Technical Cinquecento Wont Start!

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Technical Cinquecento Wont Start!

is_it_me

New member
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
Messages
19
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Location
United Kingdom.
Hi,

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me with a problem I am having with my car. I am not in anyway an expert mechanic so any advice is gratefully recieved. My car suddenly lost all power as i was driving, I got a tow home and found the fan belt had snapped off so the battery had not charged. I managed to get a mechanic to come round and fix a new fan belt. When we tried to jumpstart the car the engine turned a little bit then stopped as , it did not start. I have tried starting it since after fully recharging the battery and it turns and then its as if it hits a barrier and stops. I have even tried starting the car whilst its beeing towed as someone suggested but again to no avail. This is perplexing me as all this stems from the belt snapping, me not realising this, hence the battery being totally run down. My gut feeling is its something to do with a sensor , switch or wire but i do not have the required knowledge, If anyone can help please post a reply for me- it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
i think you're gut feeling is correct. It sounds like the imobiliser in the ECU. Do you have the red key? I'm not sure what you need to do, maybe start it with the red key.. ive never had to use it before, so im not much help - but try starting it using the red key instead of the blue ones.


Cinq Sporting - and yes, its broom yellow!
 
Hi, thanks for the reply. I may be in trouble as i do not have the red key for this car, i bought it second hand without the red key. I'm hoping that this is not the cause in any case , when i put the blue key in and turn the ignition i can see the key code symbol light up and go out which i think means the key has been accepted.

Looking through the boards i can see someone mentioning a fuel cut out switch which may be a problem , I can take a look at that tomorrow, does anyone else have any idea?

again thanks
 
It youre talking about the Inertia Switch..that should only reset in the event of a collision with something- not something the fan belt could do methinks. It can be easily reset- i'll look it up.

Arse

Ill think of something witty....just wait and see............wait I might not.
 
Try putting the car in 5th, ignition OFF and release the handbrake. Push the car from the front with the bonnet open to see if there's any unusual noises etc. - let the engine do at least one full turn, looking at the crank pulley. The reason I suggest this is from your comment about the engine 'hitting a barrier'.

Failing that, you could have a bad engine earth, this will cause the engine to not start and can cause a number of other odd faults - such as not charging the battery, not starting, slow turning over on the key etc.

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
Cinqs&Seis Yahoo group
Clubcento
 
hi thanks for the help so far guys, as an inexperienced mechanic i would be grateful if you could explain how i can check to find a bad earth to the engine and any hints on how to remedy the situation

thanks
 
The earth strap between gearbox and body is attached to the gearbox, passenger side under the bonnet. Look for a thick wire bolted to the gearbox, and do note that even though they sometimes look fine, if you give them a good tug they may come apart as you can't always see the corrosion on them. They aren't expensive from Fiat if you need one.

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
Cinqs&Seis Yahoo group
Clubcento
 
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