Hi all,

I sadly need to scrap my 06 Grande Punto. It died over xmas and had to buy a replacement turnaround to get me to and from work since nobody could diagnose without stripping the engine down.

So i'm looking to get of it, as it's just sitting on my drive.

I tried a scrap comparison site who wanted to pay £79 for it. And then tried to tell me the engineers actually wanted to reduce that further (really??).

So now I'm looking at ways I could sell this for a reasonable amount.

Does anyone know of any decent ways to sell? I'm not in a position to break it myself.


For context:

~76k miles
no rust
decent condition
everything works
recently new tyres, steering pump, mot pass
just won't start - engine cuts out immediately after starting

Few things I've checked:
immobiliser
retro fitted alarm system
fuel pump
injectors
... all good.

Injectors are currently out. Needs recovery truck/tow.

Have you MES it ?

Where abouts are you? If it starts then stops,it can't be the immobiliser. Is it petrol or diesel?

To get the best price.. get it running!

Put it back together, get a 5 euro wifi code reader ebay.. and torque app on your phone... come back here and let's get it going again.

For starters.. i'd say it's a temp sensor... but we're guessing!!
Get the code reader and we can work on it

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm in Coventry.

So some background, for those asking.

The issue was that the car would try to start, the engine would kick in for half a second and then cut. I had a retro-fitted immobiliser (Thatcham) PLUS the original fitted immobiliser running.

First time the issue happened, the breakdown guys thought it was the two immobilisers going out of sync and working against each other. It worked fine for a few months.

Then it would happen a couple of times a week. After a few hours the car would start again as normal... until it didn't. It became a permanent issue.

Breakdown guys came out again (same guy), tested fuel pumps, no warning lights. Suggested an autoelectrician.

Recovered it to some seemingly decent auto-electrician nearby, they tested everything - fuel pumps, glow plugs, injectors - everything seemed fine. No errors showing when they scanned for error codes etc.

They suggested that the engine had filled up with water. I had filled it up with oil several days prior and knew the levels were OK when they got it. They suggested there were LITRES of oil and that it's likely been mixed with water. They suggested a head gasket.

One of the last things I remember before shipping it off was that when I tried starting it (even from cold) the dash suggested the oil temperature was too hot - when it wasn't.

So now I have a car back on my drive with the injectors on the passenger seat - they hadn't put them back in. I didn't know until after since I wasn't at home when they delivered it back.

£200 in and no better off.

The next steps they suggested were to strip the engine down - £800 before they even know what the issue is. That's a road I can't afford to go down at this stage, hence me posting on here and trying to get it scrapped.

I'd love to know your guys' thoughts. Any questions to help clarify, just let me know.

I appreciate the support here. Thanks all!

multipete said:

Where abouts are you? If it starts then stops,it can't be the immobiliser. Is it petrol or diesel?

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It's a Diesel. I'm in Coventry.

It obviously needs a minimum of (seriously done) diagnostic ... If you can't afford it, just let it go to the first scrappy .

BRs, Bernie

ashleyim said:

It's a Diesel. I'm in Coventry.

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Hi. 1.3 or 1.9?

Intermittent issues are a PIA..

Sounds like its time to go..

TBH..its the sort of car I am looking for.. but am wary of what others may have messed with..

Charlie

If this was a petrol, I'd be suggesting crank sensor, or fuel pump relay. Don't know enough detail of the diesel but likely to have both of these, working in a similar way. A diagnostic check might help. Needs someone nearby with MES (MultiECUscan) (Search the threads for more info)

Crank sensor if faulty may allow starting, but once starter releases, ECU looks for continued running, but gets no signal, so cuts fuel.
Fuel pump relay powers pump to prime when ign first switched on, powers while cranking, but once key released, will only continue to power pump if engine running. Senses engine speed, and sometimes oil pressure.

If garage thinks coolant in oil, has it lost coolant?

varesecrazy said:

Hi. 1.3 or 1.9?

Intermittent issues are a PIA..

Sounds like its time to go..

