Hi guys

I have a 1.2 8v Punto (2001) and have had problem when starting the car for the first time every day. It seems like the battery is completely flat, even though the battery shows almost a full charge. The car starts with a push start and will then run the rest of the day without any problems. Any ideas

Got up this morning, started the car and it started first time. left it run for a minunte and then switched it off. ten minutes later, went to start it again and it was completely dead. PLEASE HELP

Fiat Punto
SL51
1.2 8v

Don't know my way around your car - but

Is the battery really fully charged?

If it is, have a look for an earthing strap from the bodywork to the engine or gearbox: check its connections are really clean and tight - the starter draws a lot of current when turning the engine over.

If it's not, check boring things like alternator belt tension: too slack, not enough drive to charge properly.
If you're unlucky it might be the alternator.

Sounds like your starter motor has a loose connection or is knackered.

I don't think that it is anything to do with the battery or anything to do woith charging it as (a) its less than 2 year old with a 5 year warranty and (b) the battery has been tested more than once by different people/machines.

I had kinda thought about the starter motor but at the same time I was also wondering if it could have something to do with the Toad alarm/immobiliser. Can the starter have an intermittent fault or is it the case that it either works 100% or its knackered? Any idea of the cost for a replacement?

Fiat Punto
SL51
1.2 8v

about £25 from a breakers yard. yes they can have an intermittent fault, then they die.

I saw one on Ebay yesterday.

i dunno if its any help, but ive got a mk1 punto 1.2 8v and my car wouldnt start 1st time on a full battery, then after a week it wouldnt start at all. I replaced the battery and it started every second time (but the code light was on the dash the whole time). After a week it was the same story, not starting at all. The garage looked at it and it was the ignition switch that was faulty.

"Spirito di Punto"

Could well be ignition switch or some down-stream relay powering the starter. Starter motor is the heaviest drain on a battery you can get, but starter current does not flow via the ignition switch (contacts would have to be huge)so some form of relay will be around somewhere. Any bad contact in this sequence of events (including the starter itself) could cause your problem.

Since you get 'code' on radio it does feel like a bad battery master connection.

all things must pass.

Sorry - just realised it wasn't you who got 'code'. Comments apply though.

all things must pass.

What i mean by code is the orange light that comes on next to (to the left of) the speedo saying CODE with a picture of a key on top. It says it recognises the key-code from turning the key. This should ligt up for 2 seconds then go away but it was on when my engine was on in the ignition stage the whole time.

"Spirito di Punto"

Assuming you haven't fixed this yet, here are some hints for a suggested course of action next time it occurs. I'm operating on the theory that it isn't the battery (they don't generally go flat 10 mins after a good start & engine running):

- see whether it is starting system related or whole electrical system related by turning on headlights. If they don't come on, it's telling you it's a general power source problem eg: very bad battery connection (remember there are 3 main places for bad battery connections - both battery terminals and the other end of the earth strap where it connects to the body/chassis.

- If the lights come on, but dimly - it's confirming that there is a high resistance connection as per above, not so bad as to kill the lights but enough to strangle the high power needs of the starter system. You can confirm this by putting the blower fan on max (this is quite power hungry) and note the lights dim further.

- If all seems well with lights, you are probably looking at a fault with the starter or its solenoid (high power relay located in the starter body casing. See if you can hear the solenoid 'clicking' when you try to turn the engine over to start it (you will need someone's help here) - an absence of 'click' means a duff solenoid or faulty wiring to it. If you get a click but no turn, it's either the starter motor or the wiring to that.

- don't know anything about this 'code' business on the dash - it might be something to do with failing to pick up the transponder in the key fob (if there is such a thing on your car)and the immobiliser doing its job - which would fit your symptoms. However it also might tend to imply that it thinks the battery has been disconnected, which takes us back to a bad battery connection. Unless the connection is obviously loose, you can't tell just by looking - we are talking about corrosion between the terminal on the cable & the battery posts. You need to take them off and clean them. Remember that if you do this you will need to re-enter anything that has a 'code' like the radio.

- hope some of this helps. Might be worth investigating how the immobiliser on your car works to see if this 'code' message is a clue or just a symptom.

all things must pass.

thank you

"Spirito di Punto"