Hello all.

Fiat brava 1.2L 2001 model

Had my exhaust pipe clip at the back break and cable tied the exhaust up to hold it on while planning to get it replaced. 2 days ago went to drive and the car was rumbling quite a bit. Drove some more and a dodgy smell came into the car and the engine management light started flashing. Got home and booked a kwik fit appointment.

Took it in today and they changed the exhaust as it had a few holes. Said the catalytic converter was fine as i was convinced that this was the problem. Plugged in computer and said it was misfiring so changed spark plugs and coil pack. Said the light was gone but need to change ht leads anyway but have to wait for delivery on tuesday.

Drove out and within 5 minutes the light was back and car struggles to accelerate. Phoned kwik fit who told me that it's still ok to drive and the ht leads will probably fix the problem. Probably...

What do you guys think? I've read bad things about kwik fit and don't want to spend more and more on maybe this and maybe that

Thanks

Hi, where are you based, the later bravo's had modern engine management.. so a good code reader will get a better idea of the fault - via stored fault codes.

any other bits of info..using oil / water.. smoky exhaust..??

Charlie - Oxford

Hi

I'm based in kent uk. They did plug a computer in which said that the cylinder was misfiring which is why they changed the coil and spark plugs. My manual says that a flashing warning light indicates a worn out catalytic converter but they weren't having it. Not sure they even checked it. No smoke coming from the exhaust. More dodgy smells inside but the guy said that's normal as the new exhausts are coated in oil?

The light situation has now changed to flashing while I'm accelerating (trying) or staying on when coasting or idling.

I'm not a car person to be honest and know just a little bit so will be easily duped if they want to. I just have a feeling they will do the ht leads on tuesday and after already charging me 474 quid will tell me that it's something else, probably the catalytic converter

it probably is the leads but it's not ok to drive it, unburnt fuel will get into cat and kill it

They told me it was ok to drive but when i did it felt so bad that i wasn't going to drive again until it's sorted anyway. I drove for about an hour like that so hopefully that's not enough to kill the cat.

Thanks for replies. Just looking for a shoulder to cry on really

themanwhowas said:

They told me it was ok to drive but when i did it felt so bad that i wasn't going to drive again until it's sorted anyway. I drove for about an hour like that so hopefully that's not enough to kill the cat.

Thanks for replies. Just looking for a shoulder to cry on really

Click to expand...

hi again,

as Dave said the leads are often the issue,

but if it was due plugs,( they wear over time)then no problems getting them done now.

new exhausts DO smell , as you are basically baking off the paint, and assembly paste..however - as you rightly say..the engine light should now be OFF, and the car should drive normally.

personally - in the absence of any special tools - I would disconnect the negative terminal from the car battery ( BLACK LEAD) for a couple of hours.. this may help the cars "BRAIN" reset itself - as it'll lose the power to store some info -

might run ok for a couple of days while you wait for the leads to come in,
( did you pay for these in your bill?)

Charlie

They said they would do the leads for free. The light doesn't bother me yet as the car still runs really rough so until they do the leads I'll leave the battery and not drive the car. After they do the leads if the car drives ok I'll do the battery if the light doesn't go out but it's probably still on as there's definitely a problem still

I wouldnt drive it if its running rough, its probably still missfiring, you can unplug one lead at a time with it running until you find the cylinder at fault, if one lead unplugged from a cylinder doesnt make a difference then you have found your problem HT lead.

I am very suprised they changed the coil and not the leads, the leads would have been the first point of call, then condition of spark plugs and spark plug gap, then i would check each injector to see if they are faulty then finally check the coil.

you can check the injectors the same way as checking the HT leads, disconnect the power source to each injector one by one until it makes a different in tick over or slight revving whilst not in gear!!

Personally, i wouldnt drive it until its fixed.

I drove it a little bit because i can't stand the bus. They did the leads today and all seems ok for now. Probably that all along they just wanted to overcharge me

Thanks

no problem,
time to enjoy your car again,
Charlie

When you see blinking light in the check engine it is the indication of damaging catalytic converter. It may be also due to
- Ignition coil failure
- Fuel Injector failure
- Engine computer failure
- Spark Plug problem
- Spark Plug wire problem
- Bad engine valve
As you have already checked catalytic converter and changed spark plugs and coil pack. Then it might be the problem with fuel injector failure, engine computer failure or bad engine valve. You must revisit kwik fit. And if the problem still persists it will be better to visit top rated Fiat mechanics.