Technical ELECTRICS :-[ Loose connection !?!?!?!?

[yellowperril]

Right then i have a fiat stilo jtd 115
the yellow perril (as it has been nicknamed) has yet more problems
like a new turbo clutch and various other things isnt enough this time its, yep thats right, electrics
what fiat are best for


Loose connection???
i had it about a month or so ago and a new battery fixed the problem so i thought easy fix.
that was my problem, this morning, went to start it and it said the same thing again, loose connection (warning lights come on, fuel says low, and flashes saying loose connection on the panel). I left it for a while anyway and thought id try it, surprise it started, i left it running, turned it off, and it started again. Drove around the block a couple of times, then it came back again whilst driving, both dials stopped working and everything.

I have read a few posts on this, surely not the battery again as i have replaced it
could it really be the brake light switch? (if so how do i fix that)
also could it be the earth wire under the battery as i have read from other guys thats been a problem before (also how do i sort that out??)

sorry to sound so stupid im not very mechanically minded but please any advise is greatly appreciated.

 

[schumraid]

This could be coming from anywhere really. Best place to start is probably the easiest, clean and check the integrity of the earth(s), theres a description on how to check the battery earth in the guides section

 

[Shadeyman]

I've had the same warning, turned out to be a bad earth. Cleaned away the corrosion, tightened it back up and gave it a little sprinkle of copper grease to prevent it corroding again. Might be worth you checking all your connections.

 

[spyshagg]

Alternator failing to charge the battery? seems that way to me.

 

[yellowperril]

I've had the same warning, turned out to be a bad earth. Cleaned away the corrosion, tightened it back up and gave it a little sprinkle of copper grease to prevent it corroding again. Might be worth you checking all your connections.

Thankss for the advice there, im going to try that tomorrow hopefully anyway that will fix it, i will let you all know.

 

[trevh]

my stilo has just developed this problem bizzarly bombing around the M25 yesterday i lost all electrics (not good when its starting to get dark ) once i came off the m25 i pulled over i gave the battery housing a smack everything burst into life again, this morning it was deader than a dead thing once again so MK1 fist applied to battery housing again and low and behold it jumped into life again.. so you fonts of all knowledge what do you reckon is going on bad earth, knacked battery, dodgy alternator or some other lecky problem ?????

 

[vladof]

Yours is definitely an earth problem mate. If it wasn't, it wouldn't have done anything when smacking the battery housing.

Unscrew the plastic top, remove the connectors, clean then, put them back and tighten the screw. That should fix it.

 

[Deckchair5]

Have a look in the Stilo Guides for a detailed how to check and cure problems with battery earth. Don't just tap things and hope for the best

 

[trevh]

Have a look in the Stilo Guides for a detailed how to check and cure problems with battery earth. Don't just tap things and hope for the best

it was the only tool kit i had at the time although if the problem persists it will be more than a fist that gets launched at it!!!! now where did i put that RPG

 

[yellowperril]

right i cleaned a re connected the earth to the engine however when i went to trace the earth to the body and i traced it to the front by the fan, however it was also with a red wire, i assume positive.

If this is going to make any sense i will carry on, the negative has 3 bolts on it, the main central one has the earth running to the engine, another has a wire which runs as said to the fan it seems in pair with a red wire. The third bolt is free and empty, is this right as i dont know.

(sorry bit of a newb to all of this)

 

[Deckchair5]

BATTERY EARTH CHECK

With everything reconnected and engine running, check the voltage between the battery earth terminal and a shiny metal part of the engine. It should be less than 0.1v, if it is then your battery earth is good. More than 0.3v drop and it's a bad earth

ALTERNATOR/BATTERY CHARGING TEST
Engine running

Check between battery +ve and -ve =ideal 14v +
Turn on headlights and heated rear screen = ideal 13v+

Now you know your alternator is working fine and battery is receiving good charge voltage

 

[trevh]

thought it had been sorted until last night when it happened again. it said alternator fail then loose connection although the car continues to run without any electrics, i'm starting to think its something a little more serious than a dodgy earth

 

[Deckchair5]

Shouldn't be. It's an open circuit of some kind, whether it's on the power side or earth side then it's lost the complete circuit just like someone turning off the light switch at home. If it was just the alternator then it would just say "alternator fail"

Check to see if you have 14v+ charging voltage. If you haven't then there's your starting block

 

[trevh]

there seems to be plenty of power in the battery i disconnected it cleaned the connections messed about with earth lead which i can't get off as its well seized even after giving it a good blast of GT85. Ah well time for the RAC to see if they can start it then off to the fiat dealer and another big hole in my wallet no doubt

 

[Deckchair5]

If it's well seized then that's most likely where your problem is as it will be seized with corrosion. Have you done a volt drop test across it?

 

[trevh]

all sorted for the time being called the rac in the end he couldn't sort it after trying all of the above and testing everything that could be tested and it was still deader than a dead thing... he was just about to tow me to the nearest fiat garage after a fiat man said it could be one of the ecu's, he thought he'd give it 1 last chance and low and behold it sprung to life like nothing was wrong, still took it to fiat they did a diagnostic run and no faults found all a bit strange really it seems to be ok at the moment