Technical I think my car is dying

[Grimbor]

I’m having some trouble with my 54 reg 1.4 sporting and due to physical and mental health issues I’m struggling. I’d appreciate any advice you can give me.

For a few years I’ve had an occasional dashboard warning appear (particularly after it has rained) saying that lights weren’t working yet when checking all looks fine with all lights appearing to work. A couple of months ago this was replaced with a warning that Hill Holder and Esc had failed.

About a month ago the battery died, which I replaced. A couple of weeks ago another error appeared stating engine failure in addition to this the temperature gauge stopped working. The battery also seems to be losing charge.

I took it to my mechanic last Friday who told me that the ABS pump had failed and that the ECU had also failed. I was given an estimate of £500 each to get them fixed. Way beyond my budget.

Does this diagnosis sound right? Any other ideas?

 

[judderbar]

The mechanics diagnosis seems to be coming out of nowhere. The ABS system is tested when the dashboard lights come on. If there is a fault the ABS light remains on.

Dashboard lights coming on after heavy rain is a known problem caused by the plastic pipes under the windscreen wipers being blocked. There are two pipes there which fill with leaves and stuff from trees.

Can you get hold of a volt meter to check the battery is charging properly? With it being winter if you dont use it much that could be part of the problem.

 

[Grimbor]

Thanks for replying. Maybe I need a new mechanic.

I’ll check the drainage and try to get a voltage tester.

 

[AndyRKett]

Hill hold and esp if you have it, is controlled within the Abs module.

If these features of the abs module fail then it shouldn’t bring up an ABS warning light but will give the warnings you have seen on the dash.

Because of the way this system works and the early/cheap implementation of electronic diagnostics on these cars you can get weird warnings for seemingly unrelated problems.

My old punto HGT Had a failed reverse light switch that kept making the car think that reverse was selected, the abs system obviously knows the speed and direction of the wheels and so caused hill hold and stability control faults as the system could not rationalise 60mph forward wheel speeds with reverse selected. I would take a very careful look around the car and make sure everything is working as it should be. Also check out the video I did on cleaning the connections in the back lights, a ground fault there can send a reverse current back into an ecu and cause these sorts of faults to appear.

https://youtu.be/VbMofB4e0Xo

 

[varesecrazy]

Thanks for replying. Maybe I need a new mechanic.

I’ll check the drainage and try to get a voltage tester.

Check that you see 14 volts at the battery terminals as the engine idles


A failing alternator can cause sensors to flag random errors

 

[judderbar]

my mechanic last Friday who told me that the ABS pump had failed

Could be he was talking about the ABS unit and things got a bit confusing?

 

[AndyRKett]

Could be he was talking about the ABS unit and things got a bit confusing?

The abs pump/ECU is all one thing the electronics is in the side of the valve block

 

[judderbar]

The abs pump/ECU is all one thing the electronics is in the side of the valve block

Yes I know that. It did not occur to me the mechanic was referring to the ABS ECU, and when I thought of the pump I imagined the motor. The motor is tested at startup.

 

[AndyRKett]

Yes I know that. It did not occur to me the mechanic was referring to the ABS ECU, and when I thought of the pump I imagined the motor. The motor is tested at startup.

I see what you mean now. My thinking was that “ABS PUMP” was the mechanic using a generic term meaning the abs unit as the abs unit/pump is all one thing. But of course you’re right if the pump it’s self was the problem then the abs should throw up an ABS error light on the dash.

To be honest if the mechanic doesn’t actually know what’s going on or hasn’t investigated then they may have claimed the failure of two expensive parts just to get rid of the customer which can happen if they don’t think it’s worth their time or if it’s an old school mechanic who doesn’t want to deal with electronics but happy to change some brakes or shocks for a fee

 

[judderbar]

This thread has a great deal of information in it about this problem for the Grande Punto. A fix could be quite simple related to clutch or brake switches needing some cleaning.

First step is to get the Fiat fault codes read. OP What is your location? A forum member can read your Fiat fault codes and ease the stress

 

[varesecrazy]

This thread has a great deal of information in it about this problem for the Grande Punto. A fix could be quite simple related to clutch or brake switches needing some cleaning.

First step is to get the Fiat fault codes read. OP What is your location? A forum member can read your Fiat fault codes and ease the stress

Missing a link?

 

[judderbar]

Missing a link?

oops!

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/263545-abs-esp-hill-holder-failure.html