I'm having a mare!!

[Pete Henry]

My ECU (electronic brain) has died just after having the engine rebuilt by the fiat dealer.
My beautiful Bravo had only done 35,000 miles and the cam belt snapped.
Fiat very kindly paid 100% without accepting any liability as a gesture of good faith (I have no problems with Fiat).
Work was carried out by the dealership but the car has never been the same, cutting out, non-starting etc. The dealer said get a new battery and starter motor which I did - minor improvement.
Now told that the ECU has gone by dealer who deny any responsibility. surprise.
I've been told that there is no way of telling where the problem came from.
Is there anyone who can advise me, or has had a similar problem?

Cheers

 

[Nigel]

ECU troubles

I too have had the same happen on my 156 after 25,000 miles. The ECU decided to play its own games rather than fail completely and had a complete mind of its own! I took it to the dealers who changed the unit FOC (had too, it was under warranty) but when asked about the trouble with it I received the shrug of an experienced Italian car mechanic and told ... well the Italians aren't renowned for their electrics are they! Oh how true... My advice would be to find a friendly tuning centre and get them to replace it and add a bit of go at the same time, which will probably be the same cost as Fiats! Good luck.

 

[Grant]

ECU

I generally find ECUs to be very reliable (had a lancia). Electronics these days are. It is also natural to assume that the ECU is at fault because it in 'control' of the engine. More importantly it responds to the information sent by the various sensors lurking in the engine bay. It only takes one of these to be providing false data to cause problems - garbage in, garbage out. Given that the you've had major work done to your engine it is worth while checking the sensors' connections before dishing out hard earned cash for an ECU.

The first place I would look is at the pulley sensor (at No1) - which as it happens is right by the cambelt! Coincidence? It counts the notches on the pulley and is responsible for the timing. If the gap is too large starting will be affected - too small is just as bad. Anyone know what the gap should be ? It was 1.2mm on my delta.

In fact as I think about it they would probably have to remove/bend it to change the belt! Hope this helps

Cheers

 

[Brian]

Horror

Stone me what a mess! Look a few pages back in this forum and you'll find many others who have had the cambelt tensioner go resulting in the top end of the engine being wrecked. Fiat really are getting away with murder or soon will be. It's only luck that the belt comes off at an opportune moment. Imagine it happening on a motorway. I caught hold of a Fiat Workshop manager who said "It only happened on early Fiats. Newer Fiats have the better tensioner and he could only remember one car having the problem". So it would be interesting to know what model you have, age and mileage. The tensioner isn't dear and given half a chance most Bravo owners would willing book their car in and have it changed rather than run the risk of major engine damage. And it is MAJOR engine damage. In my opinion cars hardly ever run the same again after such a spanner in the works. Let's face it the pistons hit the valves and bend them which then strick the cylinder head and there's no set procedure to repair. It's juist look and see what's damaged and see what you can get away with. Regarding your car, if it was starting and running OK before the problem then it should do the same AFTER it's been repaired. If the car was left outside with the bonnet off for instance then water could have entered any of the sensors or the ECU or they may not have connected all the sensors properly. If you "needed a new battery and starter motor" because it wouldn't start properly and the battery didn't have enough uumph to keep starting it and the starter motor burnt out then the fault is with the repair. Don't take any nonsense from Fiat. You are just another one in a line of many. Some are lucky to still be in warranty but the damage to the engine is still severe to say nothing of time off the road. Look just a few messages down and you'll find another one.
Please let us know what model, age and mileage you have when these cambelts go. Watchdog BBC are already aware of the problem and we need more info.

 

[Pete Henry]

Vehicle details

1997 P Bravo 1.6SX

Thanks for words of support, as you can see this isn't what can be classed as an old car.

The dealer who did the cambelt repairs want 640 notes to put the ECU right. i'm holding out but the inconvenience is crippling. The original repair was Nov 1 2000.

Cheers

 

[Pete Henry]

oh yeah

oh yeah and 35,000 miles.

 

[Brian]

Thanks

Thanks for info.