(T) 2013 Fiat 500s Crank/No Start

Hey.

A few months ago, I bought a second-hand 2013 Fiat 500 with 60,000Kms on the clock which ran perfectly normal until just a few weeks ago. The car struggled to start first try, but on the second try, the car turns on perfectly fine (with a rough idle that lasts only for a bit) and will continue to turn on perfectly for the rest of the day until it sits overnight and repeats over again.

We took the car to the mechanic and they replaced the spark plugs which were fouled and replaced, the grounding wires were dirty and loose, and the fuel pressure, injectors, ignition, and battery were all checked and were okay . The mechanic kept the vehicle overnight, in which the car ran far better, however, the engine crank and no start and rough idling still occurred.

After looking over the forums, both the mechanic found about a TSB under the ID of 18-007-14 REV B which diagnoses the situation perfectly. I called the closest Fiat service and booked an appointment for a software upgrade which supposedly fixes this issue. The mechanic at FIAT notified that the car fell under the particular VIN and was not upgraded, however, the upgrade may make the car worse (hmmm....) or the ECU may not accept it?

I came to the forum to see if any others had any success with this issue, and if anyone had success with this particular software update?

Or in other words, much needed reassurance

Thanks.

What engine do you have in this petrol diesels what size?

Try to put a full of fuel with th best petrol ,99/100


Is a ecu issue

I'm sure a guy from Romania has exactly the same issue he's tried almost everything with no result?

view my topic

https://www.fiatforum.com/500/460574...rst-start.html

I have put a custom map,and gasoline 99 , the car always start ok now.

I have a Petrol 1.4L 100HP 16V Engine

I’ve always put the best fuel in the car (that is available). I also did run a fuel additive though the engine and took it for a long drive but no fix.

Form to be closed.

Hi,

I previously posted on this forum about the same issue:

2013 Fiat 500s Crank/No Start
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/477642-2013-fiat-500s-crank-no-start.html

^quick summary: the car wouldn’t start first try and would sputter out, however, on the second try it would turn on perfectly, but would have a rough idle. At this point, only the spark plugs were changed as they were fouled but that didn’t fix the issue.

My Fiat 500s is a 2013 model and has a 1.4L engine. As you can read in my previous post, my car would crank but not start and would end in a violent sputter or shudder. I was assured by a mechanic that the issue would be fixed by a software update.

We sent the car to Fiat to have an ECU update, however, unfortunately, that did not fix the issue. The Fiat mechanics kept the car for numerous weeks and tried diagnosing the problem. The diagnosis read that the injectors were at fault and clogged, so they were cleaned. The fiat mechanics started the car first try and it turned on perfectly... twice. I brought the car home and started it the next morning, didn’t start. The next plan was to check the battery. We found out, the previous owner had gotten the battery replaced with a 430 Amp which is not enough for a cold start. BINGO! Found the problem. I replaced the battery with a 530 amp one instead. The next morning, the car turns on perfectly (a little violent) but everything ran well and the RPMs weren’t acting crazy. The next morning the car turned on even better. The next morning, same problem! Crank no start. On the second try, the car started but the idle was extremely rough and for the first time since this issue began, the car’s exhaust smelt putrid. Dirty fuel? I don’t know. The car gets 98 Premium Unleaded and it’s been driven around a lot and for long periods. But you never know 🤷🏼*♂️

Changes to the car:
+ new spark plugs
+ checked fuel pressure
+ cleaned fuel injectors
+ new battery (which meets minimum cold start amperage)
+ service
+ grounding wires all checked and tightened

Video: - I will post a better video tomorrow including the rpms and main display

Thank you to anyone that can provide any help or insight on this issue

Your mechanic sounds a bit marginal.

A software update shouldn't be needed to make a car start - Fiat generally don't release software in its cars that prevents them from starting.

Similarly, a new battery sounds like a guess. If the engine is cranking, then the alternator generates the juice for the coils to fire the plugs, so as soon as I read "engine cranking" it means the battery is not the problem.

Car occasionally starts... sometimes doesn't... but then runs fine (if that's where you are) does not suggest any problems related to ignition, fuel or fuel pressure alone (anyway, you checked those). It sounds like there is a combination of factors when the motor is cold.

Does the "non-start" and/or roughness *only* happen when the engine is cold, or does it sometimes do it when the engine is warm/hot (like you stopped at a Maccie-D drive-thru' to get a cheesburger meal. And a milkshake. Coke. Okay.. I'll go large.)?

If it's a purely cold-start issue (first thing in the morning or if the car has been in an underground car park for 8 hours) then it may be an ECU problem ("cold-start" instruction isn't being sent to the injectors). In the old money, there's no choke.

If you can try some cold-start spray (the stuff you squirt into the inlet manifold as the engine is cranking) that should make the car start. If it does, then it's only "mixture strength" (or lack of) that is missing.


Ralf S.

Just carry on posting in the existing thread please - it keeps things tidier and preserves continuity.

I've copied the posts from the new thread to this one, and deleted the new one.

If it is down to the fuel/air mixture, you need to determine if it's starting over lean, or over rich.

Another possibility is that you have a weeping injector and one or more of the plugs is getting soaked in fuel when the car is stopped. The fuel rail does not depressurise when the engine is turned off, so any weakness in an injector seal can give rise to this fault. This leads to a spluttery start as the relevant cylinder(s) will be running over rich for the first few seconds.

To check this theory out, you could try removing the plugs first thing in the morning before trying to start to see if one or more of them is wet with fuel.

With spluttery starting, fitting Iridium plugs has been shown to help matters, as they're more likely to ignite the mixture if there is an excess of fuel about.

Sorry this is so late but here is the video!

The car has been back to FIAT and after testing they believed it was the fuel pump. The fuel pump has been replaced and the issue remains to persist. Any ideas?

Presumably Fiat don’t want to refund you for the unnecessary part?

Worth a try, turn on ignition, don't crank, put seat belt on(IE wait) now crank, it may make no difference, but from turn on to cranking there's very little if non time to build fuel pressure?