Okay... my father-in-laws Stilo has been behaving madly for quite some time... everytime the ignition is switched off, Stilo goes "Checking" and does that until the battery runs flat. Sometimes it says "Loose Connection" and bunch of other weird stuff... I've cleaned and scrubbed all connections, cleaned ECU connectors under hood and inside fuse boxes etc... no help. Today, the battery was flat again, I jumped it and the car lost all rear lights except reverse and 3rd brake light... also, the fuel gauge is reading zero and blinks.... I checked all the fuses etc and everything was fine... seems that all power to the rear of the car is lost.

So, I took the car to Fiat dealer and they plugged in their stuff and told that the body computer is toast and needs to be replaced... I debated if that would be causing the rear lights to go south, but agreed that other problems maybe causing by bad computer... quote was 412€ for body computer and 67€ to replace it....

Whaddaya think? Does these symptoms sound like bad computer or are they trying to fish me? Thanks!:bang:

Any Fiat mechs able to answer this? I need your help. Thx!

Im not a mech but the first thing i would be asking is why is the ECU toast. There must have been something causing that prob that could very well happen again.
Im sure you could replace it for a lot less. It is so cheap to fit because it is only head on with a few bolts.

Try unplugging the cable to the ignition switch when it is doing this. Sounds more like wiring than the body computer to me. The dashboard should not display anything when the key is off.
Also Stilos do not like batteries in poor condition. If it is old, change it, but I think you have another problem to fix besides just the battery.

Check earth points around the car for corrosion. No rear lights should be a big clue that there is a fundamental electrical connection problem somewhere in your car. Sadly, it is not a known or common problem that we can quickly tell you how to cure.

If you take it to fiat get something in writing from them that states that if the fault is not fixed, they will put your old body computer back in and not charge you. They have a habit of blindly changing expensive ECU's and the fault is not fixed but they still demand payment from the customer for their incompetence. If Examiner can not communicate with the body computer, it usually means it has no power, not that it is faulty. Dealers fail to realise this again and again. There have been many stories on here about people getting large bills from dealers when the car is still not fixed.

Another note: You can not use a body computer from another Stilo. One has to be ordered from the factory exactly for your car.

have heard of it being possible to use another ecu (it won't run well and won't be able to use any smart nodes but it will start the car..). Not all fiat techs are bad.. ask them if they’ve managed to communicate with ecu.. if that is the case: their software is able to differentiate between wiring faults and ecu failure (ask how/why they think you need new ecu). Try another fiat approved garage (i've found a small fiat approved/trained local that's been very kind to me and my car and they are Really good! - pm me if you're in/near london). As for your ecu: offhand can think of 2 things - moisture (ecus could corrode) or spike from a coil (or lightning hit). Though the first thing to check(as per above post/s) is a small circuit breaker responsible for cutting power to the car and ignition lock - good luck
PS: some pre 03 stilos had faulty rear light clusters (mine had both affected: driver side just blew melting the cluster, passenger was causing some weird electricity hits via body of the car and then melted the cluster – i know very weird.. but could theoretically spike a badly grounded ecu?) it a very long shot but try to unplug em (easy to do your self)