Shed of my life - Alfa Guilietta Veloce

[sinbaddio]

So I decided I needed a cheap daily car to accompany the GranTurismo.

I prefer something with a bit of style and flair. So after two hours of searching I found the car within my £2k budget.

Only it’s a diesel. Which isn’t my preference but it’ll do. 135k miles with generous history. And when I went to see the car I was genuinely very happy.









So the deal was done for approx a quarter of budget. It drives brilliantly. No bangs or knocks, recently serviced.

It has an engine light on PO520 which I believe is a faulty oil pressure sensor. But no issue with the way it goes. The stop/start is inactive which I believe to be part of the same issue. And is perhaps a bonus!

Two Italian old(ish) cars now! What could possibly go wrong?

[thomasrs50]

Stunning car for the money.

Back when I had my 156Sw we seriously looked into getting one of these for the mrs, but choose a different path in the end and we got away from European cars for over a decade. I now own a 159 which I believe to have same engine as yours? (2.0 jtdm).

[Doesitdrive]

Stop start is usually a sub prime battery issue.

Love that, love diesel, don't love black though.

Would happily run that daily.

[sinbaddio]

thomasrs50 said:

Stunning car for the money.

Back when I had my 156Sw we seriously looked into getting one of these for the mrs, but choose a different path in the end and we got away from European cars for over a decade. I now own a 159 which I believe to have same engine as yours? (2.0 jtdm).

I believe this may well be the case on both issues as the car hasn’t been run regularly for a few months and the two issues started at the same time when he last used a few weeks ago.

So maybe a new battery is my first port of call?

[Doesitdrive]

sinbaddio said:

thomasrs50 said:

Stunning car for the money.

Back when I had my 156Sw we seriously looked into getting one of these for the mrs, but choose a different path in the end and we got away from European cars for over a decade. I now own a 159 which I believe to have same engine as yours? (2.0 jtdm).

I believe this may well be the case on both issues as the car hasn t been run regularly for a few months and the two issues started at the same time when he last used a few weeks ago.

So maybe a new battery is my first port of call?

Always start with the battery, could try a full charge off the car first, very possible both are voltage related, some sensors are more prone than others.

[sinbaddio]

thomasrs50 said:

Stunning car for the money.

Back when I had my 156Sw we seriously looked into getting one of these for the mrs, but choose a different path in the end and we got away from European cars for over a decade. I now own a 159 which I believe to have same engine as yours? (2.0 jtdm).

It is indeed. Not a bad engine tbh.

[sinbaddio]

Doesitdrive said:

sinbaddio said:

thomasrs50 said:

Stunning car for the money.

Back when I had my 156Sw we seriously looked into getting one of these for the mrs, but choose a different path in the end and we got away from European cars for over a decade. I now own a 159 which I believe to have same engine as yours? (2.0 jtdm).

I believe this may well be the case on both issues as the car hasn t been run regularly for a few months and the two issues started at the same time when he last used a few weeks ago.

So maybe a new battery is my first port of call?

Always start with the battery, could try a full charge off the car first, very possible both are voltage related, some sensors are more prone than others.

I was hoping the 65 mile drive home may have helped with that.

I think I’ll just swap it out for the sake of £100 or so seeing as tho it’s been stood still for some time.

Many thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated!

[Doesitdrive]

sinbaddio said:

Doesitdrive said:

sinbaddio said:

thomasrs50 said:

Stunning car for the money.

Back when I had my 156Sw we seriously looked into getting one of these for the mrs, but choose a different path in the end and we got away from European cars for over a decade. I now own a 159 which I believe to have same engine as yours? (2.0 jtdm).

I believe this may well be the case on both issues as the car hasn t been run regularly for a few months and the two issues started at the same time when he last used a few weeks ago.

So maybe a new battery is my first port of call?

Always start with the battery, could try a full charge off the car first, very possible both are voltage related, some sensors are more prone than others.

I was hoping the 65 mile drive home may have helped with that.

I think I ll just swap it out for the sake of £100 or so seeing as tho it s been stood still for some time.

Many thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated!

No worries, a lot of money can be saved on diagnosis and incorrect fitting of parts just by checking battery condition when faults appear.

The car will not fully charge the battery like a battery charger will.

[the-norseman]

Welcome to Alfa ownership! I have a 2017 1.4 MA Speciale and it knocks and bangs and creaks!

AlfaOBD is a good Android app for using with the car, you need a yellow cable and ODB Dongle as well.

[thomasrs50]

I would start by checking if it is indeed the battery.

IMHO, the fauly start-stop can also be a result of a faulty reading from said sensor/check engine/fault code. At least on many (Japanese) cars, that's what'll happen.

Also disconnecting the battery and cleaning out the connection on the faulty sensor you mentioned could help.

[sinbaddio]

All sound advice, thank you.

I shall have a more in depth dig about when Mrs S brings it back as she has commandeered it for now.

[the-norseman]

I turned my S/S off on my car and it never turns back on, I hate S/S

[GeniusOfLove]

sinbaddio said:

All sound advice, thank you.

I shall have a more in depth dig about when Mrs S brings it back as she has commandeered it for now.

If it's really oil pressure you'll find out soon enough!

[Doesitdrive]

GeniusOfLove said:

sinbaddio said:

All sound advice, thank you.

I shall have a more in depth dig about when Mrs S brings it back as she has commandeered it for now.

If it's really oil pressure you'll find out soon enough!

If it was he would have found out by now lol.

[Mr Tidy]

I used to find stop/start rarely worked this time of year in my BMW 1 Series with the A/C working hard, as power usage was one of the things it monitored. I also found out that it killed the AGM battery that had to be coded in less than 5 years and the starter motor in less than 7.

Stop/start is a hateful invention - turn it off!

Anyway it looks like you got a bit of a bargain so good luck.

[SirGriffin]

Excellent cars, my last ICE (before going EV) car was a Guilietta, very impressive car, really surprised me.

Beautiful of course, but very impressive drive - mine was the 1.6 diesel, very impressive engine with huge torque, and very economical. The interior was a bit cheap for sure, but it was so stylish it didn't matter.

Unfortunately for lots of short local trips, diesel wasn't ideal, and rust was setting in.

In true Alfa Romeo style, it did indeed live up to the reputation and was the only car in many years which left me stranded on the road, turned out to be a failed battery.

I wouldn't bother with the stop start, it needs every system to be tip top, and apparently was temperamental even when new. Personally I think it's a bad idea on an old engine anyway.

Much missed though, enjoy yours.

Edited by SirGriffin on Wednesday 22 July 22:17

[Mr E]

sinbaddio said:

Two Italian old(ish) cars now! What could possibly go wrong?

I currently have a 15 year old Guiletta (with 100k in the clock) and a 23 year old Lotus.

When I claim I was late because of car trouble, people believe me.

[Mr Tidy]

Mr E said:

I currently have a 15 year old Guiletta (with 100k in the clock) and a 23 year old Lotus.

When I claim I was late because of car trouble, people believe me.