So, I just noticed the thermostat on the Fiat isn't working...

". ." (xllx) 07/15/2015 at 13:17 • Filed to: shoebox, blue torpedo

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This means, that I’ve been driving a car without a functional thermostat for the last few weeks, including throughout the heatwave. Oopsie.

And yes, it was stuck closed.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:21

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Well I suppose it depends if it was stuck open or stuck closed. Stuck open and it wouldn’t really be a problem until the winter time. Stuck closed would be scary though since you wouldn’t be low on coolant and yet the car is overheating.

HammerheadFistpunch > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:21

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no CEL, or warnings?

. . > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/15/2015 at 13:22

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It was stuck closed. :P

. . > HammerheadFistpunch 07/15/2015 at 13:23

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A car without an ECU can’t really throw a CEL. And nope, no warnings.

HammerheadFistpunch > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:24

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I will admit not thinking it was a new 500, not an old one. Broken as in...stuck open or closed?

. . > HammerheadFistpunch 07/15/2015 at 13:24

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Closed. :P

HammerheadFistpunch > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:26

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oof. Well, its a good thing old fiats aren’t know to have problems with overheating...

. . > HammerheadFistpunch 07/15/2015 at 13:28

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Yeah, luckily the thermostat on my 126 isn’t as critical as a thermostat in water cooled cars. All it does is open a flap on the side of the engine that helps the cooling system dump some of the hot air. Still, I’m getting it fixed ASAP. Really glad it hasn’t blown a gasket or anything.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:30

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Is this your 126 or a new 500? I ask out of self interest.

. . > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 07/15/2015 at 13:31

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I only have one Fiat and it’s the 126.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:41

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Okay. So those have the same engine as the Spyder? My brother had one and that damn thing overheated all the time.

. . > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 07/15/2015 at 13:50

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It has an upgraded version of the engine from the original Nuova 500. An aircooled 2 cylinder 650cc motor.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > . . 07/15/2015 at 13:56

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Whoa, tiny. Is it high revving like a motorcycle engine? (I once had a Yamaha 650) Sounds like it would be fun to drive though.

. . > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 07/15/2015 at 14:01

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My 126 is from the very end of the production run (1999, production ended in 2000) so it has an electronic ignition module with a rev limiter set at 7200 rpm. It’s an engine that doesn’t mind low revs though, probably enjoys them more than being revved high.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 07/15/2015 at 14:20

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Ah, not cool! Lucky you found it, then again, it probably wouldn’t have caused too many problems unless it was REALLY hot out considering the car is air-cooled, would it?

Looks like the thermostat isn’t hard to get to....right on top of the engine on the right? A few bolts...?

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/15/2015 at 14:32

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I drove the car in temps of 35*C+ so I’m lucky nothing blew up. It didn’t feel like it was overheating really.

Access could be easy through the opening on top, but if I can’t get the thermostat to unhook from the flap it connects to lower down the whole right side of the cooling may need to come off. Dreading that slightly but I guess we’ll see tomorrow.

Cé hé sin > . . 07/15/2015 at 14:33

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Air cooled 126s have thermostats?

. . > Cé hé sin 07/15/2015 at 14:35

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Ayup. They open a flap on the right hand side that helps the cooling system get rid of excess hot air.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 07/15/2015 at 15:24

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Maybe time to fit a temp. gauge somewhere so you can keep an eye on it in hot weather...?

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/15/2015 at 15:36

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Some people put Cinquecento Sporting gauge clusters in their 126ps, unfortunately they require quite a few modifications. Cinquecento gauges may look the same, but they use different gearing for the speedo so can’t be swapped straight. A Sporting cluster has the additional bonus of having a rev counter that can be modified to work with a 126p.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 07/15/2015 at 18:47

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Yeah, think I saw a few pics of a swapped Cinquecento cluster in a 126 on Rezerwa126p. Would it be hard to install an aftermarket tachometer in the car? I’ve thought about getting a small under-dash gauge cluster similar to this kind to add things like a temp. gauge and small tach when I get mine.

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/16/2015 at 04:56

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The most popular aftermarket tachometer for the 126p is an old Mera Lumel MS-2 . Unfortunately, they are becoming increasingly rare and prices keep rising.

Personally, I don’t really want to add ang gauges. They could come in handy at times, but I’d like to keep the car original.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 07/23/2015 at 10:12

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A shame those tachs are becoming so rare and expensive, but there’s got to be one out there somewhere that would work with the 126’s 2-cylinder engine. I wouldn’t want to add many gauges - if anything just a temp. gauge so I’d know when it was overheating, and a tachometer. I would probably even be perfectly happy without the tach., but where the car is only air-cooled, a temp. gauge may be useful...no steam or warning lights to warn of high temps, so I wouldn’t want to hurt the engine!