I know there have been problems with the 500 and the wires splitting in the boot, but not seen any reports of similar with the 500c

Today on opening the boot I notice the wire that goes from the body to the boot lid the rubber cover had split open, on checking the wires themselves 2 at least were rubbed through the plastic to bare metal. So have made a temporary fix with black tape and got it booked in for next week to have it looked at.

The Boot seal (Rubber strip below the hood) has gone again as well (Was only replaced in November). So that's being done as well.


I know I open and close my boot a lot, about 10 times a day on average, but a bit disappointed to see so much wear on the wires in less than a year.

Anyone else had a problem with these on a 500c ?

I spose 10 times a day is a lot, but still it should never go really....

306maxi said:

I spose 10 times a day is a lot, but still it should never go really....

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That's what I feel, especially as any repair is either going to be a bodge patch or a fairly major Loom job I would have thought

The plastic sheath on the wires seems like a very cheap plastic rather than a flexible "rubber type" material, so I can see why it has split so easily and left the wires exposed to get caught and rubbed, but overall feel its a bit of a shame they saved a few pennies on something that can cause so much trouble if it goes wrong.

flashyphotos said:

That's what I feel, especially as any repair is either going to be a bodge patch or a fairly major Loom job I would have thought

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A patch needn't be a bodge if done carefully, with neatly soldered wires covered by heat shrink tubing, finished off with a cloth tape wrapping. If your workmanship is up to the standard of your dash trim panel, you'll have no problem whatsoever & the end result will easily outlast the OEM fitment .

I know you're talking about the 500c, but there is a service replacement rear loom section to repair the damaged wiring that occurs between the hatch and body. I'll dig out the bulletin reference and part numbers later on.

bgunn said:

I know you're talking about the 500c, but there is a service replacement rear loom section to repair the damaged wiring that occurs between the hatch and body. I'll dig out the bulletin reference and part numbers later on.

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Can the moderators please award Bgunn two House Points and a gold star for his invaluable contributions to the school (I mean forum).

bgunn said:

I know you're talking about the 500c, but there is a service replacement rear loom section to repair the damaged wiring that occurs between the hatch and body. I'll dig out the bulletin reference and part numbers later on.

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I forgot to do this, so feel free to postpone the gold star

But there are two bulletins, one for the 500 and one for the 500c; and I *will* put their numbers up, and the part numbers for the service replacement wiring sections of each.

And FIAT will probably want to hunt me down and have me executed

I wonder if this is similar to the problem I had with the wiring from the car to the tailgate. If so, no major loom replacement needed - a local independent italian car specialist soldered some wire on and £110 later all done.

Heidi said:

I wonder if this is similar to the problem I had with the wiring from the car to the tailgate. If so, no major loom replacement needed - a local independent italian car specialist soldered some wire on and £110 later all done.

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I suspect your issue happened before FIAT issued these service notices, the service replacement loom section is only from around 25-30cm infront of the hinge/break point and replaces the tailgate wiring. So not the whole floor/rear loom section as you were advised originally.

RobinPJ said:

Can the moderators please award Bgunn two House Points and a gold star for his invaluable contributions to the school (I mean forum).

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He'll just have to settle for a cheap interscope sub-woofer from me, I'm all out of gold stars.

For future reference, the bulletin numbers are as follows:

For the hatchback 55.06.12 (5505 1 801 TB) and the parts required are:

Tailgate wiring repair kit - 51925658
Rear washer pipe repair kit - 51922436
Red thermal solder sleeves - 11105485 x4
Neutral thermal solder sleeves - 11105380 x6
Blue thermal solder sleeves - 11105582 x2
Yellow thermal solder sleeves - 11105681 x2

(all of the thermal sleeves come in packs of 20, so it might just be easier to lap join the cables with solder and use heat shrink if you're doing the job yourself - the colours are for different sized cable)

For the cabrio 55.07.12 (5505 1 791 TB) and the parts required are:

