Technical Marea 1.8 poor running after battery died.

[nicks90]

Hi folks,

I've been lurking on this forum for a few months now - and its been a goldmine of information, especially a post about changing the front suspension struts!

But i've come across a problem that i havent a clue about, so thought it best to sign up and make a post/plee for help.

I accidently left the ignition on overnight in my S reg fiat marea weekend 1.8 and completely flattened the battery. So dead even teh digital clock wasnt working!
So i attached a normal car charger and left it on trickle for a few hours. She fired up straight away and all appeared ok.

HOWEVER, when you blip the throttle it hesitates and then stutters and then revs (sluggishly) and when trying to drive it ----- well its like its a 180cc motor and not a 1.8 litre! missfires and misbehaves in a BAD way.


Does anyone have any idea why it might be doing this after having the battery drained and recharged? I have checked the battery and it now reads fine and the alt is delivering 14V when idling.....
I even tried disconnecting the battery for a few hours and reconnecting it to try and clear the ecu (friends recommendation) and it made no difference.

Any help would be hugely appreciated,

thanks in advance

Nick

 

[Renegade_8]

The ECU needs to re-learn the engine, you should run it variuos revs and throttle openings, and also switch loads like air con and heated rear window on and off. The owners handbook goes into detail on this. But, when I changed the battery on mine it still ran well when powered up again before learning so this sounds like you may have damaged the ECU. or one of the coils.

 

[jug]

i hope you did not charge the battery with it still connected to the car? if you did, you may have damaged the ecu.

if the battery is not sufficiently charged this can happen, so make absolutely sure that the battery is fully charged. it may be worth trying another battery just to be sure.

i would let it idle for 5 mins then go for a 5 minute drive. switch it off, wait a minute, then go for another 5 minute drive. if its still no good you need to start checking for sparks.

 

[nicks90]

all sorted - it was the airflow meter packing in,

garage has no idea why on earth it would die cos the battery flattened - or from putting a charger on it whilst still in the vehicle.........

he reckons its one of them bizaar coincidences. All sorted at least, was a scrapped marea 1.8 in the yard next door, so cost £50 all inc to fix.

 

[Renegade_8]

Modern cars, too many gizmos for their own good! Thanks for letting us know and good garage there checking the sensors before swapping the ECU. It will still need to re-learn but will be driveable while it's doing it.