Technical Fiat 500c Flashing Climate Control Temp

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Technical Fiat 500c Flashing Climate Control Temp

JCFiat1703

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Dear all, who is the cleverest out there.

2012 Fiat 500c Climate control flashing temp display.
Posted a video on a Facebook of the condenser / engine running + fan.Everyone confirmed all spot on.
Outside temp display changes in line with how the day is, 13,17 etc etc degrees, so the outside temp in wing mirror working a treat.
Disconnected the battery and reconnected.

Still we have the problem of flashing temperature display on climate control.
It gets hot, it gets nice & cold, all settings work ( direction to to arrow up could. E better - is weakest ), Fiat tech is stumped - no error codes.

Leak ? Regal ?...unknown if will fix.

Anyone had this issue?.

How do you test for a leak ???

Any help / consideration...Be ever grateful,

John & Family....and the car ITALIA..
 
You need MES diagnostics! I had this issue late last year ... you go into the climate control section and activate the “re learn flaps” or something similar if I’m remembering correctly without looking I can’t remember exactly but that sorted my flashing display!
What area are you in? There maybe someone near you with mes
 
IMG_5130.JPG I believe this it it
Can be found in adjustments within climate control in the MES software
 
Wow , is MES , fiat OEM software ? Or other,.....would be brill if this fixed...based in Swindon..
 
I just wish I was technical, will the free issue software do what’s needed ? I bet there’s a lead I need to buy etc ?
 
will the free issue software do what’s needed ?

No. And since most franchised dealers will charge you close on £100 just to run diagnostics one time only, just what do you expect to get for nothing?

I bet there’s a lead I need to buy etc ?

You've just won your bet.

I just wish I was technical

Buy the necessary leads for your car, guaranteed to work, together with a software licence, from the UK distributor for £99.95, here.

You can buy third party leads on ebay for less money, and the software licence seperately for €50 directly from multiecuscan.net, but beware that not all of these cheap leads will work correctly or even at all.

You could also go to an independent Fiat/Alfa garage, and I'll bet they'll run multiecuscan and reset the flaps for that same £100. Question is, do you want to buy a fish, and eat for one meal, or the tools to catch a fish, and eat for as long as you own a Fiat... :rolleyes:

The best bit is that there are plenty of good folks right here on this forum who will teach you to fish, for nothing.
 
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Re: Fiat 500c Flashing Climate Control Temp -Resolved

Dear all, my story, joined the forum 2 days ago to get tech savvy Fiat friends to help not such a clever guy on cars.

Wow, what a start. Posts the problem that has baffled all. Get replies an pointers , and then to top it all met a Portland Bill today, who gave up his own time, used his own laptop & MES software , drove a fair way from Oxford to Swindon and resolved the issue of the flaps as highlighted by another superb member Baglady 1990. PB one of the best you are, and a gentleman sir.

To PB, front door always open sir, passing, need a coffee stop..absolutely our pleasure here...wonderful person you are.

Baglady1990 , bravo & thankyou for your expertise in diagnosis, you were 100% correct.

The fault is cured following the exact diagnosis.

More importantly , good people, helping others...absolutely wonderful, thankful and indebted,

John & family...in Swindon..
 
Hello, I’m new here with this same flashing climate control display problem. I’m reasonably familiar with this kind of fault code detection and recovery, having had problems with Stop/Start on my Ford.

My question is however, how come just resetting the car’s belief of the actual flap positioning actually resolves the problem? Are you saying there’s a problem with the software position and actual mechanical position getting out of sync with one another? Or that there’s mechanical failure in the actuator? If the latter, then resetting the position sync won’t solve the actual mechanical problem (but may stop the flashing temperature on the dash).

Would be grateful if someone could advise please. Sorry! I realise this is now quite an historic thread so there might not be anyone around who knows now.

Many thanks in anticipation.
 
When the car shuts off, the Fiat system leaves the flaps as they were. Then on restart, remembers them. Occasionally, it can forget, especially if there have been any electrical glitches, such as low voltage with an older battery. Or a flap may be a little sticky, and does not move quite as far as requested. With such minor hiccups, a reset can sort the issue.
If however, the flap is broken, a reset will, as you've guessed, will not resolve teh problem, only mask it for a short time. Always worth a reset, if you have access to the tool, rather than pulling the car apart.

Most newer cars these days seem to work the flaps at shutdown, presumably to reset the base every time. That regular movement may also prolong their life, as less chance to stick.
 
Most newer cars these days seem to work the flaps at shutdown, presumably to reset the base every time. That regular movement may also prolong their life, as less chance to stick.
You may be right. I've a 20+ yr old Japanese dehumidifier that resets its flaps to base each time, and it's still working perfectly. It's also possible that the constant movement might shorten their life. Who knows?

Whatever, my take is that if a part is sufficiently flimsy that it's got a reasonable chance of failing during the normal lifespan of the car, it shouldn't be buried so deeply that it requires both doors to come off and half the interior to be stripped out to replace it.
 
When the car shuts off, the Fiat system leaves the flaps as they were. Then on restart, remembers them. Occasionally, it can forget, especially if there have been any electrical glitches, such as low voltage with an older battery. Or a flap may be a little sticky, and does not move quite as far as requested. With such minor hiccups, a reset can sort the issue.
If however, the flap is broken, a reset will, as you've guessed, will not resolve teh problem, only mask it for a short time. Always worth a reset, if you have access to the tool, rather than pulling the car apart.

Most newer cars these days seem to work the flaps at shutdown, presumably to reset the base every time. That regular movement may also prolong their life, as less chance to stick.
Thanks ever so much for explaining! This all makes perfect sense now 😀
 
Sorry guys first post we have brought our daughter a fiat 500 for Xmas an 08 plate turns out it blows warm air and the climate number started flashing today. When you turn the air on on it clicks when you select any blower function you can hear it change would a flap reset help?
 
Sorry guys first post we have brought our daughter a fiat 500 for Xmas an 08 plate turns out it blows warm air and the climate number started flashing today. When you turn the air on on it clicks when you select any blower function you can hear it change would a flap reset help?
Hello and welcome to the forum.

As you've found this thread, you'll know that there's a weakness in the design of the automatic climate control system on the early 500's. Sometimes a plastic splined shaft which actuates the flaps snaps off when the flaps are at their maximum extent.

If this has happened (sadly it's common), then some folks have managed to work around this by inserting something into the broken spline to resecure it. There's an independent garage near Southampton that will do this for £175 - scroll down this page for details.

The manufacturer's recommended repair procedure is to replace the heater box complete - individual parts are not available. This requires a full stripdown of the interior, including removal of both doors, and will cost substantially more than the value of a 2008 500.
 
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