Hi All,

I wonder if anyone can help with this problem. This morning I went to start my car (Fiat Stilo Dynamic 1.8) and nothing happened (no obvious noises) the first couple of times I turned the ignition key. My natural reaction was to try again and on the third attempt it started as normal.

I didn't think that much about this as it had chucked it down all night so I just thought the car might be a bit cold / damp.

Tonight when I went to leave work the car started ok but as I pulled away the computer started beeping away at me. The messages dissapeared pretty quick so I couldn't tell you the exact wording but it was something along the lines of ESP fail, ASR fail and Loose wire. As I say I had just pulled away and was navigating the mass exit of work traffic so it was hard see exactly what was said. The dashboard ESP / ASR lights lit up also.

I pulled the car over to the side and stopped the engine. When I tried to start it again the car was dead. I couldn't tell if the ignition relay was clicking as all of the passing traffic was making too much noise. I gave the car a couple of minutes and tried again and it started ok, so I drove home.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I can't see a loose connection indication in the manual, can anyone suggest which connection and if it is something I can check myself?

This might be totally unrelated but last month the car developed a new feature that caused the windows to wind themselves down even when the ignition wasn't turned on (ie whilst you are in Tesco or asleep!). It has been to the dealer and had that fixed.

Is this the start of bad things???

Cheers,
Steve

search stilo tech forums for the following...

Battery (fitment of correct not cheap aftermarket one)

D4 (connector)

Battery cover (is it there?)

after looking around on here and with the help of the guys on here mine was diagnosed as needing a battery altho it never felt like it did but when it was tested it failed misseribly on a drop test , get yours tested

its stilo the best said:

after looking around on here and with the help of the guys on here mine was diagnosed as needing a battery altho it never felt like it did but when it was tested it failed misseribly on a drop test , get yours tested

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Thats correct....use a proper battery tester!

More important is the Ah rating,I would suggest contacting dealer for exact specifications as I have seen to many stilos with this problem only because customers buy cheap batteries.A genuine Fiat battery will cost around £70 & a approved Fiat battery will still cost about £60.Don't be tight when it comes to a stilo battery as you will regret it.

T14086 said:

Thats correct....use a proper battery tester!

More important is the Ah rating,I would suggest contacting dealer for exact specifications as I have seen to many stilos with this problem only because customers buy cheap batteries.A genuine Fiat battery will cost around £70 & a approved Fiat battery will still cost about £60.Don't be tight when it comes to a stilo battery as you will regret it.

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Thanks guys, I'll get the battery tested over the weekend and see if that's the problem.

Just out of interest is there an average expected life time for a battery? I haven't had the Stilo since new, so I don't know if it has already been replaced, but the car has done ~30,000miles and is 3 years old.

Cheers for the help.

:worship:

If i ever brought a stilo first thing I would do is get a genuine battery,I honestly(and other stilo owners here will tell you same)would(if in any doubt)get it renewed especially with winter coming.

dogmatix said:

Thanks guys, I'll get the battery tested over the weekend and see if that's the problem.

Just out of interest is there an average expected life time for a battery? I haven't had the Stilo since new, so I don't know if it has already been replaced, but the car has done ~30,000miles and is 3 years old.

Cheers for the help.

:worship:

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Can't complain at that at all!

My Stilo battery went a few months ago, we've slow charged it and it's gone back to bright green on the indicator, but as the Stilo is SO sensitive to battery state we just bought a new one for mum's (who hardly uses it) and I got her battery (which was actually one from a JTD I got put in under warranty; her Stilo is a 1.6).

I've had this problem on my 03 Stilo 1.8 Dynamic since it was new. Never been fixed by FIAT. Happens once or twice every two or three months. One solution: stop the engine, open and shut the bonnet - clears it every time.

jog!, good on you for using the search feature :thumbs

what your describing is a loose earth point. get it sorted. its probably the one under the battery tray like mine when it was loose