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Old 4th March 2009, 11:28   #1
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Niggles, problems (Tyre and Stalling) in Palio 1.6 Sports 2007

I have a formula red Fiat Palio 1.6, 2007 model, which has done 17.5k kms till date. It is a beautiful car, and I have not had any significant issues with it at all till now. Recently, though, there are a couple of things which have been a cause of concern for me.
1. Tyre: I have the stock Goodyear GPS2 tubeless tyres. While I have had a puncture once and a loose valve once, but no other problems with the tyres. Nowadays, for the last month or so at least, the left front tyre loses air pressure much quicker than the other tyres. Normally, I get the tyre pressure checked every two weeks and top-up fuel at the same time. Nowadays I have to get the pressure checked every 5-6 days or so, and find that the left front has only 18-19 psi left. I took it to the tyre shop as well, and there was no puncture or any other problem. I will take it to them again. Please suggest the probable causes for this, and what all should be checked/ fixed.
2. Stalling: This is a very recent problem. Yesterday night, I started from home and the car stalled after ~3km or so. I felt a couple of jerks, a sudden loss of power and the car stalled in the middle of the road within 20-30 mtrs. It then refused to start. Thankfully the traffic was quite slow, thanks be to small mercies. Pushed it over to the side of the road, and called the Fiat 24-hr service line. They said it might be an "electrical" problem, and will need to be towed. However, it will take 3 hrs for them to get there. They asked me to find a "black button" in a "hole" under the driver seat. I looked, and while there was a "hole" in the carpet, there was no button or any such. After spending 15 mins like this, tried to crank again and the car started. Gingerly drove back home, no problems whatsoever. Was in a quandary whether to take it to office today. Decided that I should. Promptly got stuck in a traffic jam and took 2 hrs to traverse 20kms. And wouldnt you know it, the car ran smooth with 100% AC, ICE and mobile charger as well. Now this is quite alarming to me. I will take it to TASS today or tomorrow, but I don't trust them with diagnoses. Again, could you please suggest the probable causes, and what could be the solutions?

Regards
Anurag

EDIT: I searched but could not find a similar thread. Mods, please merge threads if there is one already existing. Thanks.

Last edited by anurag_p80 : 4th March 2009 at 11:31.
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Old 4th March 2009, 11:39   #2
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Anurag, for the 1st issue, I feel the valve is the culprit, replace it with a new one.

For 2nd issue, did the stalling happen again (after the first instance)?
If no, wait for sometime & see if it occurs again.
If it reoccurs, get it checked at a Fiat Tata ASC.
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Old 4th March 2009, 11:47   #3
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1. did the car stall while in motion or while in stop-go traffic?

2. did you notice the idle RPM (while in stop-go traffic)? was it dropping to 500 than usual 800-850?

3. did the injector light come on while the problem occured?

4. what is the condition of the spark plugs, coil pack?

5. what is the condition of the TDC Sensor / Crank sensor?

Last edited by planet_rocker : 4th March 2009 at 11:50.
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Old 4th March 2009, 11:55   #4
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Anurag,

I had a similar problem with a single tyre on our Octy. As Finneyp said, it could very well be a faulty valve.

However, do get the rim checked out at a reputed tyre service centre. Sometimes if the rim gets slightly damaged there may be a slow leak. With road conditions being what they are, a nicked rim is just a pothole away.

Note that the rim damage need not be on the external slice of the rim. It was on the inside slice on my Octy.

All the best!
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Old 4th March 2009, 12:00   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planet_rocker View Post
1. did the car stall while in motion or while in stop-go traffic?
While in motion, albeit at low speeds

2. did you notice the idle RPM (while in stop-go traffic)? was it dropping to 500 than usual 800-850?
I did think that the RPM was slightly lower, maybe at 600rpm or so at idle. But this was only that day and did not give much thought to it.

3. did the injector light come on while the problem occured?
No, no lights at all on the console till it stalled.

