I have a 2007 1.3 JTD grande punto.

Recently, after starting, the engine will not sometimes respond to gas pedal at all. What happens, is that the engine starts and begins idling at ~800rpm. Pressing the pedal to the metal will result in ~850rpm.
If I leave the car idling for a minute or so, it will return to normal and respond to gas pedal normally.

What has been done that may or may not have any relevancy to this issue: the turbo was replaced. The battery was also apparently frozen or empty. I tried to jumpstart the car with cables attached from a working car, but it would not crank with the cables connected. Only produce whining sound. After this, the running lights stayed on even when turning off the car (normally the lights go off automatically). This has now returned to normal.

That the car doesn't respond to gas at all produces problems when cold starting, it can die immediately after because of low rpm.

I do not have access to reading codes and would want to avoid garages (work is expensive here).

Hi,
You will really have to get a means of reading diagnosic information. Multiecuscan is a good start www.multiecuscan.net but you will need the registered version at €50 for your car. An ELM 327 interface from the internet (ebay, amazon) is around €30. Buy a USB one not bluetooth or wi-fi Any laptop with Windows xP or later will work. Make sure it all works before paying the registration fee. Still a lot cheaper than a garage vist. Look at error codes and the throttle pedal signals.

Robert G8RPI.

Well, it died completely now. Won't start at all. It cranks and attemps to start but immediately dies due to low rpm. I have ordered an ELM327 cable. Until then, suggestions indicate it could be a stuck EGR valve.

Maybe it's related to the turbo change as the turbo was nonfunctional for a long time and now that it's working everything related starts to break down

While waiting for the cable, I went on and did the eLearn 1080cb egr solenoid operation check.

At step2 it suggest to measure the voltage between pin1 of the egr wire and earth. I measured 2.5v while the test insists it must be over 11v. I went on to check the fuse F27 as suggested and it's not blown. The guide then suggest to replace the solenoid valve.

Now, my question is whether anyone has successfully restored egr valve operation by cleaning the unit or must it always be replaced when this test suggests?

Hi,
A faulty EGR valve will not stop the car starting. Cleaning it normally restores operation. I don't know the test you are performing (and don't want to install the GP eLearn), but I would not normally expect low voltage to be a solenoid problem. In any case you don't want to spend mony on an EGR valve till you have found any other problem. Remove the EGR and clean it Make sure the valve is closed and then re-fit it but DON'T reconnect the electrical plug. This will leave the valve closed during further trouble shooting. With the valve closed it is in a known good position that should not affect starting and running initally. It might throw up an error code or light later, but get the starting and idle sorted first, then plug the EGR valve back in.

Robert G8RPI.

Here are the fault codes stored into the ECU.
P0234 Supercharging pressure signal , Plausability
P2231 Lambda sensor resistance Sensor faulty
P0403 EGR valve control , Open circuit
P0190 Pressure sensor on injectors support signal , Open circuit
P2146 Capacitor voltag , Short circuit at ground
P0778 Fuel pressure regulator on support , Plausability
P0115 Water temperature sensor , Open circuit / Short circuit at V+ battery
P0235 Boost pressure sensor , Open circuit / Short circuit at V+ battery
P0110 Air temperature sensor (air flow meter) , Open circuit / Short circuit at V+ battery
P0621 Alternator D+ signal , Open circuit / Short circuit at V+ battery

I cleared the codes, attempted to start the car a few times (it fires and dies immediately), checked for error codes and there are none.

Can you try another battery?

First thing i would try is a battery as u say u clear them ton of faults and they havent reappeared.

My battery died and i managed to get it started but it died when trying to rev it... Changed battery and its been fine

The battery was already replaced. No change (except I can now crank it 50times before the battery gives up compared to 3times that the original battery could accomplish )

I preheated the engine for a few hours and could start it as the low revs weren't an issue then (~0C here). Took it for a serious spin - a 50 minute drive with various driving conditions and still couldn't get any error codes.

Sadly I didn't have the gauge reading set up when starting to see the gas pedal voltages/position.

EGR valve reported opening % between 2 and 60. I guess it's not stuck then, maybe clogged, I don't know. Don't really know where to go so I'll stick to the original plan and clean it anyway. Suggestions are still welcome of course.

ItsAFerrari said:

<SNIP>

EGR valve reported opening % between 2 and 60. I guess it's not stuck then, maybe clogged, I don't know. Don't really know where to go so I'll stick to the original plan and clean it anyway. Suggestions are still welcome of course.

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The EGR opening reported is the demanded opening, not the actual opening. There is no sensor on the EGR valve to report the actual position. Go ahead and clean the EGR valve.
The multiple errors you had sounds like a bad main electrical connection, earth, battery or alternator.

Robert G8RPI.

The EGR was partially stuck. I may have loosened it when messing around with it because the car started fine a few days back. It was dismantled and cleaned and is now completely unstuck.

I still don't have any fault codes stored in the ECU.

There is slight drifting on idle rpm and the car occasionally will 'over'rev for no apparent reason (that is, I keep the pedal at a particular position, say 20% which is about 3k RPM and the car will gradually increase in rpm till it reaches some magical barrier e.g. 3.5k RPM). There also seems to be a vacuum inside my fuel tank as it hisses when opened.

ItsAFerrari said:

The EGR was partially stuck. I may have loosened it when messing around with it because the car started fine a few days back. It was dismantled and cleaned and is now completely unstuck.

I still don't have any fault codes stored in the ECU.

There is slight drifting on idle rpm and the car occasionally will 'over'rev for no apparent reason (that is, I keep the pedal at a particular position, say 20% which is about 3k RPM and the car will gradually increase in rpm till it reaches some magical barrier e.g. 3.5k RPM). There also seems to be a vacuum inside my fuel tank as it hisses when opened.

Click to expand...

reading what you've done so far, and it's a 1.3 diesel,
use SEARCH in "advanced" you'll find a vast array of useful engine running posts in the GP / Panda, and small van sections

you can tailor the search to be VERY specific and in certain vehicle sections..,
many of your issues sound familiar from other 1.3 posts,

the D+ alternator one is also not uncommon on GP's

Charlie

varesecrazy said:

reading what you've done so far, and it's a 1.3 diesel,
use SEARCH in "advanced" you'll find a vast array of useful engine running posts in the GP / Panda, and small van sections

you can tailor the search to be VERY specific and in certain vehicle sections..,
many of your issues sound familiar from other 1.3 posts,

the D+ alternator one is also not uncommon on GP's


possibly unrelated but worth a read;https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/215094-loss-power.html

Charlie

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