Technical Loss of power at higher speeds

[MSDK]

I own a 2010 Fiat Punto Evo Multiair 1.4 105bhp, recently I have started to loose acceleration on the highway. Even i floor the gas pedal - or downshift, i will still loose speed. It takes about 4 seconds before the car picks up pace again. I have changed the map sensor, but the issue persist. Any ideas?

 

[bugsymike]

I own a 2010 Fiat Punto Evo Multiair 1.4 105bhp, recently I have started to loose acceleration on the highway. Even i floor the gas pedal - or downshift, i will still loose speed. It takes about 4 seconds before the car picks up pace again. I have changed the map sensor, but the issue persist. Any ideas?

General advice not car specific.
Fuel restriction partial blockage?
In the old days I would have checked for fuel tank vent blockage. Don't know if you could try with fuel cap off?
I have also seen air filter badly clogged also though unlikely in your case.
Some years ago had a car with electronic throttle pedal with a dead spot, but if your fault clears without changing pedal position then unlikely.

 

[MSDK]

Thanks for your reply!
I can try running with the fuel cap off, I am currently cleaning and greasing the 4 earth strap points in the engine bay.
I am doing this since I had a fuel cut off unavailable warning come up.
Will update after the fuel cap off test

 

[MSDK]

So I did 3 out of the 4 earth straps in the engine bay, the final one on the gearbox is difficult to get to, however it seems to looks OK. I did the fuel cap of test, but it would stall speed again The strange thing is when i stopped the car to return home, i got the Esp Hill holder unavailable, the start stop unavailable + the temp guage and rpm went to zero for a brief moment. The steering was also really hard. This all went away upon restarting the car. I am pretty certain this must be a electrical issue of some sort.
Anyone with a similar experience?
I will try to search the forum in the meantime.

 

[bugsymike]

So I did 3 out of the 4 earth straps in the engine bay, the final one on the gearbox is difficult to get to, however it seems to looks OK. I did the fuel cap of test, but it would stall speed again The strange thing is when i stopped the car to return home, i got the Esp Hill holder unavailable, the start stop unavailable + the temp guage and rpm went to zero for a brief moment. The steering was also really hard. This all went away upon restarting the car. I am pretty certain this must be a electrical issue of some sort.
Anyone with a similar experience?
I will try to search the forum in the meantime.

The ECU may have not liked the fuel cap off, some cars are funny like that these days.
Are you able to read the error codes, there may be some "pending" but not bringing the engine light on

 

[MSDK]

I did a full scan with my odb2 tool, and it did infacted show a pending error "DTC U0001" However I could not connected nor start the car, before turning the ignition on/off multiple times.

 

[bugsymike]

I did a full scan with my odb2 tool, and it did infacted show a pending error "DTC U0001" However I could not connected nor start the car, before turning the ignition on/off multiple times.

Sounds like you may need a more detailed code read , possibly using a Fiat "Multiscan" tool or similar.

 

[MSDK]

Sounds like you may need a more detailed code read , possibly using a Fiat "Multiscan" tool or similar.

I wrote my last message in a hurry, what I meant is I could not connect to the ECU right away like I usually can. Getting a designated fiat scan tool might be the next move, i hope this would explain my issues. I've read the issues could stem frem a low voltage batteri, so right now I'm charging it. Thinking of having a look at the abs sensor. I appreciate your help Mike!

 

[MSDK]

Upon test driving my car, it comes up with every warning known to man. Hill holder unavailable, fuel cut off, start stop etc. Rpm, tempature, and speed guage also go down to zero. The car drives OK besides loosing speed at around 70 km/h. I hear this clicking electrical noise, but only when driving +30kmh. It seems to come from the front left wheel, around the battery area.
I checked all fuses and they all have resistance.
Has anyone got an idea what to look for? Brake pedal switch maybe? I will try to get a proper scan tool in the nearest future. I just need to get to work tomorrow. Any thoughts are appreciated

 

[bugsymike]

You are very welcome, my knowledge is based on 50 years in motor trade repairing vehicles before retiring, however there are many Forum members who will have more specific Fiat based knowledge.

 

[bugsymike]

One of my daughters has a 2012 Punto Evo that had flashing speedo, fuel cut off, start stop, airbag and seat warning lights due to a damage BCM from a faulty repair to a passenger seat sensor by a previous owner, after me sorting the seat sensor and then having to replace the damaged BCM I was able to use a friends Snap On Zeus diagnostic tool which ran a "proxi alignment " program to tell the BCM to recognise the new parts . However I understand they get problems from the "Blue and Me" gadget causing similar issues, so I told my daughter not to use it?

 

[MSDK]

One of my daughters has a 2012 Punto Evo that had flashing speedo, fuel cut off, start stop, airbag and seat warning lights due to a damage BCM from a faulty repair to a passenger seat sensor by a previous owner, after me sorting the seat sensor and then having to replace the damaged BCM I was able to use a friends Snap On Zeus diagnostic tool which ran a "proxi alignment " program to tell the BCM to recognise the new parts . However I understand they get problems from the "Blue and Me" gadget causing similar issues, so I told my daughter not to use it?

Oh wow, I actually think the Blue and Me thing is on. Will try to disable it, I am really lost here. It seems there are many culprits that could lead to my issues :/

 

[bugsymike]

Oh wow, I actually think the Blue and Me thing is on. Will try to disable it, I am really lost here. It seems there are many culprits that could lead to my issues :/

Check other members comments re Blue and Me

 

[MSDK]

Check other members comments re Blue and Me

I will try that, after having dinner and returning to look at my car. It won't start at all now. Headlights just go out. It says fuel cut off unavailable, I've tried to do the reset sequence, but no help

 

[bugsymike]

I will try that, after having dinner and returning to look at my car. It won't start at all now. Headlights just go out. It says fuel cut off unavailable, I've tried to do the reset sequence, but no help

Battery fault or charging issue, low voltage can throw up other fault codes. Can you charge battery or try another one?

 

[MSDK]

Battery fault or charging issue, low voltage can throw up other fault codes. Can you charge battery or try another one?

Sure thing I will try to charge the battery overnight, fingers crossed for tomorrow morning! I will keep this post updated tomorrow, thanks again Mike, it's nice of you trying to help me out

 

[MSDK]

Update:
Just got back from work.
This morning the car started right up! Happy times Guess the overnight charge did the trick. Driving to work, car was fine, apart from the usual loss of speed.
Upon driving home, the Hill Holder ESP error came up Also the cruise control was not working. No big deal since the car got me from A to B.
The electrical issues remain a mystery to me, same with the speed loss. I will try to find out something with a fiat scanner

 

[RalphM]

Is the alternator charging ok about 14.2V engine running,
battery ok?
other than that bad earth.

 

[MSDK]

Is the alternator charging ok about 14.2V engine running,
battery ok?
other than that bad earth.

Hey thanks for the input
Battery is running at 14.1v engine on.
12.6 when off.
I did clean and grease 3 out of the 4 earth in the engine bay, they all looked intact with no corrosion.
The one I did not do, is the one on the gearbox, I could do it just to rule it out? Is there any other earth straps I should give a look? I don't know the location of any other than the 4 in the bay + the one benith the air filter box.

 

[RalphM]

The one on the box can be a pig to get to, nothing to stop
you adding a extra one from the battery earth to a accessible
bolt on the engine or box, if you have some jump leads you
could try connecting one from battery earth to a good point
again on the engine or box, but do make sure you are on
the right connections, see if that changes anything.