Advice(if you dont wanna hear my story just go direct to My questions section)

So i was looking to buy a car the other day,a used one, cause my old car broke down one morning.
While i was looking around i found a fiat stilo year 2002, 1.6, 136.000 kilometers.When i saw its price which was around 1k euros, i sayd this must be a joke cause the car looks like new from the photos ive seen.

Now i kept on reading the description of the car, within all the good things there was only one bad.The cars engine sometimes stalls.
Might be at 20 km might be at 100 km we dont know but it does.

Apparenlty the previous owner installed a new battery which did not solve the problem, propably payd someone to fix it and could not find the cause as many claim they cannot, and eventualy got sick of it and just exchanged the car with a new one.Yes in germany ppl actually do that so easily

Now i went to see the car and i bought it.
Yeap!I could not resist.I sayd to myself, ''Whats the worst thing that could happen right?''

Now here i am looking for help

I know the random stall problem can be many things but the most commonly known is the ECU.As you can see i did my homework

My questions

1)If i repair or buy a new ECU is there a good chance the problem will dissapear?Many say that just by moving the ECU to an alternate position and away from the engine will stop the overheating problem that causes the failure.Does this have a point?

2)Theres a solution for some ppl by cleaning the valve for the airflow when you gas pedal(donno how thats called or if i sayd it correctly)

3)A mulfunctioning fuelpump could be the reason?(which i dont thing it could since that would happen also when the car was just idle not only when driving i believe.

What do you guys suggest and where should i start.

Any help would be much aprieciated.

I just hope i havent made the biggest mistake of my lifebuying this
but anyway whats the worst thing that could happen right????

Try this:

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-guides/83260-cleaning-your-inlet-control-valve.html

I'd suggest checking this out - inspecting your ECU and relocating it to somewhere cooler in the engine bay. See if the ECU inspection shows anything before trying anything else.

Do you have any engine codes?

I just did the procedure in the vid above on my ECU. I'm a good solderer so it didn't scare me.

The thin back piece sits in a groove on the chunky piece, so cut down into the groove (blade pressed against thin/flimsy bit) rather than cut across, Then with a small flat-head screwdriver, prise up the flimsy/thin piece carefully and slowly, with a couple of thin lever things (screwdrivers, scissors, spoons etc) like taking off a bicycle tyre.

Mine had 4 or 5 dropped pins.

The board is double sided and none of the pins actually connect on the visible side, so when you solder you are melting the solder all the way through the board, this really needs a good soldering iron (mine is a 45w/24v Weller) so give enough heat into the joint. I don't think the dropped-ness of the pins is the main issue, but rather the break of the solder joins.

Alright!!Thank you all for your replys!!!Means alot

I got the car today i drove it for like 40 km from the seller to my house and there was no stall.
After 10 minutes of siting at home i decided to take it for another ride!And there it was, the stall thing.

Car stalled and the screen wrote the following
ESP storung(disturbance)
Alternator storung
ASR storung
I started the car again and after 3 sec stalled again
same problems

waited and tried and waited.....

and at some point the car started fine again!no problems nothing.

Went back home.


So what is this ASR button and how do i switch it off? i press it and nothing happens?

long-press it?

That's not ASR fault.

Those error message you see are classic of a stall. If you stall your car on purpose you'd get just the same messages. They're caused by a power interruption / voltage drop across the sensors and controllers that you see in a stall event.

Check your fault codes, stalling when hot and running when cold may well be done to faulty crank or cam sensor. See what fault codes you've got.

It sounds like a similar problem to the one I had on my 1.6 2006 multiwagon around 12 months agn a nightmare trip home of around 100 miles kept cutting out on motorway and busy A roads.
Changed battery cleaned air inlet valve as advised but after 5/10 mins driving would cut out again.Numerous tests were done at my local indy italian car speciallist and we decided to move ecu outside of the engine cover which gave me no problem for around 4 months until really hot weather around 30c during May/June then happened again!Fortunately I had already claimed against dealer who sold me this car and they had already paid me £600 contribution for new ecu.
So I decided to bite the bullet and bought new ecu plugged straight in still outside of engine cover and no problems since.Hope this helps

How can i see the fault codes?Does it say it on the screen cause i havent noticed enithing like that?

