My love affair with the Fiat Brava just goes from bad to worse Replaced all the injectors last week and she was running great, didn't drive her for a few days and then go Christmas shopping......and the problem starts up again!
Got steadily worse on the way home to the point where she could hardly make it the last hill in first, i think it was only running on two cylinders at that point.
Got it home and noticed a burning smell, looked underneath and the entire exhaust system is cherry red!
I think the cat will be fried, not to mention the lambda sensor and i still don't know what caused the problem to reoccur. I tested the old injectors and one of them had absolutely no resistance reading.....dead as a doornail, the new ones were all fine.
Does anyone have any ideas what else could be the culprit?

oh no!! what kind of luck is this?! hopefully it wont be the injectors again (that would be bloody unlucky if it is)

first thing to do is test the coil pack. measure resistance between the HT output pins for 1 & 4, then 2 & 3. both readings should be very similar. then repeat for the LT input pins.

the lambda sensor is surprisingly good at surviving such high temperatures, but the cat will almost certainly be dead. unless you love the environment thats nothing to worry about until mot time, so lets ignore the cat for now and fix the cause first (plus changing the cat now may be wasted money if it happens again)

jug said:

oh no!! what kind of luck is this?! hopefully it wont be the injectors again (that would be bloody unlucky if it is)

first thing to do is test the coil pack. measure resistance between the HT output pins for 1 & 4, then 2 & 3. both readings should be very similar. then repeat for the LT input pins.

the lambda sensor is surprisingly good at surviving such high temperatures, but the cat will almost certainly be dead. unless you love the environment thats nothing to worry about until mot time, so lets ignore the cat for now and fix the cause first (plus changing the cat now may be wasted money if it happens again)

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What are the HT output pins? The bit inside the leads? What are the LT input pins? The other end?

on the coil you have 4 holes where the ht leads connect, inside each hole is a metal pin. thats an HT output pin. they are numbered on the coil.

where the coil has a wiring connector it should have 3 pins, one is an earth (to use in both tests) and the other 2 are each for a coil (one coil feeds 2 plugs) test between the earth and one of the other pins, then do the other pin, and compare the 2 results.

EDIT: forgot to mention, the centre pin is the earth (as always on fiats)

Thanks Jug, Out of interest, if the coil pack is knacked, how much would it cost for a new one and how much should i expect to pay second hand?

a new one will be expensive, no idea how much but it will be at least £60-80, or even double that. a second hand one is £10-20 at a scrapyard. i've used secondhand ones several times and for the money its well worth it.

Thanks buddy. Came up with an idea on another thread to call out the AA and see what they have to say....What do you think?

why not, its definately worth trying. its very hard to offer support on a forum without seeing the car. the AA will be able to see the problem which makes it far easier to figure out whats wrong.

While i've got your attention, i'm having alot of difficulty finding the fuse for the fuel pump, any chance of directions.....maybe even a photo? (I follow pics better than words lol)

not sure, haynes should say, i get the feeling it will be in the engine bay, under the black plastic cover at the back right (when looking in bay)

Thanks for that.
New developement, replaced the plugs and leads (cost me more than £50!) after the AA discovered that the No1 lead was barely sparking. She's now a little bit better....but not much.
She seems to run fine at idle and if you gently take the revs up the light comes on and she starts to miss at approximately 2500 revs.
Does this indicate anything to anyone?

there could be many reasons, most of them sensor related. i think its time for a diagnostic check

Will a krypton do? Just that i hate the arrogant **** at the Fiat dealership that initially screwed me and really would prefer not to give them any more money......plus the fact that it's a longish trip to get there.

the crytpon tune machines were pretty useless when they came out (and dont tune anything) and they are now completely obsolete. it was designed to run a diagnostic check on older cars, but it didnt do a very good job. i dont think bravo/as will even work on a crypton machine.

however there are plenty of other more recent 3rd party diagnostic machines that can work, none that ive seen or heard of ever work as well as the dealer equipment, but for basic fault finding many of them can be useful. in my opinion its worth paying extra for the fiat examiner smart machine. if you use something else you often (usually) end up going to fiat as well, so it ends up costing more.

you could take a chance with a local garage, but make sure you watch them to see if they can successfully access the module, if they cant they may still charge you and just say there were no faults found. this happens A LOT. dont get caught out

Ok, thanks Jug. Can't help saying it though, god i'm depressed about this, the way it was working fine for the first day or so and then the thing goes tits up again.....will it ever be healthy???? lol
Only one choice, keep on plugging away at it!
Your help has been very much appreciated throughout this process mate

Update. Tried resetting the ECU by disconnecting the battery for half an hour and then reconnecting, starting and letting her tick over for ten minutes with no revving......now the problem is worse with injector light flashing on and off randomly.
When driven she is fine and fires on all cylinders until you put any strain on it and then it starts to shudder like a virgin in a knocking-shop.
It's almost like it can't get enough fuel/air to run properly
Getting the fuel filter changed and a full oil change on friday, perhaps the new fuel filter will help. As for going to get a Fiat diagnostic done, there's no way the car will make the 30 miles to the fiat garage so i'm screwed on that one:bang:

you cant change the fuel filter, it has a mesh one built on to the fuel pump.

dont know what to suggest, there's so many possibilities especially after all the recent work, i wish i could see the car

jug said:

on the coil you have 4 holes where the ht leads connect, inside each hole is a metal pin. thats an HT output pin. they are numbered on the coil.

where the coil has a wiring connector it should have 3 pins, one is an earth (to use in both tests) and the other 2 are each for a coil (one coil feeds 2 plugs) test between the earth and one of the other pins, then do the other pin, and compare the 2 results.

EDIT: forgot to mention, the centre pin is the earth (as always on fiats)

Click to expand...

Any idea what the reading should be on these and what setting should i use on the multimeter? Resistance?

yep resistance. i cant remember what it should be, but as long as both readings are similar you know both coils are in the same condition, and you also know at least one is working because the car wouldnt start if they were both faulty. if both results are similar you can then conclude both coils are working and rule it out as a problem. we need to rule out as much as possible.

it may even be worth while testing the alternator's output using your multimeter (DC setting) on the battery. with the car started it should read 14.4v with no electricals switched on, and at least 13.99v with all electrics switched on (lights, stereo, demister, fan).

Will do, thanks Jug