Hi there. I'm new to this forum and hope that some of you experts can help me with an issue. My wifes punto 1.2 Mia 8v 2001 renetlt had a timing belt and water pump change. After starting the engine there was a bubbling noise from behind the dash. I tried several times to bleed the system, but to no avail. After taking the car to a local garage, they said they had tried everything and seggested the head gasket had gone. On looking inside the oil filler cap there was a trace of milky residue, so i decided to change the head gasket. All went well, but when starting the engine there was still a bubbling noise and now the engine seems to increase idle on its own and the only way to stop it is to turn the engine off. This idle problem is not immediate, but when starting to move the car, the engine races.

Any ideas as i'm pulling out my hair

Any help would be greatly appreacited

Have you checked that the small bore rubber pipe from the distributor (vacum advance) to the inlet manifold has'nt been left off the connection........only a possible.....or a snagged throttle / choke cable.... let us know how it goes

The car does not have a distrbutor or a choke cable as it is fuel injected and controlled by an ECU. I can't see any vacuum pipes running to the ECU and cannot see any diconnected wiring or piping.

I have checked the throttle cable and that appears to be operating fine and closing against the stop

I'm thinking now of investing in a fault code reader, but not 100% sure if one is available for a 1.2 8v 2001 vehicle

have a look for the APS (absolute pressure sensor) under a cover on firewall there will be quite a thin vacume line coming from intake manifold going to a sensor with a plug on it with three wires coming from the plug also tps may be damaged im talking from my experience with the mk1 punto engine bay and loom layout

welcome to the FF

jonnycasece said:

The car does not have a distrbutor or a choke cable as it is fuel injected and controlled by an ECU. I can't see any vacuum pipes running to the ECU and cannot see any diconnected wiring or piping.

I have checked the throttle cable and that appears to be operating fine and closing against the stop

I'm thinking now of investing in a fault code reader, but not 100% sure if one is available for a 1.2 8v 2001 vehicle

Click to expand...

yes - you are correct it's all ECU controlled,
there are a few options as to exactly what's causing it, getting the codes read is the best bet,
either find a local indy ( where are you based ?-we could recommend somebody),
or be cheeky, and tow it down town, get the breakdown to read the codes for free..

Thanks for all your advice. I've been out the country this week, but will take a look at the APS (if i can find it....do you have any pictures?). Whilst away i did by a DTC reader which i have quickly run on the car. It has given an error code of P0120 which is Throttle/Pedal position sensor/switch "A" circuit. Not 100% what this is, but i'll take a look around. I'm hoping is just a dodgy connection i have after replacing the head gasket. Thanks to you all again for your help

If it's fly by wire, check any connections to the throttle pedal and the throttle body.

Otherwise, just the throttle body.

i reckon you have a problem with a plug on the throttle body too
engine keys in pocket while you pull off and check so you dont flag up the light on the dash

Thanks for all your advice with this annoying issue. I have just removed and cleaned the throttle body and connections. On replacing this i let the engine run up until the cooling fan set in without any issues, even the ECU light stayed off. Drove the car round the block,still no issues..hooray i thought. later in the day drove it for about 2 miles when the engine started racing again (extremely scary in traffic!!). Managed to get it home, but don't know what to do next. I'm thinking of putting it into a garge, but don't want to get ripped off as the car is now almost 11 years old and i guess not worth much

again thanks for all your advice

I'd get the codes read. Should be do-able for £25 at a backstreet place.