International Lancia Forums

Hi,

Got my '91 Lancia a couple of months back. Gave it a new coat of
paint, fixed the speedo, tightened some of the loose plastics
in the cabin, replaced some injection ring part when she died
on me as I was coming out of the highway. Made a hole in wallet.

Now she looks good, runs fine 'cept for a couple of problems (well,
not really serious ones, I hope):

a. strong exhaust smell in the cabin when air-con is not running
at full blast or when she's idling (smell is more obvious to back
seat passengers)

b. sluggish feeling when accelerator is depressed immediately
after letting go completely when travelling at high speed (above
100km/h)

c. warning sensor for brake lights come on occasionally and go
off after 1 or 2 seconds when car is going at high speed

d. high idle speed (between 1,000 to 1,500 rpm) that fluctuates
between stops - sometimes goes up to 1,500 rpm, at other times
drops to 1,000 especially when air-con compressor activates

Appreciate any advice on these problems. Thanks in advance!

Best wishes,
Leon

Hi Leon

>a. strong exhaust smell in the cabin when air-con is not running
>at full blast or when she's idling (smell is more obvious to back
>seat passengers)

I believe i read somewhere (probably in this forum) that this problem comes with almost all dedras!!
When it was beeing sold they returned to factory so they could fix it, but many still out there!!!
I have the same problem..... But going to check where's the problem, i believe its in a falty joint....




>b. sluggish feeling when accelerator is depressed immediately
>after letting go completely when travelling at high speed (above
>100km/h)
and
>d. high idle speed (between 1,000 to 1,500 rpm) that fluctuates
>between stops - sometimes goes up to 1,500 rpm, at other times
>drops to 1,000 especially when air-con compressor activates

No big ideas here... Air filter damaged or old or air intake with obstructions..???



>c. warning sensor for brake lights come on occasionally and go
>off after 1 or 2 seconds when car is going at high speed

Last weekend i found the same problem in my dedra... When the rain comes.... the lights flash!!!
Good isolation will help prevent this problem, verify the rubers in your stop lights case....




Hope my experiences help you solve the problem....



Best Regards


Hugo Pinto

Hi Hugo,

Thanks for your reply.

>>a. strong exhaust smell in the cabin when air-con is not running
>I believe i read somewhere (probably in this forum) that this problem
> comes with almost all dedras!! When it was beeing sold they returned
> to factory so they could fix it, but many still out there!!! I have the same
> problem..... But going to check where's the problem, i believe its in a
> falty joint....

I did a search on the net sometime back and came across an
article that mentioned a factory recall for Dedras manufactured
around 90-91. There was mention of a missing seal between
the back and side panel (or something to that effect) and that
was resulting in the exhaust penetrating the cabin. Strangely,
I can't seem to find that article online anymore. If only I knew the
exact position of the hole, then I could plug it myself somehow...

>>b. sluggish feeling when accelerator is depressed immediately
>>d. high idle speed (between 1,000 to 1,500 rpm) that fluctuates
>No big ideas here... Air filter damaged or old or air intake with obstructions..???

Tried changing the air filter. There wasn't any significant improvement
where these problems were concerned. I have considered that It
could be a leaky air filter housing as the area around the large
screw holding down the air filter housing has cracked before and
was patched using strong glue.

I do notice that the sluggishness does not appear when I top up my
petrol tank to full. I'm not sure if the topping up of the tank affects the
problem directly or if it's just psychology at work.

A friend has suggested that I change the water sensor. Although I
have the Lancia Dedra owner's manual (two of them in fact - one in
brand new condition!), it doesn't state the location of the water
sensor. Also, I'm quite limited where parts are concerned because
I'm located in the Far East (Singapore) and the local distributor of
Fiat and Lancia parts doesn't stock much (there are only 80+
Lancias in Singapore!). I have tried searching for online sources of
Lancia parts but have not come across any that would take payment
online and ship over to my place.

>>c. warning sensor for brake lights come on occasionally and go
>>off after 1 or 2 seconds when car is going at high speed
>Last weekend i found the same problem in my dedra... When the
> rain comes.... the lights flash!!! Good isolation will help prevent this
> problem, verify the rubers in your stop lights case....

I see... in my case however, it happens sporadically whether or not
it is raining. Seems to me that the car's electronic brain might be
getting a little senile...

> Hope my experiences help you solve the problem....

Thanks, really appreciate the information that you have given me.

Enjoy your Dedra(s)!

Best wishes,
Leon

Exhaust smell.

There was a dealer call back for all Dedras. At the side where the exhaust pipe is at rear of car they simply sealed a vent which was under the bumper. I did have the recall sheet at that time approx.1994/5 and also reissues as per LMC approx2000/1.

Regards Chris.



