Hi- I have a Punto Mk2b. Today I discovered that not only was battery dead (my fault for fitting an after market stereo) but the bonnet release had failed again, so I couldn't jump start it. I tried to get bonnet open using various methods on this site but failed....if I can start the car though I can get it to a garage...so I am wondering if it is possible to push/roll start it...anyone tried this on a Punto? Any tips?

all advice appreciated

Depends how much is left in the battery

Called bump starting car has to have a manual gearbox
Turn on Ignition engage 3rd gear with clutch depressed,
push vehicle down a slope when you reach around 10mph
ease the clutch out and pray.

You may be able to charge the battery through the cigarette
lighter socket or by attaching the charger wires to the car from
underneath positive to the starter selonoid and the negative
to the engine.

John

hmmm Tricky

first thing is remove the stereo - the longer it is in, the flatter the battery - the less battery power you have = Less chance of starting

And yes
manuals can be Bump started

either get some people to push - get a friend to tow you on a quiet road
You may find once you've got it start - that you need to Hold the revs up
bump started mine and it kept stalling shortly after Starting - hold the revs up for a few mins (around 3k should be good) To Help quickly boost the battery and prevent it from stalling

But again this all depends on how flat the battery is

As for opening the Bonnet - Donate to the Forum - and then Contact a Member called Dave, (used to be the Punto Section moderator) and he'll tell you how to open it
Its really quiet simple tho


Ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

As for opening the Bonnet - Donate to the Forum - and then Contact a Member called Dave, (used to be the Punto Section moderator) and he'll tell you how to open it
Its really quiet simple tho


Ziggy

Click to expand...

i think i already have

manuals can be Bump started but its not advised as it can lead to unburt fuel killing the cat

Yes I donated to forum a couple of months ago and gratefully received Dave's guide to opening bonnet....unfortunately I was not able to manage it mainly due to solid grille on my mk2b Punto so ended up taking it to gargage....I would do the same this time (and this time replace the cable) if only I could drive it, hence the roll-start query...

Thanks to those who responded here, much appreciated....I think RAC may need to try or possibly tow it

of course no cambelted car should be pushed started but i suppose needs must

Why would a cambelt be an issue for push starting? The starter motor drives the engine from the clutch end as does the gearbox. The cam belt should not be affected any more than normal starting..

Switch on the ignition. If the clock goes out dont bother bump starting the battery is too dead to work. If the dashboard warning lights come up as normal its worth a try.

When push starting DONT ease the clutch slowly (as you do when taking up drive to pull away from standstill) as this will simply cause the car to stop. Bring the pedal up quickly but dont let it fly up. If the battery has any power the engine will fire immediately. If the engine wont fire dont bother trying again

Hi- an update to provide resolution here and thanks to those who offered advice. RAC man came out this morning, and thanks in large part to Dave's excellent guide and a lot of persistence managed to get the bonnet open...for those who have Dave's guide, it is the second/third method detailed, where you need a long flat bladed screwdriver.....

RAC man was a real hero: he pulled out the old cable (snapped) and as the sheath was still intact he re-wired it to effect a temporary repair (good for a few gentle tugs on the bonnet release) until it can be made permanent with new cable. He noted that the spring used in these catches are extremely strong and tight which is what makes popping the bonnet without a cable so hard.

I asked him about roll-starting and the first thing he said was "you don't want to snap your cam belt" or words to that effect...he also said that had he not been able to open the bonnet he could have started the car from underneath by applying power straight to the starter motor....hope this helps anyone else in this situation with no power and bonnet unable to open.

thanks again to all who posted- next question is whether I try to replace cable myself or get garage to do it....seems easy enough, but you can never be sure

Hardest part of fitting new cable is finding the hole from under bonnet back to inside the car, rest is easy.

before you pull old cable outer from under bonnet tape whats left of the inner on to the end of it in the car, you can then tie new cable to it to pull back into the car. I think there is a guide for this also https://www.fiatforum.com/guides

I replace both My brothers Bonnet cable and my own with him
When you know where the cable comes In and out - A Swap is SUCH an easy job

Hard part is just Getting it to sit nice in its hole

Ziggy

The only reason I can see for not doing a roll start is the cam belt could be snapped and on most modern engines the valves will be damaged but on 8V Fiats the valves are safe.

However if a cam belt has snapped the cam will have stopped and any damage will have already been done so its all a bit academic..