Technical Fiat500 engine light on

[Skeenor123]

My fiat 500 2017 has been in and out of two garages with the same problem and still no resolution, the engine light comes on and I get a message check engine. I also get messages that stop start isn’t available and hill holder isn’t available either. Also sometimes a picture of a car with skid marks appear. The garages have run loads of diagnostic tests and changed a couple of parts but I only have to drive a few miles 20 max and the alerts start again. This is really doing my head in and making me fearful of driving it. It has done 20,000 miles only. The engine seems fine and the garages say there are no driving problems with it. Anyone got any ideas or suggestions as I am getting very stressed over it. Thank you.

 

[jrkitching]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Also sometimes a picture of a car with skid marks appear.

That's telling you that the electronic stability protection isn't working.

I can understand your frustration and stress.

If two different garages with tools and scanners can't work out what's wrong with the car in front of them, realistically I'm unlikely to be able to do much better sitting at a keyboard never having seen it.

That said, battery and earths are the first thing I'd check; a failing battery or a weak earthing point have both been known to give rise to this sort of behaviour. An intermittent connection with a sensor, or even the ECU, could also give similar results. An intermittent fault would also explain why it takes 20 miles or so before the light comes back on.

This isn't something I'd normally suggest, but have you taken it to a franchised dealer yet? The code readers used by some independent garages may not be sufficiently comprehensive to diagnose a fault like this.

 

[Skeenor123]

Thank you for responding. i have thought about taking it to a Fiat garage but unfortunately there are none near me, so not that easy to do. Are you saying that it’s more likely to be a fault with the battery or sensors rather than a serious mechanical issue. It drives perfectly fine but of course concerned when it has an engine light appearing.

 

[Skeenor123]

I live in Reigate Surrey. Can you recommend a franchise?

 

[jrkitching]

Are you saying that it’s more likely to be a fault with the battery or sensors rather than a serious mechanical issue. It drives perfectly fine but of course concerned when it has an engine light appearing.

I doubt it's anything serious. A dodgy ABS sensor would likely trigger that combination of warning lights.

I live in Reigate Surrey. Can you recommend a franchise?

I don't have any personal knowledge of franchised dealers in that area, though someone else may be able to help you on that.

If you fancy a nice drive through the countryside, you could try this independent Fiat specialist. It's about 60 miles from Reigate, but the drive is first class.

 

[puntodeltathema]

Hi @Skeenor123 , I've just sent you a personal message ("conversation"). I'm in Tonbridge and part of the Fiat Forum MultiEcuScan network - may be able to help diagnose.

Nick

 

[varesecrazy]

I live in Reigate Surrey. Can you recommend a franchise?

Did this get resolved?

 

[Oz500]

When did you last replace your battery?
The Fiat (& Jeep, fwiw) do strange things when the battery is starting to get a little old. Battery tests normal, but switching it out for a new battery fixes the strange faults.

 

[varesecrazy]

When did you last replace your battery?
The Fiat (& Jeep, fwiw) do strange things when the battery is starting to get a little old. Battery tests normal, but switching it out for a new battery fixes the strange faults.

Indeed..see post #2

 

[Oz500]

Indeed..see post #2

Cheers.
post #2 on my screen was the one by jrkitching, whom also suggested the battery.
I didn’t see a post stating that the OP had tried replacing the battery since then, or if it resolved his issue.

 

[Badger6]

Brake switch causes hill start issue....cheap to replace..

 

[Badger6]

Also check earth strap under battery tray known to corrode couple of pound to replace.

 

[John202020]

If the engine light is on there WILL be a fault code

 

[DaveMcT]

Find a forum member with Multi ECU Scan (MES). There is a section specifically for that.

My bets are weak battery, faulty ABS sensor faulty, faulty reverse switch on gearbox. The first is dead easy - swap battery for known good one and see what happens. The others are all are easy to test for, especially with MES.

That leaves the engine light. MES will tell what that is, but so will any cheap OBD scanner.

 

[varesecrazy]

OP posted all this in MARCH .