Leon wrote:
>
> Hi Hugo,
>
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> >>a. strong exhaust smell in the cabin when air-con is not
> running
> >I believe i read somewhere (probably in this forum) that
> this problem
> > comes with almost all dedras!! When it was beeing sold they
> returned
> > to factory so they could fix it, but many still out
> there!!! I have the same
> > problem..... But going to check where's the problem, i
> believe its in a
> > falty joint....
>
> I did a search on the net sometime back and came across an
> article that mentioned a factory recall for Dedras
> manufactured
> around 90-91. There was mention of a missing seal between
> the back and side panel (or something to that effect) and that
> was resulting in the exhaust penetrating the cabin. Strangely,
> I can't seem to find that article online anymore. If only I
> knew the
> exact position of the hole, then I could plug it myself
> somehow...
>
> >>b. sluggish feeling when accelerator is depressed
> immediately
> >>d. high idle speed (between 1,000 to 1,500 rpm) that
> fluctuates
> >No big ideas here... Air filter damaged or old or air intake
> with obstructions..???
>
> Tried changing the air filter. There wasn't any significant
> improvement
> where these problems were concerned. I have considered that It
> could be a leaky air filter housing as the area around the
> large
> screw holding down the air filter housing has cracked before
> and
> was patched using strong glue.
>
> I do notice that the sluggishness does not appear when I top
> up my
> petrol tank to full. I'm not sure if the topping up of the
> tank affects the
> problem directly or if it's just psychology at work.
>
> A friend has suggested that I change the water sensor.
> Although I
> have the Lancia Dedra owner's manual (two of them in fact -
> one in
> brand new condition!), it doesn't state the location of the
> water
> sensor. Also, I'm quite limited where parts are concerned
> because
> I'm located in the Far East (Singapore) and the local
> distributor of
> Fiat and Lancia parts doesn't stock much (there are only 80+
> Lancias in Singapore!). I have tried searching for online
> sources of
> Lancia parts but have not come across any that would take
> payment
> online and ship over to my place.
>
> >>c. warning sensor for brake lights come on occasionally and
> go
> >>off after 1 or 2 seconds when car is going at high speed
> >Last weekend i found the same problem in my dedra... When the
> > rain comes.... the lights flash!!! Good isolation will help
> prevent this
> > problem, verify the rubers in your stop lights case....
>
> I see... in my case however, it happens sporadically whether
> or not
> it is raining. Seems to me that the car's electronic brain
> might be
> getting a little senile...
>
> > Hope my experiences help you solve the problem....
>
> Thanks, really appreciate the information that you have given
> me.
>
> Enjoy your Dedra(s)!
>
> Best wishes,
> Leon

Hi Chris,

> Exhaust smell.
>
> There was a dealer call back for all Dedras. At the side
> where the exhaust pipe is at rear of car they simply sealed a
> vent which was under the bumper. I did have the recall sheet
> at that time approx.1994/5 and also reissues as per LMC
> approx2000/1.

Thanks for the info!

Best wishes,
Leon

I f your still looking for the temp sensor its on the inlet manifold and has two wires coming out of it with a blue socket.
My dedra also has a fluctuating throtle and various problems, my car is known to have a dodgy fuel pump which works much better when fuel tank is full! So might be worth looking at.

Hi Kim,

> I f your still looking for the temp sensor its on the inlet
> manifold and has two wires coming out of it with a blue socket.
> My dedra also has a fluctuating throtle and various problems,
> my car is known to have a dodgy fuel pump which works much
> better when fuel tank is full! So might be worth looking at.

Thanks for the information.

For the fluctuating throttle, I got my mechanic to adjust the engine
timing and it helped. The RPM is around 900 to 950 and does not
fluctuate much now.

Also, just my observation, not sure if you experience this, pressing
the accelerator excessively seems to "flood" the combustion
chamber resulting in a sluggish feel when the next gear is activated.

Best wishes,
Leon

Leon,

I had a 1.8 and had the problem where the engine would appear to appear to stutter every how and then just as the thermostat was about to open, The garage i used rolling road tuned it but could not find a problem. However they had heard of a similar problem where the car stalled and attributed it to the temperature sender. They replaced mine and never had the problem again. The part also fits a Ford Escort RS.

Simon

England

Hi Simon,

> I had a 1.8 and had the problem where the engine would appear
> to appear to stutter every how and then just as the
> thermostat was about to open, The garage i used rolling road
> tuned it but could not find a problem. However they had heard
> of a similar problem where the car stalled and attributed it
> to the temperature sender. They replaced mine and never had
> the problem again. The part also fits a Ford Escort RS.

Thanks, I guess the next item on my to-change list will be the
temperature sensor. Just need to find some way of importing
it in.

Best wishes,
Leon

About the abnormal rpm at idle.

Check if the EGR system is working correctly.
It might be letting exhaust into the inlet-manifold at idle,
resulting in poor stability.
You really don't need it, you can disconnect the vacuumhose to check.


oa