Technical Fiat bravo pressumed electrical problems

[Krusheto]

Hello Fiat Forum,

I have a very complicated problem with my fiat bravo 2007 1.9 150hp.

The very first issued was that the endgine didn't turn of when i turned and pulled out the key, dashboard was off but the engine was still running. Then while driving it a safety mechanism turned on the and the car was no longer accelerating, the check engine turned on with some of the sensors unavaliable (ESP,ASR,Hill holder etc) and there were some weird noises coming from the dashboard and it was blinking a bit, some relays started knocking and some other weird noises under the hood. I let it rest for a couple of hours with the battery disconnected and it started running normally again.

After ~600km driven while I was at a tyre compressor the engine turned off by itself and the check engine light appeared again with the same sensors warning. Drove it for around 1km and the safety mechanism activated again. Let it cool down for a few hours with the battery disconnected again and works fine as normal.

Anyone else with the same/similar problem and any tips on how to resolve it?

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

Start by connecting the car to MES / AlfaOBD. Those should give you a hint.

Check for oxidation in the ECU / BCM connectors. Replace the main (body to engine / gearbox) earth strap, preferably add another one to another clean location on the body.

 

[Krusheto]

Hello,

Start by connecting the car to MES / AlfaOBD. Those should give you a hint.

Check for oxidation in the ECU / BCM connectors. Replace the main (body to engine / gearbox) earth strap, preferably add another one to another clean location on the body.

OBD scans will not give anything as I said the check engine light is now gone.

 

[the green vanper]

The check engine light is on only for critical errors I assume. And probably only if the errors are still active. The modules store errors that were displayed before.

 

[Sylvester22]

OBD scans will not give anything as I said the check engine light is now gone.

Regular OBD II readers have hard time communicating with Italian ECUs, I can confirm.
Get MultiECU scan software, you'll need a laptop and few cables, but that's the way.
My Obd gave some codes, but didn't see the ecu was fried, the multiecu showed the issue right away.

 

[ZaphodB]

OBD scans will not give anything as I said the check engine light is now gone.

You won't know unless you look on MES, there could well be stored faults.

Did you ever get the problem diagnosed ?

All/most original stated faults sound very much related to the problem/solution outlined in post by Greenvanper?

 

[Krusheto]

You won't know unless you look on MES, there could well be stored faults.

Did you ever get the problem diagnosed ?

All/most original stated faults sound very much related to the problem/solution outlined in post by Greenvanper?

Nobody even wants to look a the car. They say that it's impossible to diagnose it if currently there is no problem. One dude said it was the dashboard unit but I think he is trying to scam me.

 

[Krusheto]

Regular OBD II readers have hard time communicating with Italian ECUs, I can confirm.
Get MultiECU scan software, you'll need a laptop and few cables, but that's the way.
My Obd gave some codes, but didn't see the ecu was fried, the multiecu showed the issue right away.

What do I need to scan. I am fairly new to this and don't know how this works.

 

[Sylvester22]

What do I need to scan. I am fairly new to this and don't know how this works.

This is one of the best videos about MES for Italian cars. Pay attention especially when he explains the cables, at least you'll need the elm327.
Also check your car's manual about access and location of the scannner plug in, you'll need to remove the cover, also it'd sit like this

when connected properly, can be a tad tricky due to the frame on the right.

 

[Krusheto]

This is one of the best videos about MES for Italian cars. Pay attention especially when he explains the cables, at least you'll need the elm327.
Also check your car's manual about access and location of the scannner plug in, you'll need to remove the cover, also it'd sit like this
View attachment 473008
when connected properly, can be a tad tricky due to the frame on the right.

Am I able to do something with those cheap elm327 bluetooth obds from Aliexpress?

 

[Sylvester22]

Am I able to do something with those cheap elm327 bluetooth obds from Aliexpress?

I don't recommend them, the cable ones are great and don't cost much.
Here's the official website where you gotta buy the licence, don't bother with the free version that doesn't really show fault codes as good, it worth the full price as a garage charges you more for 1 scan than the full MES licence for good.

Multiecuscan - Diagnostics software for Italian cars

 

[the green vanper]

The cheap ELMs from aliexpress and standard apps like Torque and CarScanner can connect to the engine module only, if so. You need to scan the whole car, dash, body computer, so yes, definitely a dedicated interface for a FIAT. MultiEcuScan as suggested by @Sylvester22 or AlfaOBD. And an interface as shown on the multiecuscan website - check what you need for your precise model - there might be adapters required.

You'll pay a certain amount of money, but you will be able to do everything on the car on your own (even keyfob / immobilizer programming, airbag modules error reset, etc).