Hi,
I have recently swapped my '98 1.4 Bravo for a '08 Bravo 1.4 t-jet 120 hp.Not yet familiar with the engine.
Lately when starting the car (cold engine, overnight) :
-car starts fine ( first time, every time)
-after it starts the revs climb to ~ 1500 rpm
-then a second later revs drop to ~500
-then up again.. and down.. for about 10-15 seconds.. then it stabilizes around 1500 until it heats up.

There are no stored error codes.
Any ideas what may cause this?
The car runs fine after, it pulls well, mpg is about right, nice idle.
Do these engines have any known faults for this kind of behavior? i.e dirty throttle valve, map, temperature sensors... or something?


The car has covered 120.000 km and has had it's spark plugs, oil, filters and timing belt changed about 1000 km ago.

Help is appreciated.

mine does something similar, on start revs drop to about 500 rpm, if left to idle its rough until the car brings the revs up to about 1500, not sure what the cause is as there are no fault codes, mine a 1.4 16v so pretty much the same engine - the turbo

On my 150 you start the engine and straight away 1.5k and stays that way for only about 30sec while idling then drops to around 800rpm idle. Whats yours idling at after heated up?

HellfireZA said:

On my 150 you start the engine and straight away 1.5k and stays that way for only about 30sec while idling then drops to around 800rpm idle. Whats yours idling at after heated up?

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That's what's supposed to happen, but mine has exactly the same problem (120tjet only 30k). Im going to the dealer this week anyway, so i'll ask if they know what causes it .

could be a problem with the auto choke?

burn the old fuel
then fill fresh petrol
the tank must be more than half full
for my car this works

Freebo said:

could be a problem with the auto choke?

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does sound like that, or at least one of the sensors, ive chucked a tank of shell prem petrol + whole bottle of redex from empty and it made no difference

What i noticed.. it gets worse as the weather gets colder.
so it might be a temperature sensor.. something like air-temp sensor..or maybe MAP...still no idea.

aurick86 said:

What i noticed.. it gets worse as the weather gets colder.
so it might be a temperature sensor.. something like air-temp sensor..or maybe MAP...still no idea.

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100% agree, it was 4oC out this morning and mine was terrible, nearly stalled and I had to give a tap on the go go pedal to stop it from stalling, would imagine if its a sensor though there would be a fault code

just a thought, mines on 55k and has never had the TB cleaned, will clean that tomorrow or tuesday and see if it helps

Had a similar issue with my T-Jet Sport 150

Just to add another possibility see my post here:

https://www.fiatforum.com/croma-ii/310379-possible-battery-imminent-failure-warning.html

Hi, I have the same problem, in cold mornings, sometimes the rev plays around 500-1500 rpm for up to a minute( this is on a 2011 T-Jet 150). A friend of mine had the same problem, only worse (2008 T-Jet), so he went to a garage and they tested the temperature sensor - it was fine.
He then went to the local Fiat dealership (he was out of warranty). They told him it's a relatively common issue with the T-Jets, and it's a software issue that can be fixed by updating the software (not sure what exactly, maybe ECU?). He did the update and no longer has this issue (he also swears that the engine also has more power now ).

So check out your local Fiat service, they may be able to help.

A software update would mean changing the fueling maps relating to the colder weather.
@ lekki : Any idea how much it would cost for a software upgrade at Fiat?

Today i am getting a new Bosch battery for the Bravo, will see if that will have a positive effect,

aurick86 said:

A software update would mean changing the fueling maps relating to the colder weather.

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No it wouldn't nessecarily, its a software update, normally on the body computer, not an engine ECU remap.

something new ?

I have a development of the case.
I found that the problem occurs when the fuel tank is less than half full.
When i fill the tank to 3/4, the car starts perfect.
And again when the fuel drop to half tank - again the same problem.

Whats the outside temperature?

Could be the diesel waxing up?

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Could be the diesel waxing up?

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no, cause its a petrol engine

Tried using some redex or some additives?