Technical Stop & Start doesn't seem to work

[austenw90]

I picked up my 2013 Punto yesterday from a main dealer and drove it home about 150 miles. I travelled to get the spec I wanted.

One thing I've found is that the stop and start function doesn't seem to work. I've switched it off and back on. It says it's "connected" but no matter what it doesn't work. I understand it doesn't function when there is too much load but I've tried it with all electrical things turned off but still nothing. I also know how it operates from driving another Punto with Stop/start.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Mkala]

Hello

Please read this section and the evo section or your manual, they are a lot - a lot- of condition for start and stop to function.

With a new car, it can take some times to activate.

Keep us informed when your car has more miles and days

 

[varesecrazy]

Main Dealer is the clue there, chances are it's been sat unused for a while, the battery will need a fair bit of regular use to get back full function - if at all -,

my 2013 was in group stock, only worked regularly after 2 hour m-way journeys,

laid it up for 10 days while I flew to Italy last month, hasn't worked since..

I suspect a replacement battery will sort it -- get in quick -- while the warranty is still covering it,
Charlie

 

[austenw90]

Thanks both. Will the warranty cover a replacement battery?

I can't go back to the dealer I bought it from. They are in Wolverhampton and I'm in Southampton.

It's not a feature that I'm massively fussed about but things annoy me if they are there but don't work!

Likelihood is it's been doing too many short drives. 9100 miles on an 18 month old car registered to the dealer.

 

[Aikidoamigo]

My new car is the same, bloody annoying

I will be speaking to the dealer... I expect stuff to work from the get go and if the battery is not 100% charged then I will kick off until it is right.


Stuff like this makes me mad!

 

[Mkala]

To understand why it is not working, please indicate if you have original battery or not.

If you have an OBD reader, check ECU/body computers faults.

If you have a multimeter, post voltage of battery after a night staying, and when engine at idle, all off (fan at 0 or 1, no windows heater, no lights except DRL, no radio, etc)

 

[austenw90]

I've booked with my local dealer in a few weeks time.

I've been driving with the radio off, heater fan as low as possible (probably doesn't help that this is climate control), lights off where possible and day lights off. Hopefully this may help the battery re-charge? If that's what it needs.

 

[austenw90]

Is there a particular type of charger that needs to be used for stop start batteries?

 

[Mkala]

When you drive you can use all electric devices you want. Its just at idle to not make a false measure, because at low rpm alternator output is low.

Unless you make only short trips, the full battery charge should be reached.

No special charger is needed, base technologie is the same. Its just number of cycles is higher.
Prefer a recent elecrronic charger that do not boil electrolyt with poor end of charge voltage detection

 

[Super Uwe]

I have the same problem as the OP, our 62 plate 1.4 Easy's S/S hasn't worked for about three or four days now.

It has stopped working about three or four times before as well, and then started working again (typically after a couple of successive longer journeys).

Similar situation as well; the car only did about 1500 miles in the 12 months before I purchased it in August (it now has 11500 miles on the clock).

Also, although we do around 1000 miles per month, a lot of the journeys are quite short. So really, I don't think much will change in this respect.

People have recommended purchasing one of the ctek chargers, so I might do that this winter (there are several threads with specific charger details on the 500 section).

I can't honestly say I care too much though. I'd much rather the system didn't kick in if there is a suggestion the battery is lacking in charge!

 

[austenw90]

People have recommended purchasing one of the ctek chargers, so I might do that this winter (there are several threads with specific charger details on the 500 section).

So are the Ctek chargers on Amazon suitable?

Like this one:

CTEK MXS 5.0T Battery Charger with Automatic Temperature Compensation: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

Obviously the cheaper the better.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Mkala]

This charger looks really good.

Output current is a bit low - at 5amp it can take 12 hour to fully charge a battery, but with microprocessor and advanced modes it should perfectly charge your battery.

But - in my opinion it is not interessant to spend this money in a charger just for the start and stop... Even if you have trips that are good for S&S, it will take years to save this amount in petrol.
And this is about 50% of the cost of a new battery.

On my car, it works, unfortunately. I have to disable it constantly. On my wife car (same model, 3 month younger car) it does not work at all. And happy

A mechanic told me you can remove the connector of the sensor on the battery. After, S&S re-learn parameters and re-works ! But never tried, but I think you can't break something...

 

[austenw90]

This charger looks really good.

Output current is a bit low - at 5amp it can take 12 hour to fully charge a battery, but with microprocessor and advanced modes it should perfectly charge your battery.

