Hi all,

I have had a fair few issues with my Grande Punto since I got it just over 2 years ago. However, the most recent one is have me scratching my head. I have very little mechanical knowledge but I will try and explain in as much detail as possible.

Car: Fiat Grande Punto Sporting 2007 1.4 16V (95HP)

First symptom: Car did not start, litterally nothing happened when I turned the key. The battery is fine, so that could not have caused the car not to start.

Fast forward one week and I am home from holidays and try to start the car again and it started this time. Now it had been very windy and wet previous to the car not starting at all prior to the holiday. So I took the car up to my mechanic, who got me a new starting motor (as mine was on the way out, made a screetching noise everytime I turned the ignition). However, he said that the car started fine everytime they tried it so he could not see any other apparent problem.

After the starting motor was fixed, I took the car to work and it was fine for a day. The next day, I noticed that the car jerked a bit in the first few minutes of driving and then on the motorway it was mostly fine. On the way home from work, the jerking continued and when I pulled up to our estate, I felt that almost all power was gone in the car and when I pressed the gas pedal nothing happened. The car was stil running so it did not stall but litterally just did not have any kind of response when I pressed the gas.

What could cause the car to loose all power but still run? Previously, I had an issue with a coil pack which was faulty and had somewhat similar symptoms but not as severe as not getting any rev at all.

I havent tried to drive the car since and will contact a mechanic tomorrow, but I am curious if someone has experienced the same problem.

Could a faulty alternator be the culprit or could the ECU be faulty.

I have some error messages coming up when I start the car but they have been there a while before this problem started. It is the ASR/ESP/Hill Holder ones, which when I read other threads seem to be caused by other things, not relating to the car having any power.

I would appreciate any input, as I am curious on what can cause this.

Cheers
Johan

Looks like its water ingress in the fuse box and it needs to be replaced. Replacement unit from main dealer is €280 + vat and then she said I needed code card and something else to the tune of another €150 (total €500).

I have seen a few used ones on ebay with the exact same part number, is it possible to exchange the unit for another one with exactly the same part number without having to reprogram? I assume, the main dealer don't carry the older versions and therefor have to reprogram a newer one to fit the car, or am I wrong there?

Sounds like the you have the ground leads problem (they corrode inside limiting the power to the starter .. go with a bad ground lead long enough and the current will find try to find a way.. usually through the ECU in time burning it out)
Engine not turning over.. then a few days later turns over... yah i would replace the ground leads ...even just preventive.

If you need to buy a new "fusebox" that needs re-programming, the mechanic is probably referring to the Body Control Module. It sits behind the fuse box and is plugged in to it. The fusebox itself doesn't need programming (it only has fuses in it).

The BCM needs to be reprogrammed because the immobilisor codes are stored on an EPROM chip on the BCM, so if you swap your BCM for a new or second-hand one, the immobilisor won't recognize either the ECU or the key codes.

But you can buy a second-hand BCM and move all your chips from the old one to the new one. I can dig out the contact details of a fella who swapped my Stilo BCM for me if you need to go this route... but first make sure it's not something else.


Ralf S.

Thanks guys, really appreciate that input. The ground leads will definitely be looked at and likely changed just as a precaution as you say even if they are not apparently faulty.

Update: My local mechanic found a used fuse box which was able to be switched part for part so now the car run fine again.

Now I am just waiting to drive enough for the ECU to "kick in" after being reset to see if anything else show up .

I will let you guys know what happens.