hi..i need help please,i bought fiat brava 1.4 sx few weeks ago..everythings run well until yesterday...i try to switch on my car but the car seems didnt recognise my key..??the key icon on my dashboard was off, i try several times still not changes.. wht's wrong with the car..it never happened before.. i need help please..

if the key code light is not illuminated then it isnt a key problem.

sounds like your battery is flat or starter motor stopped working, could be an alternator problem or dodgy wiring. do the lights on the dashboard come on when you turn the key? does the engine try to start or does it do nothing at all?

thanks for answering,everythings seems ok,i tried to switch the engine several time,the motor running but the car wouln't on ..i will check the battery today..i try jump starter if i had a problem with the battery...

oh i see so the starter motor is turning the engine but it wont start. that suggests the battery is ok, if it was flat the starter motor wouldnt turn the engine, or it would do it slowly.

just to clarify, when you first insert the key and turn ignition on, the key code light goes out after a couple of secs and does not come back on? that would suggest immobiliser is fine and key is recognised. if the key code light remains on it would mean the key or immobiliser is at fault.

thanks for answering...when i insert the key to turn the ignition,the key code icon didn't on or flash at all...?? and everythings ok except the car wouldn't start...the question is..if the car didn't recognise my key,will all electric things in the car working???because i just can't turn the engine on..! oh one more thing i only had one blue key..

even if the key wasn't recognised by the ecu the rest of the car's electrics would be working fine, including the starter motor when you turn the key. however if there was a problem with the key then the key code light would remain on whenever the ignition was switched on. buying a brava with one blue key is asking for trouble, but i dont think thats your problem. i cant figure out what the problem is without seeing the car, and i wouldnt want to guess. it could be many things. first thing to try is disconnecting the battery for an hour. that will reset the ecu and may get your car started. failing that you need to check the basics, fuel fire and air. i doubt air would suddenly have a problem getting into the cylinders (unless a plastic bag has magically wrapped itself around the air intake, ive seen it before), but petrol and sparks should be checked before anything else. if you try to start the car for a while you can then take a spark plug out and see if it has unburnt fuel on it (smells of petrol, looks damp) if thats the case you probably dont have a fuel injection system problem, at least not one bad enough to prevent starting. with a sparkplug removed try starting the car while watching for sparks. if you get spark then that isnt your problem either. if you get sparks and fuel you can also be sure that the key isnt the problem as the immobiliser would prevent either sparks or fuel (depending on immob, im not sure how the fiat one works, could be sparks or fuel or both). if you're comfortable doing some checks on the car and trying to find the problem that would be a good basic place to start. personally i think its more likely to be electrical as the car ran fine until you switched it off and now it wont start. that almost always means electical problem. finding electrical problems like that can be tricky, where do you start? taking the car to a garage would be the quickest option to getting the car back on the road.

thanks for answering again,well today my car can on for few minutes and i drive it...but after that back to the same problem again.. it start the engine and it on..i leave it for a while and goes off again..i start once again i can see the key icon light up few second and engine start...but after i drive it 5 minutes and i turn off the engine,i couldn't start again..the key icon didnt appear at all

i already did what you said...take battery connection out for an hour and try to start..but it didnt work..i did everything you said but everythings just fine,but i probably agree with you,it look like electrical problem..this morning i put the key in..and the key code on for few second and i started the engine just once..it worked...now everytime i insert the key,the code wouldn't on at all then i had a problem to start the engine...i love to go to fiat to check it but how can i go there if my car wouldn't even start at all?it takes 45 minutes from my place .
Do you think i got a problem with the ignition?i've haynes handbook book bought it from the net but it not help at all.. i did called fiat as well,the engineer said not the key problem maybe something about motor he said...i didnt know anything about motor...(what motor?)i went to local garage but he said probably immob...Now i feel i want to explode what should i do?:bang:

Dont know exactly what the sequence for key code on or off is, but if you are getting different signs on the dash depending on whether the engine starts or not, then you have an immo problem. Due to the intermittent nature of the fault, I would suggest you strip down cover around the ign key and examine the ring antenna and where it connects to the immo code box. Give the connecter a wiggle and check results. If in doubt replace the ring antenna.
Tony.

i strip down the cover around the ign key already..i saw the plastic around it already broken,can see the ring antenna(wire)...where should i go and get them?

from a scap yard or from fiat.

yep scrapyard is best for parts (cheap and fun). i doubt its the ignition if the key code light doesn't come on at all sometimes and the other lights still come on everytime. if the ignition wasnt reading the key it would leave the key code light on. if it doesnt come on at all (but all other dash lights work as usual) i would think the immobiliser has a problem with its power supply or earth, basically it isnt even trying to read the key if the key code light doesnt come on for a couple of secs every time the key is turned. fiat are the best people to look at the immobiliser, but a 45 minute journey is taking a risk. try disconnecting the ecu wiring connector and then reconnect it.

i disconnected the ecu and reconnect but still same thing..but today i did bring it to fiat garage by towing service..ask them to check immob and diagnos my brava..i didn't really like the wire things in my brava coz the previous owner didn't takecare of the car...maybe in few week if my car ok i'll change and rearrange the wire things..it look so messy..i like the way brava look..gorgeous..thats why i bought it..hopefully it won't trouble me some more...i'll let you guys know..thanks very much..!!!