Technical **Newbie + needing help already**

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Technical **Newbie + needing help already**

KAZTF

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Mar 31, 2014
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Hi Everyone.. we have a Stilo 1.6 dynamic 2002 - only had it a couple of weeks and already seem to have a problem. The car cut out on whilst my hubby was driving it the other day (when he came to a stop) couldnt get it going again so it was towed home.. Our mechanic plugged in his diagnostic check and its come up with a good 5 or 6 faults giving various codes and issues. He is not that familiar with this make of car (more of a ford man!!).. so he's gone away to do his homework... I've had a brief look on here for help.. (ECU, disconnect battery and reconnect).. my mechanic said its odd that so many faults are displayed all at once. really would appreciate any help you guys can give me so we can get sorted.. thanks.x
 
I have managed to get the fault codes that are showing if anyone can advise??

U1700
U1702
U1706
P1687
P0340
P0606

Thanks.
 
hi KAZTF, welcome to FF :wave:

the 3 'U' codes will be CAN related (the system the car uses for all of its ECUs to talk to each other) i cant give any further info though as i cant find anything related to it. but i personally wouldn't worry too much about that.

P0340 Camshaft Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction
P1687 Motorised throttle
theres all sorts of things that can result in these faults being shown and i wont go into them yet as they don't worry me too much either. i think they could have possibly been set when when your car cut out.

the one that i am most concerned about for you is
P0606 PCM (Powertrain Control Module) Processor Fault
PCM is the term given to your Engine ECU. the 1.6s have recently developed a habit of killing Engine ECUs. it has happened to mine and its frustrating as hell, but fret not you have come to the right place!

there is a company called BBA Reman who are able to fix it for you. For around £250 on a 5-10 day turn around they will inspect, remove and refit the Processor chip on the ECU... not bad at all considering the work involved!! they offer lifetime warranty for same owner on repaired/replaced parts.

what happens is because of all the heat changes and vibration that the ECU has to deal with, due to its position, the solder connections eventually snap off from the chip and circuit board. its a fault that every 1.6 will inevitably suffer and its just a bit of bad luck that its happened to you soo soon after buying it.

the other option is to buy a replacement unit but there is no guarantee that it wouldnt fail in the same way at some point in the future. if you want to take the risk then you will need a 're-virginised' ECU, they're available on ebay a 're-virginised' ECU has been reset to factory settings and will allow you to plug it into your car and use it straight away. the Engine ECUs are 'paired' to the car upon first key turn at the factory and its not as simple as just swapping ECUs from car to car, they have to be in this 'virgin' state for them to work on your car.

i hope i have explained it well enough i know its a lot to take in

P.S. the 2002 1.6 Dynamics are the best ;) (y)
 
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Hi and thanks Rich.. I was hoping that you would reply.. after having a quick look through the forum here.. seems you now quite a bit when it comes to these cars...
Have been looking through here for most of the morning trying to get some ideas on how it can be fixed.
Is it worth trying to clean the D4 connector and check the battery, earths, connectors, pins, as metioned on here with some of these fault codes before wading in and buying a new PCM???
We've only had the car for a month or so.. its only done 56,000 and the last lady who owned it for the last 8yrs just poodled around in it!! Sounds a bit like my MGTF that I bought a few yrs ago.. in that they are renown for the head-gasket going on them - so it seems that on the Stilos its this PCM and it the luck of the draw if it happens to you whilst you own the car!! Thanks for for your wise words..:)
 
all my fiat gained knowledge is 98% from this forum :) all my mechanical and electric knowledge is from 10years as a dealer HGV techie (y)

it is certainly worth checking the D4 and battery connections/ground points etc etc. but i fear it may still be the ecu at fault.

you're incredibly 'lucky' (depending on which way you look at it) to have the fault code to go with your fault... usually what happens is the chip becomes disconnected from the board and the car dies before it has chance to register any fault codes on the ECU... when mine let me down i had no fault codes whatsoever so i was kinda in the dark about it, after swapping relays round and hours head scratching the ECU was the only logical possibility and after coming on here to ask, it only confirmed my suspicions.

by the way... you're learning fast... flattery will get you everywhere!
 
Sure these forums can be a god send when you are trying to sort out a problem that is not obvious. :)

We will try the other options first I think.. just in case.. then if that doesnt work we really need to think which way to go.. hubby is already thinking of selling on the car... so if that's the case we would go for the cheaper e-bay option (which gives a 1 year guarantee) - seems a shame as he's also just paid for a cambelt change...!!! So if we bought the more expensive PCM it would solve the problem long-term...

We also have the other common fault with the airbag light being on.. would the new PCM rectify that light showing too??

