Fiat Punto1.2 8V Dynamic 53 plate,
Hi Guys,Sorry about the long post but I want to give you as much info as possible. My daughter bought her Punto in late July, this is the first car she has owned. We fitted new plugs, HT leads & air filter and checked oil.
Everything was going fine until the day before the bank holiday Monday when the MIL light came on & on the Monday when she went to work & the car failed to start.The engine burbles like it wants to fire then dies on first crank & it will not fire after that. Checked we had a good spark-OK, crank sensor Ohms –OK & various wiggle tests. Added some petrol thinking perhaps gauge was faulty, (showing ¾) car started 3rd crank, filled up with less than ¼ tank used at petrol station so gauge wasreading OK. EBOD test was carried out to find: 2 DTC’s P0351 & P0352 – coils. The MIL light has gone off after a while andwas put down to loose connections as coil circuits tested and Ohms within spec.
Happened again about a week later. Removed petrol cap thinking pressure problem after above. Car started 3rd crank.
OK for a few days, then car wouldn’t start at all. Engine turns over fast; checked spark at plugs -yes, fuel pump heard working-yes, and fuel at pressure release valve next to fuel rail-yes. Called RAC & guy reset the fault codes above & car started first crank.
Driven Home approx.5 miles failed to start next day, Monday. Reset fault codes drove car to garage that night. The garage at first thought it was the immobiliser, so called an auto electrician to get to the bottom of the problem. He changed the T09 relay saying it was burnt out. The car was kept at the garage the rest of the week and started at regular intervals no problem. Brought it home Friday, drove It to Reading Uni. from London on Saturday. Daughter says it ran like a dream, no problems with lack of power, misfiring or overheating. She drove to work that evening and back again at 2 in the morning. No problem. Went to pick house mate up from the station yesterday –wouldn’t start
Called the RAC again. This guy happened to be an ex-Fiat mechanic who said he knew Punto’s. He went through the motions and suspecting the ECU. Swapped that & the camshaft sensor for known good ones he carries out of habit with him. Still wouldn’t start. He was baffled. Did some wiggling, car started although he admitted he couldn’t remember exactly which bit he was wiggling before it started. Swopped everything back again, still working. Nice guy that he is said he has a pair of new coils in his garage which he would drop off FOC as he doesn’t need them. Will wait to see if it happens or not. I will buy a set regardless.
Seeing as new ECU & camshaft sensor didn’t cure the problem, can anyone give me some guidance on where to start looking after we fit the new coils? My thoughts are this won’t cure the problem as the Ohms measured fine, but may lie with the engine temp sensor on the throttle body as this only happens when cold.
Any Ideas anyone?
Roman
Hi Guys,Sorry about the long post but I want to give you as much info as possible. My daughter bought her Punto in late July, this is the first car she has owned. We fitted new plugs, HT leads & air filter and checked oil.
Everything was going fine until the day before the bank holiday Monday when the MIL light came on & on the Monday when she went to work & the car failed to start.The engine burbles like it wants to fire then dies on first crank & it will not fire after that. Checked we had a good spark-OK, crank sensor Ohms –OK & various wiggle tests. Added some petrol thinking perhaps gauge was faulty, (showing ¾) car started 3rd crank, filled up with less than ¼ tank used at petrol station so gauge wasreading OK. EBOD test was carried out to find: 2 DTC’s P0351 & P0352 – coils. The MIL light has gone off after a while andwas put down to loose connections as coil circuits tested and Ohms within spec.
Happened again about a week later. Removed petrol cap thinking pressure problem after above. Car started 3rd crank.
OK for a few days, then car wouldn’t start at all. Engine turns over fast; checked spark at plugs -yes, fuel pump heard working-yes, and fuel at pressure release valve next to fuel rail-yes. Called RAC & guy reset the fault codes above & car started first crank.
Driven Home approx.5 miles failed to start next day, Monday. Reset fault codes drove car to garage that night. The garage at first thought it was the immobiliser, so called an auto electrician to get to the bottom of the problem. He changed the T09 relay saying it was burnt out. The car was kept at the garage the rest of the week and started at regular intervals no problem. Brought it home Friday, drove It to Reading Uni. from London on Saturday. Daughter says it ran like a dream, no problems with lack of power, misfiring or overheating. She drove to work that evening and back again at 2 in the morning. No problem. Went to pick house mate up from the station yesterday –wouldn’t start
Called the RAC again. This guy happened to be an ex-Fiat mechanic who said he knew Punto’s. He went through the motions and suspecting the ECU. Swapped that & the camshaft sensor for known good ones he carries out of habit with him. Still wouldn’t start. He was baffled. Did some wiggling, car started although he admitted he couldn’t remember exactly which bit he was wiggling before it started. Swopped everything back again, still working. Nice guy that he is said he has a pair of new coils in his garage which he would drop off FOC as he doesn’t need them. Will wait to see if it happens or not. I will buy a set regardless.
Seeing as new ECU & camshaft sensor didn’t cure the problem, can anyone give me some guidance on where to start looking after we fit the new coils? My thoughts are this won’t cure the problem as the Ohms measured fine, but may lie with the engine temp sensor on the throttle body as this only happens when cold.
Any Ideas anyone?
Roman
Last edited: