Hello, I'm hoping that someone will be able to help me with a problem I'm currently experiencing relating to my Fiat 500 (1.2 L). The dashboard warning lights for the air bags, seat belts and stop start function are constantly showing. In addition, when I first turn the engine on its showing the message "fuel cut off unavailable" but after a few seconds the message goes and the mileage reading keeps flashing but it appears to be driving ok. I've taken it to my local garage who carried out a diagnostic test but said that they can't find what the fault is and said I'd need to take it to a main dealer. Having already spend £45, I'm reluctant to spend a further £114 just to find out what the fault is. Is there anyone on the Forum that can help?
Technical Fiat 500 warning lights
- Thread starter chailey
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Technical Fiat 500 warning lights
Boot wiring.
Battery most likely. What area are you In?
What year/how old is the car, has it had a new battery ever? Places like Kwik fit or Halfords may be able to check the condition of your present battery and usually this is free, though boot wires were my first thought, but it's easy to jump to an idea so will require more investigation.
If it turns out to be the battery shop around the Batterymegastore has good deals and free next day delivery also Eurocarparts has offers on (that you need to input the code), check there are no unusual precautions to take if changing it yourself as I may have heard something to do with stop start cars that's different.
If it turns out to be the battery shop around the Batterymegastore has good deals and free next day delivery also Eurocarparts has offers on (that you need to input the code), check there are no unusual precautions to take if changing it yourself as I may have heard something to do with stop start cars that's different.
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Battery problems normally show an EPAS fault as well from my experience
10 minutes from Junction 4 of the M25 if you fancy a drive. I can connect it up to MultiECUScan if it's not the battery.
The first thing to do is to check the hatch wiring. This is an extremely common fault on the 500 and the most likely cause of these symptoms. I experienced exactly the same set of warning messages when my own hatch wiring failed.
Do this before trying to run diagnostics - if there is a hardware fault then a) diagnostics won't give a reliable result and b) you could do further damage. Also disconnect the battery negative terminal before even trying to open the hatch, for the same reasons.
The pictures in this post will show you what to look for.
Do this before trying to run diagnostics - if there is a hardware fault then a) diagnostics won't give a reliable result and b) you could do further damage. Also disconnect the battery negative terminal before even trying to open the hatch, for the same reasons.
The pictures in this post will show you what to look for.
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I had this very thing the only last week.
It's not the battery as it's only a year old and the Stop/Start works perfectly.
I connected my PC with MultiEcuScan and found some error codes and cleared them. Then, I tried again, and more error codes came up plus the warnings again ........ as you describe.
The Fiat 500 is a computer with an engine and wheels. When a computer throws its toys out of the pram, you switch it off and reboot. Rarely is it a hardware problem.
What I did, was to disconnect the battery and go and have a cup of tea.
Half an hour later, I reconnected the battery (and reset the date and time) and all the errors had gone and none of the warnings came up again.
The car has worked perfectly ever since.
Therefore, FIRST thing to do is to disconnect the battery.
Second, have a cuppa.
Third, reconnect the battery, and fourth is reset the date and time.
Fifth is to check if all is well.
If not, repeat the above.
Good luck,
Mick.
Thanks for all the advice. I've been to the local garage and they checked the battery which is ok. They also checked the hatch wiring and guess what, yes there is a problem with the wiring. They suggested I go to the main fiat dealer and get a quote which I did this afternoon. I've come back with a quote for just over £1000.00 which has completely shocked me. The said that the tailgate wiring in the loom requires repair £269.85 + Vat. Tailgate micro switch needs new handle £139.99 Vat. The airbag warning lights are apparently not connected to the problem with the hatch wiring fault. They said this would need further investigation as the airbag control unit is not on the network and that would mean a diagnostic check which would cost £70 and possibly a new control module which would cost me a further £355.00 plus Vat. This doesn't seem right to me but I'm stumped as to what to do next. Can anyone advice please?
anks for all the advice. I've been to the local garage and they checked the battery which is ok. They also checked the hatch wiring and guess what, yes there is a problem with the wiring. They suggested I go to the main fiat dealer and get a quote which I did this afternoon. I've come back with a quote for just over £1000.00 which has completely shocked me. The said that the tailgate wiring in the loom requires repair £269.85 + Vat. Tailgate micro switch needs new handle £139.99 Vat. The airbag warning lights are apparently not connected to the problem with the hatch wiring fault. They said this would need further investigation as the airbag control unit is not on the network and that would mean a diagnostic check which would cost £70 and possibly a new control module which would cost me a further £355.00 plus Vat. This doesn't seem right to me but I'm stumped as to what to do next. Can anyone advice please?
Hi,
the post by JRK stated that he had THE SAME faults on dash when his wiring failed..,
I provided you with a link to the wiring repair thread.
bottom line - you've had a wiring fault diagnosed - at the tailgate joint..,
get that fixed with one of the kits, simple enough job.
once that @£100 job is complete..see what else fails to work / dash warns you of,
any FIAT / Alfa specialist has the kit to diagnose the faults shown on the dash,
and clear the error messages,
I even have that diagnostic kit myself.. cost @£70
Charlie - Oxford
Well first don't get depressed,
its a simple if a little time consuming to repair the wires, a repair kit is available, but essentially its various short bits of wire and some heat shrink, crimp fittings are also included but I would not use these myself. If you cannot do it yourself then try a auto electrician for a quote explaining the issue. My micro switch is iffy but you can use the remote, crazy as it sound I've found (for us at least) if I knock on the silver part above the handle, like you are knocking on a door, it works, next time same thing, no working, knock knock, now handle works, only try sorting the switch once the hatch wiring is done as it could be this that's causing the fault.
