Hi all,

I have a 2001 Punto and I've been having some issues with my headlights and other things for over a year now. It is a pretty serious problem but, for reasons I won't go into, it hasn't been too much of an issue but now I'd like to have a go at sorting it.

Basically, the headlights flash whenever the sidelights are turned on and also occasionally when the lights are off and the handbrake is on. Further, the rear fog light comes on occasionally when the headlights are turned on. On top of this, the engine management light and oil temperature light on the dash also come on occasionally (even though I've had this checked out and no faults or high temperatures were recorded).

Follow all that?! I hope so, because I could really do with some help!

I did take it to a garage and to two separate auto electricians (total time in the garage was about a month) and they didn't manage to fix it. I suggested it may be a relay but this turned out to not be the case. They did replace the indicator/lights stalk unit and this seemed to help initially, but then the problem started again. I took it back and they had another look, but to no avail, it remained broken.

Can anyone help with this? I'm thinking of trying some basic stuff to hopefully just narrow down the source of the problem and then attempt to get it fixed again.

Cheers,

Gary

could be a bad earth so could start by checking all the earths and cleaning them up

My guess would be a dirty earth connection somewhere. You will need a good manual then find every earth tag, remove it clean grease with Vaseline and reconnect. Faults on rear light cluster earths can cause problems on some models.

Yeah, from reading about other electrical faults, most suggestions point to problems with the earth. Can you recommend a manual? Are we looking at something that would be found in a Haynes guide or would it need to be more specific?

I cant vouch for Haynes and TBH they are often patchy on electrics. There are wiring diagrams in the Fiat Forum. You can find many earths by following the wiring loom, look for open black wires that lead back to body panels.