But - in my opinion it is not interessant to spend this money in a charger just for the start and stop... Even if you have trips that are good for S&S, it will take years to save this amount in petrol.
And this is about 50% of the cost of a new battery.

On my car, it works, unfortunately. I have to disable it constantly. On my wife car (same model, 3 month younger car) it does not work at all. And happy

A mechanic told me you can remove the connector of the sensor on the battery. After, S&S re-learn parameters and re-works ! But never tried, but I think you can't break something...

Thanks Mkala. Any thoughts on these? I could leave this plugged into OBD port all day...

AA Car Essentials Solar-Powered Car Battery Charger: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

 

[Mkala]

You welcome

This mini solar panel ? Useless for most people.

It can only be useful if you dont use your car often, one or twice a month, or less.

If you use your car frequently, it's completely useless. Why ? The panel output can be - my guess - 5 watts.
Your alternator can output 1000 - 1200 watts (less at idle). So power of panel is negligible.

The only case is for car's not use for long time, this permit to keep battery charged to avoid sulfation. But it has to be more powerful that battery auto-discharge and car's constant consumption.

Don't twist your mind for S&S, try to remove the little connector or the battery to "reset" or start a re-learn.

 

[austenw90]

You welcome

This mini solar panel ? Useless for most people.

It can only be useful if you dont use your car often, one or twice a month, or less.

If you use your car frequently, it's completely useless. Why ? The panel output can be - my guess - 5 watts.
Your alternator can output 1000 - 1200 watts (less at idle). So power of panel is negligible.

The only case is for car's not use for long time, this permit to keep battery charged to avoid sulfation. But it has to be more powerful that battery auto-discharge and car's constant consumption.

Don't twist your mind for S&S, try to remove the little connector or the battery to "reset" or start a re-learn.

Thanks. My S&S started working yesterday on both journeys I took. It didn't this morning but I was tinkering with the radio last night for a while which probably didn't help the battery. It has a DAB antenna hooked up to the standard head unit (all by Fiat) but is a bit rubbish really. The head unit doesn't seem to be designed for this.

I do about 8 miles each way to work Monday to Friday so the car is only really just hot when I turn it off.

Maybe a decent run is in order this weekend.

 

[Mkala]

Fine if it start to work

With a few longer trips and your daily commute it should work.
My car do a bit less you every week day, and S&S works.
My wife's car do similar trips but it doesn't work. But it's not a problem, we don't like this system.

Keep us informed in a few week how it works, perhaps with sufficient trips every day you can bring the battery to a sufficient level to allow S&S working.
Some longer trips between can help a lot, especially in winter

 

[JTD_Liam]

I think people get too worked up about Start-Stop. My Alfa MiTo has it and it worked consistently from when I collected it for about 4 months. Then the car sat for a while and it took about 2 weeks for Start-Stop to begin working again. It then worked for a while and then following a few short trips in the rain, fan on, wipers on, it didn't work until this week.

Just let the car get on with it. If the battery is knackered you'll soon know when we have a frost and the car doesn't want to start. Just because Start-Stop decides to stop working for a week does not mean you need a new battery. The cars are cleverer than people give them credit for you know!

 

[Flymo01]

My stop-start was very eratic and sometimes didn't work for weeks. I spoke with the dealer who 'deep charged' the battery. It worked for a few weeks and stopped again.

I stated that there must be a fault with either the battery, the charging system or the stop-start design. Also that I wanted the fault fixed or I would speak directly to Fiat UK.

This time the dealer said he couldn't find any faults, but changed the battery just to appease me (his exact words).

What a surprise, the system has worked perfectly ever since

May be worth digging your heels in at the main dealer?

 

[aurick86]

If you are only doing 8 miles each way to work and back then i would say that's the fault.

 

[austenw90]

If you are only doing 8 miles each way to work and back then i would say that's the fault.

You're probably right Aurick, that's why I got rid of my 2.0 Multijet Bravo at the end of last year. I've returned to Fiat after having issues with two other manufacturers since then.

It's been working ok for the last few days. I took it for a good drive at the weekend. I don't drive in heavy city traffic to work but often encounter some moderate traffic so don't have a big need to use the stop start on my commute. It's 8.6 miles, 5 of which are on rural 40-60mph roads and 3.6 on the motorway. There are only 5 sets of traffic lights to get stuck at. Surprisingly the first opportunity to stop is just a mile down the road and the stop starts has sometimes kicked in there even when the water temp gauge has only just moved off the bottom.

Appreciate all the input.