Technical heeeelpppp!!! starting problems, ecu light stays on, S O S!!!

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Technical heeeelpppp!!! starting problems, ecu light stays on, S O S!!!

joe9k

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hi folks, i got a mk2 y reg 2001 1.2 punto and recently the car has developed intermittent start problems and when it does start the engine management light stays on. Basically when i put the key in the ignition and turn it the car just turns over and it won't start. the immobiliser key symbol goes off along with the other lights apart from the ecu light which stays on.

bizzarely a few days ago of days i noticed a link between the fuel pump and the actual starting of the car. from my understanding of things, when the key is in the start position it should trigger the fuel pump and i distinctly remember not hearing the faint humming/buzzing noise associated with the fuel pump activity when the car just turns over. however on all occassions when i've heard the fuel pump humming the car starts perfectly, even though the engine management light stays on.

when the problems first started, i took the car to a local garage and they put it on a diagnostic computer and the following codes came up

p0201..injector cylinder 1 circuit
p0202.. " " " " 2 "
p0203.. " " " " 3 "
p0204.. " " " " 4 "
p0351.. ignition coil 1 circuit
p0352.. " " 2 "
p0135.. 02 sensor heater circuit bef.cat
p0141.. 02 sensor heater circuit after.cat

from their investigations the garage recommended changing the coil packs and resetting the ecu. i got hold of two coil packs from a specialist fiat breakers and had them changed and the ecu reset. the car started well and worked okay for about a week and then the same starting problems began again.

i've checked all fuses and visible relays as well as the connectors for the fuel pump under the back seat and they all seem fine. i spoke to my local fiat and even they didn't seem to have a clue apart from their advise for me to check the ignition modules. what i'm finding the most frustrating is this link between the fuel pump and the actual starting of the car. could it be a faulty ecu not sending out the correct signals to the fuel pump on start up? could it be a faulty fuel pump relay fuse? if so where is is located? the handbook was totally useless at revealing this. could it the fuel pump itself? i doubt it as once the car starts, it works wells. could it even be the ignition barrel itself?

is there anybody out there who has ever experienced this? if so please advice accordingly.:bang: :cry:
 
unlikey to be the pump unless you've been running it on russian petrol.

Fuel pump relay's have been known to go on mk1's and mk2's commonly enough for me to check it (just slot a spare on in and see how it goes).

Could also be the ecu messing up (there was a fella on here with a mk1 1.6sporting circa 1996, and the ecu went on that causing the pump not to start).


also I doubt you'll hear the fuel pump on any punto, as they are all fairly low delivary and relavtivley low pressure (spi cars are 1bar, mpi cars are 2.5-4bar, which could hardly take the skin of a pint of custard to be honest!!).

the fuel pump on my mk1 only starts when the engine turns over (key to start), and if it fails it runs on for about 0.5seconds then stops, then starts again when I start, etc etc. and this is normal I believe
 
My fuel pump on my mk2 sporting is very loud, a hissing kind of noise. Can even here it loud and clear above the noise of the engine @ idle. But I dont know if its meant to be that way?!?!
 
hi and thanks for your advice. i'll try it out. you wouldn't happen to know where the location of the fuel pump on a mk2 punto is?
cheers!!!
 
Well thats wasted money on the coil packs + whatever garage charged you.Why not get it to proper dealer(or reptuable idependent)to get it fixed properly.Reading codes means nothing unless you know how to act upon them,I could reproduce all those above faults in 10 seconds....problem is code readers just tell you a code number nothing else...its all the other information you need to make a accurate diagnosis.

Could well be the ECU.
 
Agree with T the fault codes mean nothing if the guy taking them doesnt understand how to diagnose it.
The errors recorded are all linked by a common feed, so its this that I would look at, either a relay or indeed an ecu fault.
 
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