Hi all, have been lurking for a while on here and have read lots of technical threads, now it's time to post a thread myself.

I'm having some problems with my wife's Lancia Ypsilon. As the engine and platform is the same as a Punto MK1 I'm posting it here.

first it was intermittantly cutting out and later running on 2 cylinders.

As the 1.2 fire engine runs a wasted spark setup it is most likely one of the coils has died, so I have replaced both coils, unfortunately this was not the solution. Apparently if the coils break they kill the ECU as well.

Now the problem... my wife's lancia has an IAW 16FF.EU ECU and the exact same one is impossible to find.

I found loads of magneti marelli IAW ecu but all with different codes.

lots of them also say 1.2 SPI so possibly work.

I have a local guy that can decode the ECU so i dont have to swap all the locks, but i don't want to find out a different code number will not work after paying him to decode it.

Will an ECU with a slightly different code number but with 1.2 SPI work on my engine?

Or is there a way to repair the ECU myself?

this is the subject:

i think you just need ecu from same spec car, numbers on ecu dont matter or i can be mistaken

I will try to repair the ECU first before I'm going to get a different one. Coding will cost 75€ to begin with and as i can't find the exact right one it's a risk it won't work.

So I opened the ECU and the transistors are the high voltage ignition control modules.

so next try is to find replacements, solder them in and check if the problem is solved.

I don't think its the same as the mk1... I have read about coils failing and killing ecu's but that was on later style ecu's than what a mk1 punto has.

That was an issue with what has been called the 'micro-ecu' and was fitted just after 2000 - read lots of this happening to mpi seicentos when they replaced the old spi stuff with mpi and OBD ports etc (new emission laws etc is what prompted the changes). And they weren't around long as the setup was replaced with one that doesn't have that weakness.

Good luck repairing, let us know how you get on.

It has been a while, but i got round to replacing the transistors, after that no improvement.

To be sure i bought a new tested ecu with the immobiliser deleted but the car stil wont start. Immobiliser box has been unplugged.

Meanwhile the ignition leads and coils have been replaced, but also to no avail.

The engine goes round and almost seems to start but just doesn't

What else could it be?

crank sensor?

I would agree. It would certainly be worth checking/replacing the crank sensor.

berendd said:

It has been a while, but i got round to replacing the transistors, after that no improvement.

To be sure i bought a new tested ecu with the immobiliser deleted but the car stil wont start. Immobiliser box has been unplugged.

Meanwhile the ignition leads and coils have been replaced, but also to no avail.

The engine goes round and almost seems to start but just doesn't

What else could it be?

Click to expand...

Hi, so you've gone from running on 2 x cylinders ( badly) to not actually running ( even on 2)

I suspect you've maybe CREATED a 2nd issue.., :bang:
back to basics, is the immobiliser functioning, and fuel pump running?

Charlie

Immobiliser has been disengaged by fitting a flashed ecu and removing the immobiliser box, so that cant be the problem anymore. Fuel pump is running.

Will check the crank sensor next

are you sure how the immobiliser has been removed - there is a few ways to do it... some need the codebox to be there and some don't and some are just what they call virginised and code to the first matching codebox and key that is used with them.

does your code light come on at all with the ignition?? usually (but not always) the code light won't turn on at all once the immobiliser is removed.

Anyway, as Charlie says check the basics. Do you have spark, do you have fuel - if you have neither then the main thing to suspect would be the crank sensor and/or immobiliser system. If you have fuel but no spark or vice versa it can't be crank sensor... check them and report back

1994 Punto MK1 model 55, I had a pair of coils fail one day travelling to work. I carried on to work and drove it home in the evening all on 2 cylinders. When I fitted a pair of new coils the ECU was fine and it ran well, but what wasn't fine was the catalytic converter which was burned through because of unburned fuel. Beware!

Finally had some spare time to look into the Ypsilon again, bought a code reader last week and hooked it up to see if the ecu threw some codes. weirdly enough I can't even get it to connect to the ECU?

did try to get it starting but to no avail, it certainly gets fuel, but no spark. plugs where black from overfuelling.

measured the voltage on the coils, but both wires have 0 volts whilst the key is on on (not cranking as i was alone)

Crank sensor was replaced as well, not solved the problem..

managed to get it started with a set of new plugs, but it ran like crap.

the old ones where completely oiled up.

revving it over 2000rpm revealed a knocking sound in the block somewhere, couldnt locate it with the stethoscope but i think big end bearings.

Also a lot of smoke was coming from the crankcase vent

Will do a compression test later to verify, as it's now dark outside

so weirdly enough spark is fine now and managed to get it running (allthough crap) as there is puffs coming from the inlet as well, headgasket must have gone.

so another mystery solved, as there is a knocking sound somewhere down in the engine I am not slamming another HG in but I'll find another engine.

Are there any differences between the selecta engines and the manual engines (1.2 8v) and do other engines fit the selecta gearbox? (16v?)

the engines will be the same, maybe some differences in harness and maybe some bits will need swapping over but the main engine will be the same. Never seen a selecta with an engine swap but gearboxes can usually be fit to all the other fire engined puntos - i.e. you can take a 1.2 16 sporting box and fit it to a 55, 60 or 75 or a 55 and stick it on a 16v etc etc so I cannot see why the selecta box wouldn't fit on any of the fire engines.. whether it would work well with a different engine is another question, i wouldn't like to comment without any experience on that.

thanks for the info...

we're looking at our options now...

a replacement in the form of a punto selecta seems the most viable as I will then have lots of spares to keep it going without all the effort of finding a replacement engine and fitting it. Have asked around to have it done but got quoted €1300,-, yikes...

Don't have the time to do it myself at the moment unfortunately.