Hi Everyone,

My '98 1.4 will not start. When I put in the key all the warning lights behave as normal, except the injector light which does not shut off. Trying to start does not work. The motor just turns over. The first time I tried (after waiting for the light to shut off which it never did) the motor spluttered for a few seconds before it died. Like it was using whatever fuel was already in the intake. Now nothing. I checked the fuse and the fuel cut-off switch. I wiggled the injector connector. When I first turn the key, I can hear the normal sound of what I believe is the fuel pump going for a few seconds.

What should I try? How to determine what needs to be done?

I do not live anywhere near a Fiat garage, and there is no local idependant garage I trust either, so I'd really like to sort this out myself.

Joseph

i created a similar fault on a 1.8 today by unpluging what i think is the MAF (if the bravo has one, it should do might be a capacity meter- it measures airflow) it basically meant it wouldnt idle the engine and gave the fault you decribe above

Try starting it and giving it some beans and see if it will run with your foot on the gas

if your 1.4 has a MAF (not sure it has, usually part of fuel injected cars, but cant tell from eper (sub. 1.8 does show one, 1.4 doesnt)) it maybe a dodgy connection try disconnecting the sensor wiring clip, cleaning it and putting it back on and starting it

not sure as not really a bravo man, just created the same symptoms on a 1.8 brava to test engine management lights

Excellent.

I just went out and had a look. There are 3 connectors. One for the single injector, one for the "choke" gizmo, and one I guess for the airflow meter. I unplugged and checked all the connectors for corrosion. All seemed well. Still same problem. I then tried with the airflow connector disconnected as you suggested, and I got a back-fire and a splutter. So I reconnected the airflow and tried again. With wide open throttle, the motor slowly rumbled to life after about 10 seconds of turning over. I then gave it stick for a few minutes, and now all seems fine.

The last trip before the problem arose was a 20 foot drive to move the car to my neighbor's drive so some builders could park at my house. Perhaps the short drive somehow got the airflow meter (is it a wire?) wet with fuel and then it didn't work properly?

Thanks for the tip!

Joseph

MAF is just after the air filter so it cant be contaminated with fuel, plus you have a 1.4 so it doesnt even have a MAF.

jug said:

MAF is just after the air filter so it cant be contaminated with fuel, plus you have a 1.4 so it doesnt even have a MAF.

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It seems like the injector is topmost, then something I took for the MAF, then the throttle body, and then the intake manifold. There is nothing between the injector and the airfilter.

If it doesn't use a MAF, what does it use? It's sure not mechanical like my Spica injected California spec Alfetta Sedan. No flames out of the exhaust on deceleration!

Joseph

usually there would be a MAF or a MAP, but on the 1.4 its a more primitive setup that only uses the air temp sensor and the throttle position sensor, this is one of the main causes of the poor fuel economy.

it works now though doesnt it?

jug said:

usually there would be a MAF or a MAP, but on the 1.4 its a more primitive setup that only uses the air temp sensor and the throttle position sensor, this is one of the main causes of the poor fuel economy.

Click to expand...

So that must be the air temp sensor I disconnected, since it wasn't the injector, nor the "choke" selenoid. Perhaps it is faulty? When I bought the car a few years ago, it had problems starting in cold conditions (below -20C) shortly after I bought it, and the dealer fixed it, presumably with used parts. I never got to speak with the mechanic, but the salesman said, "something to do with a temp sensor." I wonder how disconnecting it fooled the engine into firing.

Perhaps this "new" sensor is on it's last legs.

I'd always wondered why it didn't get better economy. Only a shade better than my wife's 1.6 Multipla which is a giant brick in comparison.

Joseph

Big Black Stilo said:

it works now though doesnt it?

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Indeed. But it would be nice to know why, so I'm better prepared next time.

Joseph

my ibiza 1043 didnt have a MAF and was monotronic fuel injected (dont know if your 1.4 has this or multipoint) and it was shocking on fuel for the engine size, to the point my fuel cost went down with a 1.2 stilo.

The ibiza used a series of temp sensors in order to just fuel the engine, one of which is on the front of the block, below the head. It was faulty on mine and you had to unplug that and short it with a paper clip and it would start, get it up to temp, stop car, take out paper clip and re-attatch. Got a quote of £190 to fix and being a student at the time, thought the paper clip was the cheaper option. It was 2 years before i sold it-without repairing it!

as for yours, its likely something was loose, or had a bad connection and is now fine, and might not happen again while you have the car

Santaniello said:

I wonder how disconnecting it fooled the engine into firing.

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with it disconnected the ecu assumes a default temperature, i cant remember exactly what temp that is, i think it is 24C. if the sensor is faulty in such a way that it is telling the ecu the temp is much higher than it really is then the engine will have difficulty starting. same applies for the coolant temp sensor.

Big Black Stilo said:

my ibiza 1043 didnt have a MAF and was monotronic fuel injected (dont know if your 1.4 has this or multipoint) and it was shocking on fuel for the engine size, to the point my fuel cost went down with a 1.2 stilo.

The ibiza used a series of temp sensors in order to just fuel the engine, one of which is on the front of the block, below the head. It was faulty on mine and you had to unplug that and short it with a paper clip and it would start, get it up to temp, stop car, take out paper clip and re-attatch. Got a quote of £190 to fix and being a student at the time, thought the paper clip was the cheaper option. It was 2 years before i sold it-without repairing it!

as for yours, its likely something was loose, or had a bad connection and is now fine, and might not happen again while you have the car

Click to expand...

I just got a CD version of the repair manual for my car. It is Monomotronic. No MAF. It uses a combination of rpm, air temp, engine temp, and throttle position to guess engine load and estimate how much fuel to deliver. Sounds like a carburetor would work better!

That's funny with the paperclip. Reminds me of a car I had as a student that needed a knock with a hammer on the fuel pump every once in a while. My girlfriend wasn't very impressed. (She's my wife now, so I guess it didn't really matter...)

Joseph