Ok, as the title suggests, i have a loose connection on my 2.4 stilo. Missus was driving car all day, then we both went out for grub in the evening. a few pints and a rib eye steak later, returned to the car and wouldnt start. so i kicked her out of the car and tried again. It cranked but wouldnt fire, after a couple of seconds i had the "loose connection" fault flashing at me. i played with as many plugs as i could see, and still the same. then i checked the MAF sensor, it was slightly loose in the induction kit, but was electrically connected. but when i tried turning it over it started. Ive since seen the same fault 4 times. but drove ok today with no fault. Ive searched the threads on here but nothing suggests the the mass air flow sensor could be at fault?

So just wondering if anyone knows if the MAF sensor failing, or loose, could cause the above? otherwise, it could be the battery or crank sensor as ive read. The battery is possible, as she was driving the car all day, but only short journeys.

Hi,

I'm not sure if this will solve the problem your having, but I had a similar such problem. Now like you, my MAF sensor is what I suspected first, but even when it was disconnected it was causing me problems.

I eventually found out it was one of the wires connected to the battery, think it was on the negative terminal. I made sure the contact was right, held in place and then eventually ended up replacing the clip and now the car starts up fine every time.

I would take a look at that firstly, as its a far cheaper fix than the MAF (even though I know my MAF needs replacing also - need to get it done before the remap).

Hope this helps

so how do you know that your MAF has gone? is there a way to check it? surely if the MAF is miffed, the engine wont work at all?

Upon connecting the MAF on mine, my engine becomes very unstable and doesn't run very smoothly or clean, and it runs normal when it is disconnected, because of this I've semi-deduced that its the MAF and just hope when the MAF is replaced that the symptoms go away and I don't have to end up replacing the EGR (sorry if thats the wrong part - just been doing some searching on the site myself).

My missus has just admitted that she drove over a pavement the same day, as the problem occured, so now im thinking that it could be the crank sensor? is this a possibility?

Again, I'd check D4 - I know I always say it, but after my experience I'd always start there!

Ive checked the D4, and seems ok. I had to have the AA out 2 days ago, beacause, i couldnt get the engine to start. I had around 14 different fault codes
1 injector 1,2,3,4,5 fault
2 Pre heat catalyst and some other catalyst fault.
3 Knock sensor
4 MAF sensor

plus many others, i have all the codes written down, but the AA suggested that i may have an earthing fault, as all fiats use a central earth?

The last 2 days, the car has been running brilliantly, with no management lights on at all. But then it broke down again this morning in tescos carpark, after 45 mins it started again?
It seems to run well for three days, and then breakdown, and run again for another 3 days?

All fiats use a central earth? B******s!.

The Stilo has multiple earth points, I can think of 5 in the engine bay alone!

For the best part the car runs great, but ive got no confidence to turn the engine off now, when i go places. So i need to do something. Do you think its worth checking the earthing points? if so where r they all?

Sounds more like crank sensor to me. An earth doesn't get better when you leave it for 30mins but one of the tell tales is that a crank sensor does just that

If it turns without a spark of life when it's playing up but then starts a bit later like nothing ever happened then it's time for Frank Spencer the crank sensor

one of the faults that i had on the laptop was crank sensor.

Where is the crank sensor exactly? is it easily accesible?

Ha! Is anything easily accessible on a 2.4?
It's just held in by the one bolt apparently
Here's a picture of the crank sensor shown as 2a and 2b but just where that is you'll have to find out. But remember it's a loose connection so it could easily be a bad contact at the last connector before the crank sensor. That could easily be quite high and accessible in the engine bay ( or maybe not)

The key is what other errors there are in other modules,this can go along way to pin-pointing the fault.

But guessing is more fun

Any ideas whereabouts this crank sensor is? I cant make out what the picture is? what part of the engine is it?

Its ussually either on the timing pulleys, or on the gearbox flywheel. Any body know where it is?

On yours it's near the flywheel. Imagine the line your flywheel takes and it won't be far from there

Ok, i found the crank sensor, and yes its held in by one bolt.

The connector for the sensor is very high up indeed, its a brown connector just behind the idle control valve. I disconected the sensor, and turned the engine over, and surely enough, i had no spark, and the loose connection error came up, i then reconnected the plug, and the engine started. so i can only assume that the sensor itself is begining to fail, so ive ordered a new sensor, for £21 which will arrive tommorow.

Watch this space

or there's a bad connection at the connector

"But remember it's a loose connection so it could easily be a bad contact at the last connector before the crank sensor"

ok, bought a new sensor for £21, i installed it in less than one minute, and been ok ever since. NO MORE LOOSE CONNECTION ERROR

i bench tested the old one, and it seemed to work when cold, so i can only assume it was breaking down under heat.

so if you get a loose connectoin error, invest in a £21 crank sensor. and if you want pictures of its location then PM me, i took plenty of pics while i was under there!

Glad it worked.
Yes, make a guide if you find the time as the 2.4 is a little different to others and the photos really help

For "loose connection" it's best to think "lost connection". In fact the French Stilos go "Connection perdu" literally "connection lost" which is more accurate