This is the first time for me so please forgive any errors. I have a Stilo Dynamique 1.6 52 reg. This week I have noticed acceleration problems in that from cold it is like driving an old wreck - jumping and no acceleration. Once it reached normal temperature I could feel it losing power every other second. I could drive reasonably normally (if cautiously!) but it slowed acceleration but did eventually reach normal speeds. However, yesterday the jumpy acceleration became worse to the point that once slowed down eg approaching roundabout, on accelerating away there was absolutely no power at all despite foot being flat to the floor. After a few seconds it would catch on again only to happen again at next set of lights etc etc. There are no warning lights showing. I hope one of you can shed a bit of light on this. I can't even drive it to a garage in it's current state!
Thanks!

when was it last serviced? check things like spark plugs and air filter. But I think the problem could be to do with the coils, could try the normal test of removing the HT leads at the coil end and crank the engine to look for any sparks, if there aren't any sparks then you know that coil is the offending one

OR there maybe a throttle body update available for the 1.6 or am I thinking of another car? :chin:

mines developed a whopping hee-ow-ge flat spot which i think is the car not getting the right airflow. Not to the extent of this case but its like you put it in 3rd to get some speed, put the boot in, it goes like hot snot, then feels like nothing else left then it comes in again for the last bit of the rev range before power dies off.

Had this happen in my previous car when the air filter was clogged up to fook, and judging by the way they aint changed on services, and the state my pollen filter was in, i think its about ready to be changed.

However, yours sounds electrical, another problem I had with another motor which was aged leads. Basically you came into a round about, put it in second, booted it and wouldnt move. New set of leads (and dizzie cap, rotor arm and plugs (which stilos dont have!)) and it was running great afterwards

maybe it is a faulty lead, connection, plug, coil pack

99% coils. There is alot of info on here about the coils. Deckchair5 posted a dead easy way to test them. The good thing is they literally take 2 minutes to replace, but they cost around 40-50 squid each.

Sounds to me like you have one about to fail completely, so it's worth doing the test first thing. That way if it is a coil then you can get to a Fiat garage before 12 and buy a new one, cos I think the service and parts departments all shut at 12.

Big Black Stilo said:

mines developed a whopping hee-ow-ge flat spot which i think is the car not getting the right airflow.

Click to expand...

BBS, are sure you haven't got the rest of your rear end wrapped around your exhaust pipe

"This week I have noticed acceleration problems in that from cold it is like driving an old wreck - jumping and no acceleration".
Sure sounds like coil. Always have a spare in your boot and you're on your way again in minutes.

What mileage do you have on it? You're lucky if you can get the coils to go beyond 50K miles no matter what make of coil you have, they just break down electrically internally.

Don't test them by pulling the whole coil off the plug with the engine running though as they're firing out a lot more volts than old HT leads used to do and they'll be picking you up off the floor.

Do a search on testing and changing coils, you'll find a whole load of advice. It's really very easy, once you've done one or two then you'll have it to a fine art

I have 72K on the clock - just about to have cam belt changed! thanks all you guys, will check out the coils right now.

Is there anybody out there who can help me on this - on disconnecting the HT leads on ticking over it doesn't seem to make any difference to the enginge running, it will even run ok on 2 plugs. Now that it has reached normal running temperature, with all four plugs connected it is as though someone is pressing accelerator slightly which is exactly how it was running (one second on, one second off etc etc etc) before it lost all power on acceleration.
Getting desparate as wife cannot get to work on Monday and I'm getting earache and Fiat close at 1pm!! thanks for any suggestions

Difficult to say from a distance but sounds like might be throttle body i.e. the throttle isn't responding properly to pedal input

Could try disconnecting throttle valve connector and seeing if you have a bad contact there and you may need to do a throttle alignment procedure

Do a search on throttle body problems and the throttle body update

Other than that, going to need some stored fault codes if there are any to narrow down the possibilities

Will try that next. If not - how do I access stored fault codes? BTW, thanks for your help - very much appreciated.

Have just replaced one coil but has made no difference. Starts perfectly and idles fine, when you go to move away no power and engine is jerky. Is this sounding more like throttle problems as you thought?

Forget coils then, unfortunately it could be lots of things, hence the need to read fault codes, either done by a garage or by a fault code reader avail on Ebay or a laptop program with suitable OBD2 connection gear. Sometimes the fault code will be displayed on your dashboard display

The fact it starts and idles fine is promising. Just dying as soon you go on the gas yes?
Same when warm as when cold?

MAP sensor detects what air pressure is going into engine and therefore what fuel to supply so could be a problem there

Lambda won't affect it when engine is cold so can dismiss that if you get symptoms straightaway on cold engine

Without fault codes it really is grasping about in the dark i'm afraid

Starts fine, idles fine, revs up from standing fine, just dies when pulling away. Yes, it's the same from cold and warm. No fault codes or messages displaying on dashboard. SHould I do as you suggested re: throttle body? Or just dump the soddin thing??!

"Or just dump the soddin thing??!" Ha!
Just need some fault codes. Bit like going getting your blood pressure and temperature checked at the doc's and then they still don't know what's wrong with you but they know what's right

This ones easy, from what you describe, the idle will be lumpy and the throttle response is unpredictable, if you rev the engine gently on light throttle statically the engine will splutter and then clear above 3000 rpm. When driving the engine will feel as though you are messing with the throttle and jamming it up and down.

If so disconnect the top lambda sensor, if when you restart and let the engine idle for 60 seconds, the engine then responds properly, its a faulty top lambda sensor. All you need to do is replace it. By disconnecting the lambda you make the ecu use a static base injection map, which eliminates the problems the slow switching lambda causes.

Lambda sensor connector is fitted just below throttle body.

"Starts fine, idles fine, revs up from standing fine, just dies when pulling away. Yes, it's the same from cold and warm"

"This week I have noticed acceleration problems in that from cold it is like driving an old wreck - jumping and no acceleration"

I was thinking the lambda could be ruled out if it does the same when cold as the lambda is ignored until the engine is warm enough

The lambda is not ignored when cold, its readings are not seen by the ecu as particularly relevant so given a low priority, but on phase 4 engines the ecu monitors lambda from about thirty seconds after startup. Dont forget the top lambda sensor monitors emissions and this is then stored after switch off to be used for the next engine run (self adaptive), so if the info is duff thats been stored previously the ecu will start to mess up the cold start. If you have examiner or a multumeter you can monitor the lambda sensor reading, ideally the reading should be a waveform oscillating from 100 mv to 900 mv, switching quickly (at three thousand revs when engine hot) you should get 12 minimum and maximum readings. Typically with a slow lambda the readings will be less frequent and reduced voltage oscillations typically staying must tighter to its base reading of 450 mv. If I get time I will scan a waveform taken from a Stilo 1.6 with a dodgy lambda and post it for you guys to take a look.

That's interesting. I may plug in the laptop and see when the Stilo goes into closed loop later. I know my Bravo takes around 5 mins even with a lambda heater as you can feel it. I thought the Stilo was quicker but not as quick as 30 secs, that's a surprise. Cheers for the info

Anyway, back to Megsdad, how are you getting on? If you need to get a top lambda then it will probably be an order job from the dealers

Hey you guys, I can't thank you all enough. Lambda sensor it is!! Just taken it for a trip around the block and runs (probably) better than ever. Will try and get a new sensor tomorrow. Does anyone know how far it can be driven without the sensor connected or is that just too much to ask....!?

If anyone needs a Lamda theres one on Ebay ATM for a 1.6