4. what is the condition of the spark plugs, coil pack?
Frankly, I have no idea whatsoever. But only at 17.5k kms should this be a problem? Should I get these checked?

5. what is the condition of the TDC Sensor / Crank sensor?
Again, no idea.
@finneyp: Thanks for the response. Will get the valve replaced today. The stalling problem hasn't resurfaced yet. The idle rpm was also fine this morning at least.
@planet_rocker: My responses inline. More inputs needed, please.

Last edited by anurag_p80 : 4th March 2009 at 12:03.
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Old 4th March 2009, 13:34   #6
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see if the problem occurs again. also check if the fuel filter was replaced during the last service.
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Old 4th March 2009, 14:39   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ice View Post
However, do get the rim checked out at a reputed tyre service centre. Sometimes if the rim gets slightly damaged there may be a slow leak. With road conditions being what they are, a nicked rim is just a pothole away.
Hey Ice, thanks for the response. Will get the rim checked. I have alloys (OE) though. Don't know whether they can be straightened (unbent?).

@planet_rocker: Yes, the fuel filter was changed. In front of me, as a matter of fact.

Last edited by anurag_p80 : 4th March 2009 at 14:41.
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Old 4th March 2009, 17:34   #8
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No more? Are these the only things to check for?
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Old 4th March 2009, 17:52   #9
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uhm! bump this thread if the problem re-surfaces. Try driving the car without AC

if it doesn't then well and good.
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Old 5th March 2009, 10:23   #10
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Update: The problem did not resurface yet. But the idling now causes a lot of vibrations, sorta like you are sitting in an old tempo. Starting from a stop causes the RPM to go down to about 500 levels before rising again. No extra vibrations once the car has picked up speed (to about 1k RPM in any gear). Perplexed. Please help.

About the tyre, got the valve changed. Amazingly, also found a nail in the tyre. That was taken out and the tyre plugged. Got the rim checked too, no problems there. Guess will only know in a couple of days if the fix is permanent. So far, so good.
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Old 9th March 2009, 11:42   #11
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Get the following things checked:

1. TDC Sensor / Crank sensor.
2. Change the Petrol Pump - Low grade fuel may cause the car to knock.

Try using System G with regular / normal unleaded fuel.
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Old 10th March 2009, 17:05   #12
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All, from my experience (I had a similar problem of car losing power during a long drive to kerala, and did not start the next day) I would also put this as a possible issue with the fuel pump or its sensor could also cause this. One small time mechannic at kerala came home that day and he identified the problem quickly by asking me start the ignition and he kept his ears near the fuel tank and spotted that the pump is not working and reason being the sensor. Worth considering this as well

Cheers Narayanan
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Old 17th March 2009, 17:47   #13
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Update: Tyre problem is solved. No problems yet.

As for the vibrations issue, had left it with TASC, asked them to perform all the checks suggested by people here. Even stayed there half a working day to see the results on the examiner at least. They suspected an electrical problem, maybe the ignition coil. They changed the ignition coil, but the problem did not go. But after putting in the new coil, there was an error code for the Air temp sensor. They say it was a loose connection which they fixed. Took a long test drive, and car was running smooth. Took delivery. Zero bill.

Couple of days later, the vibration started again. Immediately called service advisor; he asked to come in again. Wanted to go on the sat, but the prob is appearing erratically now. Took her for a long drive with TBHPians on Sunday, no issues revving smoothly all the way to the red line. Touched 140 at 4k rpm in 5th. no trouble with pick-up, nothing. But the vibrations, due to missing in the engine, does crop up now and then, mostly after the engine is warmed up, ac is on and I am at a standstill. Perplexed. I think loose connection again. What do you guys say?
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Old 17th March 2009, 18:01   #14
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Could be the fuel.
My cars rpm use to drop tp almost zero and nearly stalled, A.S.S*guys said that its the map sensor it was replaced and throttle body was cleaned.
So far so good.
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Old 17th March 2009, 18:23   #15
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@Anurag_p80: Are you running on alternate fuel? LPG/CNG?
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