor detect the leak. Just tell your trusted garage of the reduced coolant level and they should be able to figure it out, since in any case this is not going to be a DIY, so might as well let them do everything.

[swiftnfurious]

Insurance Renewal 2017

I was given multiple follow up mails & calls by Bajaj Allianz guys to renew the insurance. I was dumbfounded when I saw the rates for renewal which is higher than previous years premium, inspite of having a 20% NCB. I thought I'll take it slow and hence waited till mid Feb and took the plunge.

Opted for the same Rs. 1,85,000/- IDV and the premium was Rs. 9993/-. The reason is the increase in premium for the 4 wheelers and engines above 1.6L gets a 20% hike. I verified with my friend who is in the business too.

[chandrda]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Insurance Renewal 2017

I was given multiple follow up mails & calls by Bajaj Allianz guys to renew the insurance. I was dumbfounded when I saw the rates for renewal which is higher than previous years premium, inspite of having a 20% NCB. I thought I'll take it slow and hence waited till mid Feb and took the plunge.

Opted for the same Rs. 1,85,000/- IDV and the premium was Rs. 9993/-. The reason is the increase in premium for the 4 wheelers and engines above 1.6L gets a 20% hike. I verified with my friend who is in the business too.

Even I got a higher quote than last year for my GTX. The difference is around Rs.600 and IDV is 1,85,000/-.

The insurance adviser said that the difference is because the third party premium has gone up across all the vehicle class from this year and apart from 20% no claims bonus, I have to pay higher premium. Ridiculous!! I say.

[tp_dominator]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Insurance Renewal 2017

I was given multiple follow up mails & calls by Bajaj Allianz guys to renew the insurance. I was dumbfounded when I saw the rates for renewal which is higher than previous years premium, inspite of having a 20% NCB. .

That's quite a looker you have there. My first car was a Fiat Palio 1.6 and your posts bring a lot of memories about the car which sadly i owned for only two months.

Be prepared to pay even higher premiums next year should you retain the car since the Third Party premiums for vehicles having more than 1500CC engine are going to increase by upto 3K from next fiscal.

[amit_mechengg]

Wow you got a Fiat !!
Yes its true, the palio will surely outshine even todays modern 10-12 lac rs cars. The alfa derived rally engine coupled to the best ever gear ratios makes it hoot to drive. 3rd gear 147kmph - BOOM !!

Yes it comes with a headache due to the age, but once you have right links and good mechanics you can easily maintain the palio. It has a certain theory and a good experienced Palio owner should be more than willing to help you.
Below is my restored GTX with Siena big bore short stroke engine, with a FFE and a remap. Whenever i am sad or tired i make sure i grab the wheel. Its nirvana.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Below is my restored GTX with Siena big bore short stroke engine, with a FFE and a remap. Whenever i am sad or tired i make sure i grab the wheel. Its nirvana.

Hi Amit, I have a white 2001/02 1.6 GTX which belonged to my Dad and is now with me after he passed away. As a result the car holds a lot of sentimental value and I'd like to retain it as long as possible.

It needs a good technician/mechanic as the ones I have given it to have done a very so-so job. Can you please recommend a good mechanic in Pune?

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Hi Amit, I have a white 2001/02 1.6 GTX which belonged to my Dad and is now with me after he passed away. As a result the car holds a lot of sentimental value and I'd like to retain it as long as possible.

It needs a good technician/mechanic as the ones I have given it to have done a very so-so job. Can you please recommend a good mechanic in Pune?

Since this car belongs to your father and obviously it holds a value which cant be quantified I would be more than glad to help you with anything required for the gtx, be it parts or mechanics.

When Pandit shut down its fiat shop the expert factory trained employees opened their own garage, all of our pune team fiat members go to them. Best hands to work on your palio.

Wings auto : Rahul Jadhav - +919011079063

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Since this car belongs to your father and obviously it holds a value which cant be quantified I would be more than glad to help you with anything required for the gtx, be it parts or mechanics. When Pandit shut down its fiat shop the expert factory trained employees opened their own garage, all of our pune team fiat members go to them. Best hands to work on your palio.

Thanks Amit. Much appreciated. The fact our Pune based Fiat owners go to him is a big relief to me. I'll call Rahul when I plan to send the car for a service.