As for the air bags wait until everything else is done then have them reset if required, should the module really be faulty it may be possible to use a secondhand one, some programming maybe required at installation the garage will always quote retail prices but there's always other ways of fixing things with a little time and thought.
its a simple if a little time consuming to repair the wires, a repair kit is available, but essentially its various short bits of wire and some heat shrink, crimp fittings are also included but I would not use these myself. If you cannot do it yourself then try a auto electrician for a quote explaining the issue. My micro switch is iffy but you can use the remote, crazy as it sound I've found (for us at least) if I knock on the silver part above the handle, like you are knocking on a door, it works, next time same thing, no working, knock knock, now handle works, only try sorting the switch once the hatch wiring is done as it could be this that's causing the fault.
As for the air bags wait until everything else is done then have them reset if required, should the module really be faulty it may be possible to use a secondhand one, some programming maybe required at installation the garage will always quote retail prices but there's always other ways of fixing things with a little time and thought.
I believe the airbag fault is caused by the faulty wiring - a stray electrical feed can potentially damage just about anything electronic on the car, which makes the consequences of a hatch wiring fault potentially serious and expensive.
You really can't do anything more until the hatch wiring is properly repaired - running diagnostics on a car with faulty wiring is both dangerous and unreliable. Even just examining the wiring with the battery connected can do serious, expensive to repair damage if any of the insulation is broken.
Perhaps the airbag ECU will reset itself once the wiring is fixed; perhaps it'll just need a proxi alignment to bring it back online; in the more serious scenario, it might need reprogramming or even replacement. On the 500, the fuel cutoff is managed through the airbag ECU circuitry so that error message commonly accompanies this failure mode.
IMO the hatch wiring fault is one of the most potentially costly design issues with the 500 and sufficient reason not to buy the car at all. It's rumoured this fault has been addressed on the latest cars, but every 500 made before that is likely to suffer this failure before the end of its natural life.
Note that splicing the damaged section with standard automotive cabling won't work long term; the issue is that the wiring bends through a sharp angle every time the hatch is opened, and standard cable isn't flexible enough to cope with the repeated bending and suffers a fatigue failure. There are plenty of folks who are now on their second or third repair.
The critical section needs to be replaced with extra flexible multistrand soft copper cable to have any chance of lasting the life of the car. The problem likely won't go away completely unless Fiat fundamentally redesign the geometry of the tailgate wiring - that means hard changes to body panels and IMO won't happen.
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I did wonder re the type of wire used, something like test lead cable would work for most of the connections only the heated screen feed maybe a issue if it's more than 10a continuous.
Im slightly concerned about our car as it's coming up 7 years old and 1 year to us so far no issues though I've replaced all the front suspension plus lots of other corrosion related things.
Im slightly concerned about our car as it's coming up 7 years old and 1 year to us so far no issues though I've replaced all the front suspension plus lots of other corrosion related things.
Test lead cable is great for this application and you can buy whole reels of the stuff from RS components or Maplins for a decent price.
If you're concerned about high current applications, you can always double up on the splice for that connection. The rear screen heater isn't a continuous feed and auto switches off after 5mins or so.
You'd have to try hard to produce something that works less well than what Fiat fit in the factory.
Personally I'd just replace it now on a 7yr old car.
IMO this is at least as important as routinely changing the cambelt and water pump; it's less durable than either, with seeming potential to cause expensive collateral damage. Fix it properly, and then you can forget about it (though I'd still inspect it periodically).
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How did they check the hatch wiring?
With ours, it seems damned near impossible to check it. It's wrapped so much in felt wrapping it can't be pulled out to check. The only way I could possibly check ours is to use a Stanley Knife to cut the felt away.
I have a thread on here from a few weeks ago and promised to take a photograph of ours. Sorry, it's completely slipped my mind.
I know other folk have had problems with their hatch wiring, and I'm not saying ours isn't a problem, but it's impossible to tell without a Stanley Knife .......... and I'm loath to do it.
My problem came up whilst driving. After getting home, I checked it out as per my post above. I've done maybe 100miles since I sorted it by disconnecting the battery, and all is perfectly well.
Ours is a 500TA Sept 2011 car .......... if that makes any difference?
Best wishes,
Mick.
Here's my thread on this, and a photograph to show you mine.How did they check the hatch wiring?
With ours, it seems damned near impossible to check it. It's wrapped so much in felt wrapping it can't be pulled out to check. The only way I could possibly check ours is to use a Stanley Knife to cut the felt away.
I have a thread on here from a few weeks ago and promised to take a photograph of ours. Sorry, it's completely slipped my mind.
I know other folk have had problems with their hatch wiring, and I'm not saying ours isn't a problem, but it's impossible to tell without a Stanley Knife .......... and I'm loath to do it.
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/440293-stripping-rear-hatch-wiring.html
Regards,
Mick
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The airbag ECU will need codes clearing using MultiECUscan. I've been able to clear 4 out of 5. The only one I couldn't I got an ECU with no errors for £40. If you micro switch is faulty, you could replace the whole handle. You would get one on eBay cheaply.
