The owner had recently bought this 2007 Fiat Panda 1100, as a starter vehicle for his son. Dad didn’t really want to insure him on his 2018 Audi A5 and thought that this would be a good comprise.

The father had used the Panda a few times for short trips, to ensure that it was going to be OK, while waiting for his son to gain his licence and had noticed an intermittent misfire. He also reported that, at one point, the revs appeared to be sitting high, but then levelled out again.

I noticed that the coil packs were not too old. Once I had gone a little deeper and removed the plastic cover over the ECU, I discovered that both multiplugs had been secured with cable ties. The merest touch of the back multiplug was enough to send the engine into a light misfire. When the plug was pushed in, the misfire ceased and the revs began to rise.

The problem was resolved without major expense, by removing the multiplugs and cleaning them with an electrical contact spray before then re-securing them.

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