Driving in the very wet conditions yesterday my Stilo 'wagon started playing up. First it was the engine management light. Next, when I tried to turn the engine off it kept on running even with the key removed! Initially I stopped the engine by stalling it (fifth gear and handbrake on). When I started it up again I managed to stop it by puting the key back in an moving it about but I think I was just upsetting the immobiliser.

When I went to head home at the end of the day, the engine would not turn over. There was also a bit of a hissing noise with the ignition on - sounded like a short so I turned everything off quickly. I left everything until this morning.

I have only had the car for a week and it was obvious that the fusebox/battery cover was missing. Given the extremely wet condition and having searched the symptoms on the forum I had worked out that water in the fusebox was the likely culprit. I took the fusebox off, soaked everything in dispersant, removed and replaced every relay and fuse and then replaced the battery with a fully charged one.

The dash started flashing on and off with the "checking" warning. It then stopped with the "bad connection" message. I took the fusebox home so that I could split it and make sure everything was clean and dry. It was extremely hard to separate and two areas are a bit black where it had been shorting.

Obviously I need a new fusebox. (and a new cover!)

I take it this is a dealer only part? Can anyone recommend a supplier?

Thanks - hopefully!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-STIL...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item231f23bb50

Only fusebox on eBay! It's off a 1.2 but you can swap over the fuses/ relays and it will work fine.

Thanks Mark. It looks completely different. Will it definitely fit?

It's just a generic picture they've used for some reason, but it is the fusebox directly behind the battery they are listing for

Are you sure they are the same Mark?

ePER shows 9 different fuse boxes up to April 2003 and another 10 different ones for after April 2003.

It's not just a matter of fitting the correct fuses and relay into any fuse box, my JTD one for example doesn't have the internal metal connector sockets for Selespeed versions. I doubt a 1.2 fuse box would have the connectors for glowplugs and other JTD specific consumers.

had the same issue with fusebox on my JTD M/W being dumb after charging battery left cover off to keep check on battery went through heavy rain and lots of hissing shorting sound from fusebox .
I managed to repair mine so maybe you could attempt on yours cleaned up any shorts and also when refitting relays they have a short stop of plastic to stop pushing in too far as this cauises short also, well after cleaning up any shorts and remembering where all relays and fuses went 5 k miles later is still working a treat.

just fix yours its an easy job my stilo went crazy after i steam cleaned engine and got water in it take fuse box off get a sheet of paper draw a pic of where all the fuses and relays go and pull them all out open the little tabs on the sides pull two halvas apart and clean all the contacts inside i used wd40 and a toothbrush (there was quite abit of corrosion) dry it with hairdryer and refit job done (remember to get that cover )

will take about an hr all in

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I managed to find a second hand jtd fusebox from an Aberdeen breakers and a cover from one in Lancaster. A new fusebox is £47 plus VAT which is not bad. A new cover is £110 plus VAT :-(

Forgot to add that the black/burnt looking area on the plastic inside the fusebox was enough for me to junk it.

driver33 said:

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I managed to find a second hand jtd fusebox from an Aberdeen breakers and a cover from one in Lancaster. A new fusebox is £47 plus VAT which is not bad. A new cover is £110 plus VAT :-(

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You'll be up and running soon enough then I made that mistake too, going to the dealers for a price for a new battery cover and that's what they gave as well £110

Fuse box update

The second hand fuse box arrived today. Unfortunately it is not quite the same as although it is from a jtd it appears to be the 80bhp version... Part number on mine is 46846109 and the part number on the replacement is 51724393. It has a few physical differences such as relay positions.

See photos- left hand one is the original/ right hand one the replacement. Can anyone tell me what the large relay at T07 is (eper describes it as a Remote Control Switch) and should I have one on my car?

It may have been possible to just transfer/swap the various relays and fuses but the fuse socket for F19 will not hold a fuse. I doesn't even look as if there are any connectors inside at that location.

As this appears to only be my air con compressor I was half thinking of using it but I am a bit concerned that the internal connections are different. Why else would there be so many different fuseboxes?

I will probably just return it and buy a new one. It was fairy cheap at £30 plus postage, so if any one would like a spare I will sell it for £30 (including postage as I will end up paying the postage back to the breakers to get a refund).

Re: Fuse box update

Relay T07 and fuse F7 are for the radiator fan high speed (Relay T06 and fuse F6 are for low speed). These two relays are only used on 80bhp versions. Fan speed on 115bhp versions is controlled by an ECU mounted behind the radiator cowling.

Re: Fuse box update

Thanks Davren.

I followed the wiring diagram to the radiator symbol so I guessed it might be something like that. It is a bit confusing that it is described as a "Remote Control Switch" but I suppose that is what the actual function of a relay is.

Do you know if my suggestion that the internal make up of the various fuse boxes is different depending on part number is correct?

I am fed up with faffing around with parts that might not fit so the order for a new fusebox will be made tomorrow! (Knowing my luck they will be on back order at Fiat)

Cheers

David

Re: Fuse box update

driver33 said:

Thanks Davren.It is a bit confusing that it is described as a "Remote Control Switch" but I suppose that is what the actual function of a relay is.

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A relay is just a high current capacity switch that's controlled by a low current switch located elsewhere. Given that most Italian to English translations in ePER and eLEARN are way off the mark, calling it a "Remote Controlled Switch" seems one of the more accurate translations to me.

driver33 said:

Do you know if my suggestion that the internal make up of the various fuse boxes is different depending on part number is correct?

Click to expand...

This was my suggestion in post #5 above.
.

Re: Fuse box update

Davren said:

This was my suggestion in post #5 above.

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Absolutely. Just double checking!

I had to clean/dry out a fusebox today for some else's Stilo, so I made a guide:
https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-guides/313986-how-clean-dry-out-fuse-box-near-battery.html

-Alex

alexGS said:

I had to clean/dry out a fusebox today for some else's Stilo, so I made a guide:
https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-guides/313986-how-clean-dry-out-fuse-box-near-battery.html

-Alex

Click to expand...

Excellent guide!

Mine had two black areas where it had been arcing badly and the plastic had melted so I decided that a new one was needed. The second hand one that I bought turned out to be the wrong one so ended up spending £63.60 on a new one. Quite surprised to find that it came with relays and fuses fitted but a bit annoyed that there was one relay missing!

I will stick the second hand one up on the classified section tomorrow after I work out why the starter motor will not operate! (I am beginning to see why the Stilo had such a bad reputation for electrical faults... just as well I like it)

That seems really good value for a new one and like you, I'm surprised it arrived 'populated'.

That makes two of us with Alfa '916's and Stilos... The Alfas are renowned for electrical faults too but I find them quite different, mine's no trouble at all and incapable of generating false warnings anyway... gotta love the older, pre-CAN cars.

-Alex