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Technical Help with diagnosis, repair or not.

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Technical Help with diagnosis, repair or not.

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Gloria1977

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I need help with a diagnosis. A while ago, whilst driving my fiat 500 1.2 2010 plate the dash lit up with a few warning lights. The mileage is flashing and it’s saying a couple of messages.

I’ve taken the car to an auto electrician and have got a report. The problem I have is I need to know how expensive it is likely to be to get it fixed? I’m actually selling the car and don’t know if I should get it fixed and sell it privately or leave it with the fault and sell to we buy any car 98F5D50A-F44C-4909-98A1-C0C9B54B8ABC.JPGIt’s about £1000 between the two.

At the risk of sounding stereotypical I’m a girl who knows absolutely nothing about this so please be gentle!

Thanks in advance. View attachment 1
 
Hi. And welcome :)

You are far from clueless..
As you have asked in the right place ;)

Ok.

So coulc you explian a little more about What happened

What made you to take it to thd autoelectrician?

A basic garage visit?


A lot of that printed info
can be read / checked by plugging in to a computer program.. I would attempt that before spending money..


Where is the car based?

A lot of us have the correct kit to at least look at this.

Charlie
 
Last edited:
varesecrazy said:
Hi. And welcome :)



You are far from clueless..

As you have asked in the right place ;)



Ok.



So coulc you explian a little more about What happened



What made you to take it to thd autoelectrician?



A basic garage visit?





A lot of that printed info

can be read / checked by plugging in to a computer program.. I would attempt that before spending money..





Where is the car based?



A lot of us have the correct kit to at least look at this.



Charlie
Click to expand...



Hi Charlie and thanks for your reply.

The car has been fine but was left stood in an airport car park for a week in the freezing cold. I drove a few miles on the motorway and the a few lights lit up on the dash. Now the airbag light is on and a triangle? Also the mileage is flashing... it is saying stop/start and fuel cut off not functioning.

I took it to an auto electrician as I thought he could turn them off but he said he wasn’t sure I’d was fixable and could cost me a small fortune at £50 an hour. So I just took it away.

Im based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

He tested the battery too and said it’s fine but it hasn’t been changed since new!
 
Ok.

Probably something quite simple.

Maybe he wasnt sure.

The battery will be TIRED if its 10 years old..
AND YES they can do weird things..

another strong possibikity.. the wiring to the tailgate.. especially if you opened and closed it in freezing weather.

The wires are not superbendy.. and can actually snap.. this causes 'weird stuff'

I will add some info here

https://www.fiatforum.com/500/423837-maybelline-has-thrown-hissy-fit.html?423837=#post4063061

Charlie
 
varesecrazy said:
Ok.



Probably something quite simple.



Maybe he wasnt sure.



The battery will be TIRED if its 10 years old..

AND YES they can do weird things..



another strong possibikity.. the wiring to the tailgate.. especially if you opened and closed it in freezing weather.



The wires are not superbendy.. and can actually snap.. this causes 'weird stuff'



I will add some info here



Charlie
Click to expand...



Thanks so much, I’ll give it a go.... would you gets new battery sorted first?

I do have another 500, I’m mad I know but I love it! Could I take the battery off this and try it in my older poorly one?
 
John202020 said:
Battery 9 years old? If so it's knackered even if tests fine
Click to expand...



If I was keeping the car I would just buy another.... wasn’t sure if it would be worth it to see if it solves the dash light problem

Any idea what sort of battery and where to buy please?
 
Try new battery first. Don’t get it in Halfords. But it somewhere like carparts4less.co.uk. Always have discounts. 17% this weekend and free delivery. Once that is done car needs plugging into MultuECUScan. I’m not convinced it’s the hatch wiring. Sounds to me like the airbag ECU. Plugging it into MES will tell you what’s wrong. It won’t be expensive as second hand parts can be bought for a fraction of the new price. MES is your first port of call after battery. Someone in here will no doubt be near you and can help.
 
typecastboy said:
Try new battery first. Don’t get it in Halfords. But it somewhere like carparts4less.co.uk. Always have discounts. 17% this weekend and free delivery. Once that is done car needs plugging into MultuECUScan. I’m not convinced it’s the hatch wiring. Sounds to me like the airbag ECU. Plugging it into MES will tell you what’s wrong. It won’t be expensive as second hand parts can be bought for a fraction of the new price. MES is your first port of call after battery. Someone in here will no doubt be near you and can help.
Click to expand...



Thanks.... is is a particular battery I need?
 
Gloria1977 said:
Thanks.... is is a particular battery I need?
Click to expand...



Go to the website and put your registration number in. If you have a start stop equipped car, it’s the bigger ones which are more expensive. If you decide to leave the car with the warning lights on, especially an airbag one you will have great trouble selling it.

The flashing mileage means that an ecu has lost contact with the body computer. It needs a proxy alignment which at Fiat is a rip off but anyone that has MES can reset for you.
 
Last edited:
typecastboy said:
Go to the website and put your registration number in. If you have a start stop equipped car, it’s the bigger ones which are more expensive. If you decide to leave the car with the warning lights on, especially an airbag one you will have great trouble selling it.

The flashing mileage means that an ecu has lost contact with the body computer. It needs a proxy alignment which at Fiat is a rip off but anyone that has MES can reset for you.
Click to expand...



Thanks for that. How do I find someone with MES?
 
Gloria1977 said:
Thanks for that. How do I find someone with MES?
Click to expand...

Hi,
Ask on here
biggrin.gif
I'm in Cambridge so a it far away (do go to Meltham nr Holmfirth but nothing planned)
I agree with what othes have said.

Old battery sat at airport caused low voltage, surges, etc that have upset electronics. You must get new battery and then proper Fiat Diagnostics. The DIY choice is Multiecuscan www.multiecuscan.net. commonly called MES.
If you a are reasonably computer savvy and have a laptop running Windows (even an old XP one) you could probaly do it yourself. The software is €50 (you can try the free version first) and an interface and adaptor leads like this
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Fiat-Alfa-ELM-OBD2-Green-Red-Yellow-cables-adapters-Diagnostics-Multiecuscan/282526378637? at £28 is a LOT less than a garage will charge you to do a proxi-alignment. With luck a new battery with proxi-alignment and fault code reset will be all you need, but a rebuilt airbag ECU might be needed.

It is almost certainly better to fix the car before selling it.

Robert G8RPI.
 
This post contains affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
g8rpi said:
Hi,
Ask on here
biggrin.gif
I'm in Cambridge so a it far away (do go to Meltham nr Holmfirth but nothing planned)
I agree with what othes have said.

Old battery sat at airport caused low voltage, surges, etc that have upset electronics. You must get new battery and then proper Fiat Diagnostics. The DIY choice is Multiecuscan www.multiecuscan.net. commonly called MES.
If you a are reasonably computer savvy and have a laptop running Windows (even an old XP one) you could probaly do it yourself. The software is €50 (you can try the free version first) and an interface and adaptor leads like this
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Fiat-Alfa-ELM-OBD2-Green-Red-Yellow-cables-adapters-Diagnostics-Multiecuscan/282526378637? at £28 is a LOT less than a garage will charge you to do a proxi-alignment. With luck a new battery with proxi-alignment and fault code reset will be all you need, but a rebuilt airbag ECU might be needed.

It is almost certainly better to fix the car before selling it.

Robert G8RPI.
Click to expand...



That’s brilliant advice.... thanks so much, fingers crossed. I do have a laptop so will give it a try. Thanks again, Gloria [emoji4]
 
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