So my first ? cold spell owning a fiat! The last 2 days my car has struggled to start.... I’ve done my research & ordered new iridium sparkys hopefully they arrive soon and hopefully that’s resolved my issue I’ve read that the Earth strap could also be an issue amongst others[emoji23] my question is .. what does the earth strap look like?[emoji23] I’ve looked it up but I get confused with different pics[emoji23] be kind I’m still learning

have a look here:

https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guide...lso-includes-battery-removal-upper-earth.html

stevo123 said:

have a look here:



https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guide...lso-includes-battery-removal-upper-earth.html

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That link won’t work

Right click it and open in a new window works.

Baglady1990 said:

So my first [emoji3063] cold spell owning a fiat! The last 2 days my car has struggled to start.... I’ve done my research & ordered new iridium sparkys hopefully they arrive soon and hopefully that’s resolved my issue I’ve read that the Earth strap could also be an issue amongst others[emoji23] my question is .. what does the earth strap look like?[emoji23] I’ve looked it up but I get confused with different pics[emoji23] be kind I’m still learning

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Have you left 8t for a few days. Could be a weak battery. If you go to any halfords (not the autocentre just regular halfords store) and ask for a battery check.

everson38 said:

Have you left 8t for a few days. Could be a weak battery. If you go to any halfords (not the autocentre just regular halfords store) and ask for a battery check.

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It’s brand new from Halfords I use the car every day

Baglady1990 said:

It’s brand new from Halfords I use the car every day

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I would still get it checked. Could be the alternator. If you have a meter multi you can check this yourself (YouTube how.to.test a battery and.alternator). Always.rule out the simplest options first.

everson38 said:

I would still get it checked. Could be the alternator. If you have a meter multi you can check this yourself (YouTube how.to.test a battery and.alternator). Always.rule out the simplest options first.

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it needs to be 250mm long or longer with 8mm holes at each end this link should help, its under the battery tray, bolted to the car and to the gearbox, you need to move the clutch slave cylinder to get to the bolt
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Batt...hash=item5457436ec4:m:mxnQHsio7j_N_nS_jvGlU2g

ok chaps I’m stuck ..... anyone know the torque I need to apply on these sparkys ? That info is gobbledygook to me [emoji23]

If they have washers lightly tighten then half a turn based on the thread dia, in the table

John202020 said:

If they have washers lightly tighten then half a turn based on the thread dia, in the table

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How much did they cost ? Out of interest

When you say the car "has struggled to start", what do you mean?

Does it turn over very sluggishly or does it turn over fairly quickly but just doesn't fire?

If it's sluggish to turn over, then the problem will be related to the battery (e.g. and/or alternator). If it turns over quickly but takes a lot of cranking for it to fire, then it's an ignition (e.g. and/or fuel) issue.

New plugs might help, or they migh just help for a while, if they allow the engine to start a bit better than the old plugs did.. but if there's an underlying problem then it's like the Terminator. It'll be back.


Ralf S.