13th Oct 2008, 07:32
Heavier oil clogs up the valve lifters. I have a 1995 Barina city. Recently I replaced the cam and lifters etc due to a lack of oil changes by the previous owner. After this I put in 20w50 oil. The engine started but stalled after a minute or two. It had no compression on restart, unless it was left for several minutes, then it restarted. Changed oil again, to a light weight oil. Now it runs good.
1st Nov 2008, 16:11
I recently acquired a '97 Barina - not long after the thermostat failed closed, causing over heating. I replaced it with one from Repco and no problems since.
Temperature does occasionally head up to 100C in traffic, but my service manual indicates that the cooling fan turns on at 100C, so this is not a problem as long as the radiator system is clean.
I have noted that the temperature switch in the radiator is at the bottom of the inlet header, and that if the radiator becomes blocked with sludge, then it is probable that flow past this switch will not be representative of the temperature of water flowing from the engine - a pretty poor design, the switch should be near the water inlet into the radiator.
Make sure good coolant/corrosion inhibitor is used to prevent sludge/corrosion problems.
8th Jul 2009, 17:25
We own a manual Holden Barina, 1997 model.
Recently when idling in traffic I noticed the temperature gauge reaching 100 degrees. I visited our local auto electrician, thinking it was the thermatic fan which was not working, only to be told that this is a common problem with Barina`s. I was told that sludge buildup causes the two switches on the side of the radiator to be problematic. I purchased another radiator and switches from a wrecker, these were in good condition. The temperature when idling for a while still reaches over the 105 degrees mark, without the thermatic fan coming on. I have had the fan checked and it works perfectly. Maybe the relay or wires are damaged. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
7th Mar 2010, 00:42
Problem I have is the headlight. High beam stays on, removing the fuse for the high beam reverts it back to normal beam when the headlights are turned on, but no high beam headlight.
14th Apr 2010, 18:22
I have recently acquired a 1996 Holden Barina 1.4L Swing second hand, and the man I brought it off lost the master key, so he couldn't open the boot.
All I really would like to know is does anyone know where the button for the boot is inside the car? I've looked everywhere, but it has some European gadgets in it, so maybe it's hidden somewhere???
Many thanks.
12th May 2010, 01:53
My 96 loses power whilst driving. A yellow light comes on the dash, then it goes after about 10 seconds.
I was just driving and lost all power, then it came back about 10 seconds later.
I feel very unsafe.
Any ideas would be much appreciated!
9th Nov 2010, 03:13
Can someone help me? I have a year 97 Barina and the speedo just stopped working and doesn't work. How do I find out that it has a blown fuse? If so whereabouts is it? I can't seem to find it? Or is it an electric problem? I've lost my handbook, so have no information at all.
Thanks.
21st Nov 2010, 07:24
Hi.
I need a new clutch kit for my 95 Barina Swing. Does anyone know if a clutch kit from a Barina City will fit/work?
Cheers.
13th Dec 2010, 18:22
I have purchased a '98 Holden Barina, second hand.
Recently the internal fan for A/C has stopped working on settings 1, 2 & 3, and will only come on when cranked right up to the strongest setting of 4.
Any suggestions on how to fix this?
27th Dec 2010, 00:37
Hi there,
I have a 1995 Holden Barina (Lemon) Swing. I have many problems with this, but the main one is after it rains, the car splutters when starting, and then will lose all power. When I can finally get it going, it acts like it is stalling. I have no clue what will be causing this to happen; it gets regular services, but my mechanic can't find anything that would cause this problem. Any help will be greatly appreciated guys.
18th Jan 2011, 03:24
I have had a 1996 Barina Swing 1.4L since 1999.
It's a great little car and has been to Cairns a couple of times and also to Sydney and back a few times. I live in Central Queensland.
It now has over 200000 km on the clock and has never missed a beat. It has the usual overheating issue, which is not such an issue on the open road. I hardly ever get it serviced, probably been 3-5 years. I drive it a lot and it starts first go and never lets me down (touch wood).
I had to spend $100 recently on new plugs, new distributor rotor and new distributor cap, but that's about it. It was running a little rough.
Brakes and oil gaskets are next, but hey, it's been 3-5 years, so what do I expect?
I would buy one again in a heart beat but this one is being driven into the grave as it doesn't owe me anything.
Have fun.
AJW.
2nd Jul 2011, 21:03
I have recently bought a Holden Barina 1996 model Swing. The S light turns on and won't go off. What is the problem?
24th Sep 2011, 01:04
As far I know you need the key to open it. I had to replace the back door on my 96 Barina after not being able to open the other. We pulled the old door mechanism apart, and found that you must have the key.
Hope that helps.
28th Sep 2011, 04:17
You've probably already worked it out, but I think that "S" light coming on is when you accidentally press it when moving the gear stick (?), there's an S button sitting on that. It's meant to boost speed when driving.
2nd Oct 2011, 06:39
Mine too. The mechanics had it for three days all up, and couldn't find anything wrong with it.
22nd Nov 2011, 06:46
I used to have a Mini, which did the same thing when it rained. All it was, was the distributor getting wet. Cover the distributor cap, and see how it goes.
22nd Nov 2011, 23:25
I have a 1996 Barina Swing. I recently changed the oil in my car, but I'm not sure how to reset it so the oil light stops flashing. Can anyone please help?
10th Dec 2011, 23:17
I have owned my 1996 Barina Swing for 6 months now. When I first had the car, it ran great, but over the past 3-4 months I have been having problems.
There's a light in the dash which flashes on and off when I put my car into Drive, and the accelerator has no power; sometimes it will feel like it's going to stall. This only seems to happen when it's cold or if it hasn't been driven for a day. Please help, I have no idea!
3rd Jan 2008, 19:13
My Barina Swing 1996.Has been fantastic until 5 months ago.
It looses power whilst driving, at times has to be turned over to start many times.
The light comes on for "Computor data" but has nothing for service people to read.
Fourth time in, tried new leads, new plugs, steamed cleaned engine, checked Computor, ran it for ages. Still not fixed.
Seems to happen more on hot days.
I feel very unsafe, as it has stopped power in busy traffic.
Sometimes, gives a lurch, analyser light shows briefly, then it keeps going.
Any ideas would be much appreciated!