Hi all,

I am new on here and new to Fiat. My partner and I have just purchased an R plate Punto, now lovingly christened Penelope – the problem is she doesn’t want to start. Initially the car ran fine, no problems. However, whilst driving the battery light came on and now the car is dead. A turn of the key gets a laboured cough and that’s it! Although the headlights still work!?

Any ideas? Our initial thought is the alternator has gone, although we are far from handy when it comes to cars and we have no clue. Also how difficult would this problem be to fix – expense, time, difficulty in sourcing the parts?

Thanks in advance,
G

When you try to start it do the headlights go dim? Either the battery has been drained and the alternator has gone or it could simply be dirty/corroded connections.

Clean up the battery terminals and grease them. Clean the connection on the earth cable. If this does nothing have the alternator tested.

BTW does it jump start okay?

Cheers, Sorry for the delay in replying. Managed to Jump it and limp it home, where i fitted a alternator from a scrapper - Now starts first time!! Issue now lies with the cooling system....

I have established the radiator fan switch is knackered, which i have shorted to keep the fan on untill i get to a garage. However, the temp' light still comes on after a while!! Unfortunately the Car lacks a guage and only features a warning light, which is a pain... Any Ideas??

It may not be that the radiator switch is knackered, it may be that the coolant level has fallen so low that the fan's thermostat is no longer submerged in the coolant. Have you noticed any change in the coolant level?

Also make sure the battery is ok. 50% of the time a blown generator loses its voltage control and that can soon cook the battery.

If the coolant level has fallen you could soon be looking for a new head gasket.