Thanks Rich.
 
it would solve it... and its covered by a 'lifetime' guarantee thats valid for as long as you own the car. so even if it does happen again (12 years down the line) you'll be able to send it back to them for free repair.

i would suggest getting the airbag codes read before you follow the stuff mentioned below!

since yours is an early 02 it will have OCS (Occupancy Classification Sensor) in the passenger seat... the OCS mats are also known for not playing ball. *chances* are its the mat thats gone but its worth checking the connectors for any corrosion. if you look under the passenger seat theres a little cradle with a few multiplugs in it, the grey one with three wires going into it is for the OCS. disconnect and reconnect it couple of times with the ignition off. that usually suffices to fix a connection issue.

OCS Emulators are available they fool the airbag ecu into thinking there is someone always in the seat. so in the event of a collision heavy enough to activate the airbags the passenger side will go off. but to be honest, if your hitting stuff that hard you'll have wrote it off anyway ;)

heres where i got mine from http://www.airbaglightoff.com/Pages/FiatStilo.aspx
 
Thanks again Rich:):)..Will get the codes and check before we do anything about this..

Will keep you posted.. (y)
 
Well after much investigation done by our mechanic he is now thinking the problem could be due to the cambelt tensioner.. he changed the cambelt only a few weeks ago and said it was a bit 'sticky' then!! Still confused as to why we would get all the codes showing up on the diagnostic check tho.. and nothing coming up that would show anything to do with the cambelt. Fountain of all knowledge - Rich - any comments??:confused::confused::confused:
 
Well after much investigation done by our mechanic he is now thinking the problem could be due to the cambelt tensioner.. he changed the cambelt only a few weeks ago and said it was a bit 'sticky' then!! Still confused as to why we would get all the codes showing up on the diagnostic check tho.. and nothing coming up that would show anything to do with the cambelt. Fountain of all knowledge - Rich - any comments??:confused::confused::confused:

have you checked the d4 under the fuse box. apparently all roads lead to rome and go through that. i'm checking mine later.
 
Yes - all the various leads/plugs/sensors/fuses my hubby and our mechanic checked.. including the famous D4 connector!!:)
 
hello again Kaz.
now you've said about your timing belt. it kinda makes me wonder about the P0340 fault code you had initially. i said it may not be related before BUT this is the part where i think it may need explaining a in a little more detail.

P0340 is a code that the ECU throws suggesting there is 'something' wrong with the relationship between the position of the crankshaft and the position of the camshaft. this could be:-
1) Crankshaft Position Sensor fault.
2) Camshaft Position Sensor fault.
3) The Timing is Incorrectly set.

1) the Crankshaft Position Sensor is a relatively common fault on the Stilo basically it just gets old and worn out. its a simple 'Hall Effect' sensor (google it if you don't already know what a Hall Effect Device is) and after time they do deteriorate. these sensors can just, one day, give up the ghost never to work again. kinda frustrating i know, but this is by far the easiest and cheapest option to replace first. Another way they commonly fail is when the engine gets hot it cuts out, if you let the engine cool down it will most likely start again only to cut out once again when hot, although sometimes its not an exact science it may do it one day and another there may seem to be no rhyme or reason to it but its symptoms will always be worst when hot. the FIRST thing to check would be the air gap. the sensor should sit less than 1mm away from the exciter ring on the crankshaft pulley. A good guide is use a credit card (or bus pass ;) ) it should fit snugly between the sensor and exciter ring. if it doesn't, firmly push the sensor in so there is a little bit of friction when removing the card.

2) Cam Shaft Position Sensor, same behaviour as above (with the exception of adjusting the air gap as its not possible to do so)... i think in the 4 years i've been in the stilo section i can only recall maybe 2 ever being the cause of cutting out/rough idling, i wont rule it out but experience says its not as common as the crankshaft fault

3)its quite common to have misfires and poor response after a belt has been fitted incorrectly. it maybe an idea to get the garage to check the timing is all correct and at least then you can confirm or deny its involvement with the issue you're having.

I wont bore you completely to death with how to set up the timing, but if you need/want/are asked to give the garage a helping hand, then i would be more than happy to supply you with the info on how to set it up correctly!



hope this helps... would have supplied pictures if i could have found the info and been bothered after spending the morning working on a stilo and pulling a 10 hour shift fault finding emission problems on a truck (forgive me if my head is a little fragged)
 
Hi Rich - thanks for your wonderful and very comprehensive explanation..(y)

It did turn out to be something to do with cambelt tensioner... not sure the exact issue.. and i dont think the mechanic replaced it but adjusted it..

In any case she's up and running again. The only thing that is confusing is why did it give us all the blimming codes on the diagnostic check??.. when nearly all of them wern't related to the problem.. sends you off down various roads that you dont need to go down.. :bang:

I am pretty sure were are going to put it up for sale.. we bought it last month from our neighbour.. as we had a ford focus that we thought wouldnt be cost-effective to get it thru its MOT but it not been as bad as we thought. We bought the Stilo as a back-up really.. so dont be surprised if you see it in the classifieds now.. its only done 56,000 miles..!! Thanks again Rich.x
 
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