Need to clarify that i have owned the GP (1.2 8V Petrol) since 89,000 miles, currently at 92,500 with no idea of service history...

Car is struggling to hold revs when i first start it in the morning and when it is left turned off for a few hours. Runs fine once I get going though.

Basically it will start without a hitch, few seconds later it struggles to hold revs and then dies almost instantly.

Tried keeping my foot on the acc. before turning over but it then gurgles and on one occasion it misfired as i heard a pop!

After several attempts of starting and then juggling the acc. pedal to try and hold the revs without stalling it will be fine, with the exception with a slow reply when you suddenly jerk the acc. pedal.

No Check Engine/Engine Management lights have popped up which is worrying me, any ideas where to start looking for problems? cleaned out throttle body already but no difference there unfortunately.

Trying to get this fixed ASAP since I don't fancy running around with it possibly doing long-term damage (even if it is just at start-up only) so any advice would be great!

Should probably point out that around a month ago the P0115 Error Code came up on the EML (Water Temp Sensor), not sure if this is MAP/MAF related as it sounds as though this could be the problem. Battery was brand new Oct 13' so shouldn't expect a problem there, possibly bad earth connections? going to do some multimeter readings tomorrow night and see if anything is out of the ordinary, but feel free to add anything you feel like would be of use

try cleaning the map sensor, i have the same problem, the sensor had oil on it/in the tube that goes to the pressure part, after cleaning it yesterday it started normally this morning, also car seems more responsive now. possibly some sort of breather issue is causing the oil to be there though.

clean the throttle butterfly gate

would i have to disconnect the battery etc? Checked all the breather hoses too as I thought that could be the problem but it wasn't. I'll clean out the MAP Sensor tomorrow and fingers crossed she starts first time (can't afford a fix-up for the garage) and already cleaned out the butterfly assembly already Yoko but thanks anyway

Sounds like the MAP sensor (the coolent temp sensor can be a red herring as to what the car thinks is wrong) as it sees a imbalance between the air in temp and the coolant and conzuzzles itself



https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/226978-starting-problem-revs-drop-off.html


https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/327134-grande-punto-1-2-dynamic-cold-start.html

i think i spoke too soon my car wouldnt start again this morning. although it didnt do the high temp thing, and the fan didnt come on(previously was giving high temp warning and the fan would come on for about 2 mins). i've already cleaned + greased the earths with copper grease, so its not that. did cleaning your map sensor make any difference?

no the temperature part is a thermistor you can see it inside the unit with it removed but oil degrades the components so cleaning it wont help

also check your battery is 100% healthy

Checked MAP Sensor, covered in oil, cleaned it out and hey presto! Started it this morning and it's doing exactly the same thing... yippee!

If it was the MAP Sensor, do you think the oil has already damaged the sensor, therefore the only solution is to dish out for a new one and fit it?

What reading should I be getting from a multimeter across the battery with engine turned off then turned on? Got a brand spanking new battery less than 6 months ago so highly doubt that will be at fault but always good practice to cross it off the list

Got a reading of 14-14.1 Volts when car is running... sounds about right, right? Engine management light has came back on though, had it reset for the PO115 error and it still clunks when you fire it up and it disappears. It's still clunking but remains on this time, suggests another fault code? Don't have a code reader so :/

I'm wondering if low cold cranking amps is causing low battery voltage to the ecu when the starter is turning and could be causing the ecu to get confused. would tie in with bad earths, the smallish/ possibly weak battery, and cold weather, + leaving car overnight, also someone said turning everything off before attempting starting helps, which would lessen the load on the battery.

my battery is not very old, and its a bosch one, but its not that big a battery either, so I've fitted a bigger one in temporarily (only just fits in the tray with the pointy shaped blank thing removed). going to see how it goes tomorrow morning. if it works i may look at buying a bigger one, like the diesels have http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271392613878

My wife's was the same. A new MAF from Ebay takes a few minutes to replace and costs under £20 (Not Bosch). Now it starts perfectly.

It also is a 1.2 Grande. The old unit was covered in oil which I think just attacks the sensor.

OldEngineer said:

My wife's was the same. A new MAF from Ebay takes a few minutes to replace and costs under £20 (Not Bosch). Now it starts perfectly.

It also is a 1.2 Grande. The old unit was covered in oil which I think just attacks the sensor.

Click to expand...

maf or map?

Mass air flow
sensor
manifold absolute pressure

(just to avoid confusing the OP there is no MAF sensor on the 1.2 or 1.4 8v gp

Sorry! MAP Sensor

Got a 350 amperes cold cranking rating so should be more than adequate? And well once I cleaned it out I checked it this morning and more oil was on the sensor with a 10 mile drive.... so to work out the problem, how is the oil actually getting to the sensor? Blocked breather hose?

MAP Sensor? Cleaned the actual sensor and right inside

the battery made no difference this morning so I've bought a new map sensor.

oil in the breather, maybe just poor design?

Yes - make sure the breather tube from the cam cover is clear. I've seen a blocked example where engine oil was leaking out of everywhere and getting into the intake system.

Good move, ordering the new MAP sensor.
I was working on a 1.2 16v Punto recently - it had a throttle body problem - and as part of my diagnosis, I unplugged the MAP sensor. Engine started normally and ran for two seconds, then cut out - just as you describe.

I believe that after the two seconds, the ECU switches over from a 'startup' program to a 'running' program - even when the engines are working properly, you can always hear a little 'cough' in RPM when this switching-over takes place.

-Alex