Passenger compartment wiring repair kit - 51928297
Cable tie - 14560187 x 2
Neutral thermal solder sleeves - 11105380 x5
Blue thermal solder sleeves - 11105582 x2

(again, the thermal sleeves come in packs of 20, so if you're not repairing cars for a living, you probably just want to lap join the cables with solder)

Hope this is of help to someone..

bgunn said:

And FIAT will probably want to hunt me down and have me executed

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Probably, it's copyright material

T14086 said:

Probably, it's copyright material

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Well, it is. Or it could be a random jumble of numbers and letters

T14086 said:

Probably, it's copyright material

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Ah well, at least David Smith hasn't posted his real name and contact information on here

I have had a similar problem with the wiring loom from the body through a rubber boot into the hatchback. This seems to me to be an inherent fault with the 500 and should not really happen. It is a design fault with the Fiat 500 and can happen just after the warranty runs out. The manufacturers should really agree to compensate in full the owners who have had problems with this issue. There is just not enough room for the loom and rubber boot housing the wires between the hatchback and the main body of the vehicle when the boot lid is closed. In fact the this seems to be a common problem with the Fiat 500 and it seems there have not been enough complaints to Fiat's to warrant them to do anything about this problem. The rubber boot is so tight to the body that it has vibrated against the paintwork and left an imprint of the rubber boot on the paintwork .

Has anyone got Fiat to put their hands up to the problem and compensate for the problem even after the car is out of warranty?

bountyhunter said:

In fact the this seems to be a common problem with the Fiat 500 and it seems there have not been enough complaints to Fiat's to warrant them to do anything about this problem.

Has anyone got Fiat to put their hands up to the problem and compensate for the problem even after the car is out of warranty?

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Hi, and welcome,

have you not seen the EXTENSIVE thread about the tailgate wiring in the hatch 500's then,:confused

it's certain that ALL dealers will have come across it..never mind FIAT UK being unaware

bountyhunter said:

I have had a similar problem with the wiring loom from the body through a rubber boot into the hatchback. This seems to me to be an inherent fault with the 500 and should not really happen. It is a design fault with the Fiat 500 and can happen just after the warranty runs out. The manufacturers should really agree to compensate in full the owners who have had problems with this issue. There is just not enough room for the loom and rubber boot housing the wires between the hatchback and the main body of the vehicle when the boot lid is closed. In fact the this seems to be a common problem with the Fiat 500 and it seems there have not been enough complaints to Fiat's to warrant them to do anything about this problem. The rubber boot is so tight to the body that it has vibrated against the paintwork and left an imprint of the rubber boot on the paintwork .

Has anyone got Fiat to put their hands up to the problem and compensate for the problem even after the car is out of warranty?

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good luck to that! i wish it was america where we would all unite and start a class action lawsuit = )

varesecrazy said:

Hi, and welcome,

have you not seen the EXTENSIVE thread about the tailgate wiring in the hatch 500's then,:confused

it's certain that ALL dealers will have come across it..never mind FIAT UK being unaware

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when i asked my dealer, they said yes we at fiat just replace the whole rear wiring thing which costs around 400 GBP to fix labor and parts included!!!! I said no thanks!

Will go to auto electrician if it really dies, no where near Fiat!

My Girlfriends 500C had this fail within her warranty period and it was replaced with a completely different part that was MUCH longer, almost comically longer.

£400 is obscene, anyone with basic wiring tools could fix it for a couple of pounds in Crimps and heatshrink.

In fact, I reckon you could buy all the tools to do it and parts for less than £50.

bgunn said:

I know you're talking about the 500c, but there is a service replacement rear loom section to repair the damaged wiring that occurs between the hatch and body. I'll dig out the bulletin reference and part numbers later on.

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I have been told that the loom is damaged and it will cost £500 to repair the loom so that the boot opens again. No way can I afford that and wouldn't pay that anyway.