TBH..its the sort of car I am looking for.. but am wary of what others may have messed with..

Charlie

Click to expand...

Its a 1.3. It's a decent car when it's running! Easy to drive and definitely has a kick to it when the turbo kicks in. It's a shame I can't get it running yet.

Finding someone local with an MES sounds like a good place to start, and potentially quite cheap?

portland_bill said:

If this was a petrol, I'd be suggesting crank sensor, or fuel pump relay. Don't know enough detail of the diesel but likely to have both of these, working in a similar way. A diagnostic check might help. Needs someone nearby with MES (MultiECUscan) (Search the threads for more info)

Crank sensor if faulty may allow starting, but once starter releases, ECU looks for continued running, but gets no signal, so cuts fuel.
Fuel pump relay powers pump to prime when ign first switched on, powers while cranking, but once key released, will only continue to power pump if engine running. Senses engine speed, and sometimes oil pressure.

If garage thinks coolant in oil, has it lost coolant?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. That makes a lot of sense, and fits the issue. I'm not technical and know very little about cars, but certainly seems viable.

Garage thinks it's water in the oil, but I guess they can't be sure. Could be coolant. They hadn't mentioned any loss of coolant.

MES sounds like a good idea and will look around for anyone local to see if that will help diagnose this properly.

Thanks for your help all.

Any further suggestions are welcome. Seems a shame to get rid of such a fun car with such a low mileage.

Good and nice car, low mileage, thrown away for a single sensor !?

Sure someone nearby will be able to MES it and confirm the crank sensor went bad...


Kind regards, Bernie.

Does this car have a particulate filter? If so, when they regenerate, they use diesel fuel to incinerate the carbon it's caught, they can dump excess fuel into the sump, raising the oil level. A high oil level could be this. Fuel will mix with the oil, water will separate out and sit at the bottom. They'll smell different too. Only source of water would be coolant, unless you leave the filler off and rain could drain in - doubtful.

I know. Hopefully the MES sensor will show something up.

Is it different to the diagnostic that a garage / auto-electrician would run? They caught nothing at all, hence ripping the engine apart.

I'm not sure, tbh. There were literally litres of water, apparently. Surely there wouldn't be 'that' much, if it's what you mention? It was like it was 'way overfilled' according to the garage.

ashleyim said:

I know. Hopefully the MES sensor will show something up.

Is it different to the diagnostic that a garage / auto-electrician would run? They caught nothing at all, hence ripping the engine apart.

Click to expand...

MES speaks Fiat. General readers speak generic, which is mostly fine for normal engine codes, but won't understand anything Fiat specific. So garage diag might give correct report, but if nothing found, MES may well show other stuff.

ashleyim said:

I'm not sure, tbh. There were literally litres of water, apparently. Surely there wouldn't be 'that' much, if it's what you mention? It was like it was 'way overfilled' according to the garage.

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Sounds strange. Unless the cooling system has lost the same amount, its nonsense. 'litres of water' have to come from somewhere, and doubtful the sump can hold 'litres' extra fluid without the engine locking up.

Is there any coolant loss?

portland_bill said:

MES speaks Fiat. General readers speak generic, which is mostly fine for normal engine codes, but won't understand anything Fiat specific. So garage diag might give correct report, but if nothing found, MES may well show other stuff.



Sounds strange. Unless the cooling system has lost the same amount, its nonsense. 'litres of water' have to come from somewhere, and doubtful the sump can hold 'litres' extra fluid without the engine locking up.

Is there any coolant loss?

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Not that I had noticed, or has been mentioned throughout talking to all the people that have looked at the car already.

I'll have to check tonight when I'm back at home, but I'd have thought that would have been spotted quite quickly and mentioned.

I shall keep you posted.

portland_bill said:

MES speaks Fiat. General readers speak generic, which is mostly fine for normal engine codes, but won't understand anything Fiat specific. So garage diag might give correct report, but if nothing found, MES may well show other stuff.

Click to expand...

Perfect, thanks for the clarification! This certainly sounds like the way forward!