Hi, I'm new and could do with some help!!!!

I have a Y reg automatic Fiat Punto and after dropping my mate home, I put the car into Drive to head home, and the gearbox warning light came on and started flashing on the dashboard....help, what does this mean?!

I read through the manual and there is NOTHING in there except that the warning light relates to the gearbox. Should I get the bus to work tomorrow (ie not drive it at all except when take it to get looked at) and try and get the car in at the local Fiat dealership on Sat or what? I drove home from my friend's and didn't notice anything unusual but the warning light was still there

It's my first car and I've had nothing but problems with warning lights, took it to an auto electricians to get a bulb warning light and airbag warning light checked out and they reset them, but I have a feeling this one may mean something more serious Please help a damsel in distress lol

Right lets start at the beginning.........

Hello & welcome to FF :wave:

Airbag........why get it reset,must be a fault? There is a modified loom section (£5.20) available for your dealer to fit if it happens again.

Bulb warning light.....was it blown bulb or incorrect bulb fitted causing it to come on?

Auto gear box warning light...take to dealer,it will probably be throttle, kickdown switch or gear selector switches.If car drives OK it cant be anything really (£££££) serious.

Let us know how you get on ok

Hi....I was told they couldn't see any reason for the airbag warning so they reset it and said to keep an eye on it, and the bulb warning was down to a couple of the bulbs at the back being burnt out apparently.

My car's run fine for a few weeks now, so I s'pose it's time something went wrong with it again!!!!! It's my first car.

Thanks for the reassurance....I've got to be at work for 8am so usually I'd be tucked up in bed by now, but I'm stressing about what it's gonna cost me to get my car put right!!!! I'll ring the local Fiat dealership and try to get it in for Saturday then, with a bit of luck it will all be ok

Saturday is often a 'skeleton' staff at dealers.Pre-book a courtesy car & leave it there for the day.Mention that you only want them to spend a hour on the car.

lots of us have had gearbox light come on just because of a bit of damp in a conector, it sometimes dries on its own, others have used wd40

Whew....hoping it is just caused by damp. It was raining quite heavily last night. It's been dry overnight so maybe it will be ok. It's really offputting driving with it flashing, I'm still getting used to driving on my own without thinking my car is gonna do something silly or break down!

I've just got up, gonna get a shower then will try starting him up and just see what he does, if the light is still there I am getting the bus to work and ringing Fiat!

helen_gemini said:

I was told they couldn't see any reason for the airbag warning so they reset it and said to keep an eye on it,

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haha welcome to the club
its a money making scam!!

jug said:

haha welcome to the club
its a money making scam!!

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No Jug its not,if light comes its for a reason....that reason must be fixed/sorted.
Puntos & stilos have wiring modifications (£5.20 & £21.16 respectively) to cure fault once & for all...hardly money making!

Couldn't get my car booked in at Fiat for today, so it's booked in for Monday morning. Thanks for your reassurance, not too worried now

Ok I have an update. Fiat told me it needs a new gearbox switch and told me it's part no 9948738. They quoted me £202.90 all in to fit it, but despite being a woman driver and no clue about cars I know it's best to ring around cos getting it done by a dealer will be expensive!!

The car still goes, just not very fast....since they plugged it in to find out what was wrong, the warning light's gone off but the car struggles to go above 30mph. Chances are it was like that before, as I've only had to drive it on roads that were a 30 limit or a gridlocked dual carriageway...just wondering if that was normal.

Yeah auto cars are very expensive to get fixed anyways i think? but at a Fiat Dealer at least you know (well they should) do a proper right job, but i know where your coming from yeah Dealers sometimes go over the lines when it comes to money, if it was me though i wouldint be driving it about couldint that cause any more damage to the gearbox/powder clutch...

Hi!

Firstly, thanks for forming, what appears to be a very useful forum, it’s much appreciated!

Now to my problem….I have an issue with my Fiat Punto Selecta, it’s a 1999 plate and has an automatic gearbox.

I leant it to my bro this week, and he has told me the gearbox warning light came on. Next day he goes to drive it off and it won’t engage reverse for some reason, but it will still work in “drive”, so he hot footed it to a garage.

We’ve taken it to a gearbox specialist who’s perplexed by the error, I wasn’t confident with his tone on the phone about what is wrong with it- he’s toying with either an electrical fault or a powder clutch, but is going to consult some books and come back to me.

Now, having read some of the other posts here I was hoping that damp may have caused the issue??? It has been tipping it down all weekend and I’ve had issues with my electrics and rain before (apparently Fiat claim excessive water can make the windscreen wipers pack in, how ironic). Also, I haven’t serviced it for going on 18months so am concerned that it may have run low of gearbox oil and packed in…

Any suggestions or guidance? I’m pretty concerned about the cost of a new gearbox and would have to scrap, what is on all other front s a decent car.

Thanks in advance!

the first thing the gearbox mad would have checked would be the oil.
the powder clutches and gearbox on the mk1 often die at aroung 40k miles.
my advice would be dont spend any money on it, stick it through an auction whilst it will still drive through

cheers Binki, only just read your response. Since then i have had it out through a Fiat Diagnostic check and according to Fiat it needs:

1) New accelerator switch
2) New Auto Gearbox ECU

I went to get the part numbers as they quoted 750 for the work!!!! Turns out there are two types of ECU's on Punto a 2 srew and 4 screw fix. Any idea where i can check which one my model needs? Its a 99 Plate Selecta V Reg

Also, would you suggest i dont drive the thing? I've sussed how to engage gears now and it runs fine once in gear, worried it may cause some serious damage whilst im driving so not sure what to do.

Looks like its going to the scrap yard..cracking car on exterior and interior so im gutted

cheers

IDO79 said:

cheers Binki

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, haha.. legend

diffrence ive noticed on the mk1 gearbox ecu is there is 2 types of plugs, i have an early one here but ive tried it on a 99 one before and it was wrong plug for it. so i reckon if you find car around the same reg it will fit

...sorry Dave!

yeah ive been givern two part numbers one with a 4 screw fixer and one with a 2 screw fixer. The diagnosis sheet didn't specify which mine.

Any idea if this is safe to drive in the short term? it engages now ok (After a bit of fiddling) and goes fine- just worried if its prone to failiure mid-drive now??

Don't understand what the Gearbox ECU actually controlls, not a cue about Motors, so appreciate they feedback.

ta

IDO79 said:

Don't understand what the Gearbox ECU actually controlls, not a clue about Motors, so appreciate they feedback.

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looks at all inputs (throttle,road speed,engine speed,brake switch etc) & decides when to change gear via the hydraullic dualogic box/operate clutch etc

Cheers T, what are your thoughts on whether its safe to drive?

i've been out in it today and it is choosing the correct gears etc, the problem does seem to be the accelerator pedal switch when i try to get it in gear first time. once its in, it stays in..

dont do many miles in it, so tempted to use it infrequently until i can try and buy some second hand spares..