Technical 500 Wont start!

[morriclan]

I put this on Newbie thread by mistake so moving to here as maybe more 500 experts here.
Hi, Looking for some advice re my 1.2 500.
Yesterday the car spluttered and stopped. The fuel was low o we assumed that and put 10ltrs in. Was driving fine before this and was serviced by AC on 9th Feb at 33K and 2013 car. About a mile further more spluttering and then stopped and would not restart.
AA came and spent ages trying ( even put more fuel in so now half tank). He checked fuse box stuff in engine bay and did start car with a spray can of stuff and it ran. He then went under back seat and after some hammering / banging said fuel pump issue. Towed home and but into garage in disgrace. Tried it today and could hear the pump making a noise and it nearly started! Do you guys think pump or something else? Is this a common fault? Should i get fuel filter changed first or just get a pump? Any help would be great. Thank you.

 

[John202020]

Get some more expert advice/diagnosis?
Given a new pump is £300+ if you did need one a secondhand tank complete would be cheaper, I cant find a fuel filter for the 1.2

 

[typecastboy]

If you have someone nearby with MES, plugging that in without the yellow adapter allows you to run all sorts of tests and do resets. It may well diagnose your problem and maybe even fix it.

 

[Ralf S.]

If the car ran when the spray stuff was fed to it, then that would suggest a fuel problem.

You can check the output from the pump by disconnecting the fuel line to the injector. You should get a priming charge of fuel come out when you turn on the ignition... and more (steady) when cranking the engine over. Do the check with a cold engine and also catch any petrol in a small container (aerosol lid is usually okay).

If it's not the pump itself it could be a relay or fuse.. so if you get no joy, clean and check these components/connections. If you can see an identical relay somewhere else, you can swap them over to test the relay works but usually "relay" problems are caused by bad or corroded connections.

Or the fuel pressure regulator could be failed... but if the relay and fuse are okay then this is a less likely failure item than the pump itself.

A new pump is £45 or so, so it's not a major disaster if you need a new pump. It's very unlikely to be a filter blockage.. I have never seen a very dirty fuel filter, even on 150,000 milers... but when the pump is out, you'll be able to have a look.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fuel-Pum...450491&hash=item4d6a24cab5:g:MUkAAOSw1NFaOcMm

Ralf S.

 

[John202020]

If the car ran when the spray stuff was fed to it, then that would suggest a fuel problem.

You can check the output from the pump by disconnecting the fuel line to the injector. You should get a priming charge of fuel come out when you turn on the ignition... and more (steady) when cranking the engine over. Do the check with a cold engine and also catch any petrol in a small container (aerosol lid is usually okay).

If it's not the pump itself it could be a relay or fuse.. so if you get no joy, clean and check these components/connections. If you can see an identical relay somewhere else, you can swap them over to test the relay works but usually "relay" problems are caused by bad or corroded connections.

Or the fuel pressure regulator could be failed... but if the relay and fuse are okay then this is a less likely failure item than the pump itself.

A new pump is £45 or so, so it's not a major disaster if you need a new pump. It's very unlikely to be a filter blockage.. I have never seen a very dirty fuel filter, even on 150,000 milers... but when the pump is out, you'll be able to have a look.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fuel-Pum...450491&hash=item4d6a24cab5:g:MUkAAOSw1NFaOcMm

Ralf S.

Guess it pays to shop around you could have half a dozen compared to shop4parts

 

[Texas149]

Yes well cheap but prob for a reason!
Seller details:
Business seller information
ZHILIANG WANG
ZHILIANG WANG
No. 94, MZW Street
610051 ChengDu City
China

Yes may well have 24 months warranty ( probably if only installed by a qualified mechanic and you have Invoice for such, been there!)
And the quality ???

Not my way of thinking but prob ok if you were selling car soon,

Paul m.

 

[morriclan]

If the car ran when the spray stuff was fed to it, then that would suggest a fuel problem.

You can check the output from the pump by disconnecting the fuel line to the injector. You should get a priming charge of fuel come out when you turn on the ignition... and more (steady) when cranking the engine over. Do the check with a cold engine and also catch any petrol in a small container (aerosol lid is usually okay).

If it's not the pump itself it could be a relay or fuse.. so if you get no joy, clean and check these components/connections. If you can see an identical relay somewhere else, you can swap them over to test the relay works but usually "relay" problems are caused by bad or corroded connections.

Or the fuel pressure regulator could be failed... but if the relay and fuse are okay then this is a less likely failure item than the pump itself.

A new pump is £45 or so, so it's not a major disaster if you need a new pump. It's very unlikely to be a filter blockage.. I have never seen a very dirty fuel filter, even on 150,000 milers... but when the pump is out, you'll be able to have a look.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fuel-Pump-FIAT-500-0-9-1-2-1-2-LPG-1-4-FIAT-Panda-169-1-1-1-2-1-2-LPG-1-4/332493277877?epid=20005450491&hash=item4d6a24cab5:g:MUkAAOSw1NFaOcMm

Ralf S.

We have now changed the pump for one from a 7,00 mile car. Still wont go but still starts with spray into air inlet. I'm going to try get it coded today. I assume since pump is pumping wont be the fuel cut off thing? Sometimes I hate these wee cars... grrr.

 

[John202020]

There might be fuel but is there injection?

 

[morriclan]

Well here's an update that will make you smile!
Friendly mechanic finally got the problem solved!
When it ran out of fuel it restarted after a friend brought 2 cans from his garage ( green Cans)! Turns out one had diesel in it!
Sooo after a lot of heartache, a 2nd hand pump, and much nashing of teeth we drained the tank and flushed the fuel lines. 5 Ltr nice fresh PETROL and a lot of smoke initially she is running again. Have probably got off lightly as it had stopped so not been run more than a mile with the diesel in it. Oil level is fine and running nicely again so not keen to change the plugs. I think I will just have a gin and relax now. Note to self NEVER EVER run too low on petrol!

 

[John202020]

That's why "diesel" cans are black!

 

[Texas149]

All fault finding should run in a logic sequence and the biggest ' spanner in the works' so to speak is that sometimes new parts straight out of the box are faulty and this throws the fault finding operation sideways and as you have found this assuming that things are good has let you down, but in this case the 'Spanner' was the person who put Diesel in a Petrol can!!!

Paul m.

 

[jrkitching]

Glad you've found the cause of your woes before spending a fortune on unnecessary repairs.

The good news is that attemting to run a petrol car on diesel is unlikely to have serious long term consequences and it's most unlikely you've done any damage.

Not so the other way round; running a modern diesel car on petrol can turn out to be an extremely expensive mistake.

 

[morriclan]

Yes indeed. Have had an apology from my friend who's garage it came from and I think someones on a final warning! Ach well these things are sent to try us. Just as well it was diesel in petrol car and not petrol in a diesel. Would have had expensive consequences! Now got 15ltrs of petrol Diesel mix to get rid of!

 

[jrkitching]

Now got 15ltrs of petrol Diesel mix to get rid of!

Personally I'd use it for shifting rusty fasteners and parts washing (but wear protective gloves and work in a very well ventilated place such as outdoors). 15l would last a good while.

 

[morriclan]

Possibly good for removing tar from body too
I'm sure it will be put to good use.
thanks everyone for input to my problem.