Technical 2014 Fiat 500 1.2 intermittent EOD light on, loss of power and running on 3 cylinders

[Rigpig 72]

Hi all,

New to the forum and to the 500's.. it's actually my daughters car, but I have had no dealings with these in the past, so any help is a bonus..
The car generally runs well, if under powered and having to run it like a 2-stroke and keep it on the boil all the time.
Recently it's started losing power, if it was a diesel you would say it was in limp mode, but it's a 1.2 petrol.. the EOD engine light comes on and then it starts to run on 3 cylinders.. leave it for a short while and it is good to go again till the next time it happens, (three times in the past six weeks).

I've had it to the local garage, but they couldn't replicate the issue, any information on similar experiences is truly welcome..

Thanks in advance.

 

[John202020]

Welcome out of interest what year?
You really need to have someone with MES Fiat specific software to read the stored codes then go from there, see if any mobile techs have the software before committing?

 

[vexorg]

If you've recently changed the spark plugs, coil pack would be first guess.

There may be fault codes logged if you have a code reader.
And petrol engines have a limp mode too.

 

[Rigpig 72]

Hi John, appreciate such a quick reply, thank you.
It's a 2014, I need to look at getting it to another garage with full diagnostics for it, as the one I use sometimes doesn't have the Fiat software, as I found out..

 

[Rigpig 72]

Hi Vexorg, appreciate such a quick reply, thank you..
Yeah, I need to get the codes read on it, to see what it could be, far too many sensors on engines these days..
It was recently serviced, so the plugs had been changed, I did wonder about a CAT regen at the time, which would just need an Italian Tune-Up.. but felt more like the Volvo XC90 that I had that went to Limp Mode at the drop of a hat..

will try to get it in for Diag as soon as I can, just an odd one that it's intermittent, doesn't matter if it's a dry, wet, hot or a cold day..

 

[The Panda Nut]

They do have a limp home mode in teh 1.2 Fiat too. We had similar behaviour from our 1.2 Panda and relacing the coil pack worked for us. The coil packs are available new from about £55. I bought a Magneti Marelli. CHnaging it is simple but be careful removing the air filter box look under before removal and disconnect the breather pipes gently to avoid breaking the lugs off the air box which is costly. We also had an issue with similar symproms which was gunge in teh intake manifold contaminating the MAF sensor. I remove the throttle body and the problem was obvious. This was cured by cleaning gently with a rag. I have since fitted catch cans that seem to have stopped this particular issue.

I bought MES from Gendan,co.uk and its one of the best things I have bought in relation to the car as it saves at least £60 everytime I want to see whats going on in the ECU and enables me to tell the garage the nature of any faults.

 

[puntodeltathema]

Check the plug leads to start with...they can be awkward to get a grip on and it may be one isn't pushed home properly. You'll need to remove the airbox.

If it's throwing engine management errors then any generic code reader should be able to tell what's up.

 

[Gary 666]

granddaughter had the same symptoms with her car 2014 1.2 pop
it was the coil pack at fault with hers

 

[Rigpig 72]

Hi all, apologies for the delay in getting back to you..
I appreciate the replies and advice on the issue, thank you..

I have ordered a new coil pack for it, just waiting for it to come, although the car is behaving again, I'd rather it was 100% reliable for her..

Will let you know if that rectifies the issues though, you never know I may need your help again for her..

Cheers,
Ed