You can only get the fault codes by reading with computer, the car does not display them.

I was under the impression you'd done what I posted in my previous comment regarding the ECU. On re-reading it does not seem like you've done this.

Disregard what I said about crank sensor - being a 1.6 you need to investigate the physical state of the ECU first, as I posted above.

Yeah for the codes im gonna have to go to fiat.

So the ECU is placed away from the engine.He did the trick, so heat is propably not the problem.

I checked the cars wiring and it seems that both cables that connect the ecu is kind of worn and 1 of them also has a big crack on the side.

Some of the other wires around there have worn covers.

Checked the wires under the seat they seem fine.

Went to a car mechanic here and he sayd the problem is too hard to find.
Could be alot of things i better go to Fiat.
Propably not his first time with a Stilo.

Before i go to fiat ill try the following things

ill clean the Inlet control valve
Ill check my Ecu

It will take some time cause i dont have the tools yet

If nothing differs after that ill go to fiat.


By the way theres a vibrating noise coming from infront of the codriver seat like a phone ringing in vibration what is that?is like ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ and it stops after a while

I just got an ELM 327 v1.5 Bluetooth code reader, hooked it up to Torque free or lite app and read the codes. Cost me £20 for the reader as I went Amazon next day delivery, but you can get them for £10. Or use a laptop and fiatecuscan software, though mine was a little temperamental with the bluetooth.

Vaermina said:

Yeah for the codes im gonna have to go to fiat.

So the ECU is placed away from the engine.He did the trick, so heat is propably not the problem.

I checked the cars wiring and it seems that both cables that connect the ecu is kind of worn and 1 of them also has a big crack on the side.

Some of the other wires around there have worn covers.

Checked the wires under the seat they seem fine.

Went to a car mechanic here and he sayd the problem is too hard to find.
Could be alot of things i better go to Fiat.
Propably not his first time with a Stilo.

Before i go to fiat ill try the following things

ill clean the Inlet control valve
Ill check my Ecu

It will take some time cause i dont have the tools yet

If nothing differs after that ill go to fiat.


By the way theres a vibrating noise coming from infront of the codriver seat like a phone ringing in vibration what is that?is like ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ and it stops after a while

Click to expand...

If you have a laptop you can get the software yourself to read the codes along with the correct cables (good investment if planning on keeping the vehicle and looking after it yourself).

http://www.multiecuscan.net/

Did you actually open the ECU up and check for dropped pins? If you're not confident then this might not be something you wish to do yourself but that would be my next point of investigation.

Hello again everyone.

I did not make much progress since the last time i posted here

I did clean the inlet Valve though.It seems that the problem comes back

BUT

I made an astonishing discovery

The problem only appears if and only if i turn off the car after cold start.Otherwise it will just drive fine with no problems at all.

To explain better lets say i get up in the morning and go for a ride.The car will not have any problems driving no matter how far unless i switch it off.

Now If i switch it off the ASR storung Alternator storung will apear back when i try to drive it again.

When that happens i have to turn off the car
wait like 30 to 45 minutes and then the car will drive just fine again!
Like nothing ever happened!

Until my next stop.

Now i bet no machine can figure that out

Well i have some questions

I put some ISO tape to cover some wires near the engine and the battery section as well as Computer.Is that a bad idea?

When i check my Computer ill post the results.

Thanks for the replys and the help

Ohh and here are some photos of some of the wiring that looks worn.

Vaermina said:

By the way theres a vibrating noise coming from infront of the codriver seat like a phone ringing in vibration what is that?is like ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ and it stops after a while

Click to expand...

Hi,
try and discover if this noise happens at certain times - related to the running / NOT running of the engine..,

I had a similar TEMP. related issue before - on a JTD diesel,
would only start in air TEMP of 20'C and above..


it was an electronic component in the dashboard.
I traced the click - click -sound - mine only started when it went click..!!

Charlie

Check for corrosion in the under bonnet fuse box. Have your battery and charging system tested.