Technical My Fiat won't start

[awkward]

Hello! I'm a long time reader, but that fact that my little red Fiat won't start made me sign up and ask for help. My 2008 Grande Punto has a 1.3 diesel engine.

About 1-2 months ago I got the error telling me to check the glow plugs. I ignored that problem, thinking I'll take my car to a service until the fall/winter. Then after 1 month, my engine started behaving like this (check the video. I know it looks a bit brutal, but if I do it slower, it won't crank at all), but after trying 4-5-7 times, it would start.

[ame="https://youtu.be/k4H_bAktkQI"]youtu.be/k4H_bAktkQI[/ame] .


Being the smart guy, I ordered 4 new plugs and replaced them, thinking that's the problem. All good, got them, replaced them, but the engine did that thing again where it doesn't crank, but tried it again 2-3 times, and then it started and worked ok, but after running it for a few minutes, I turned it off and it didn't start since.

Now although I have a new battery (bought in December) my first idea was to charge it. I have a pretty small charger, but after charging the battery over night (I hope it charged, I don't trust the charger that much), I couldn't start it again. I read the forum and looked for the fuse F35 and relay T18. It doesn't have any fuse on the 35 position, and the T18 relay looks ok, the connectors don't look burnt, but I don't know how else I could check.

So please, do you have any idea about what I could do? Because right now I'm stuck and the only option seems to pay for an expensive tow truck and take it to a service. Thank you a lot!

 

[everson38]

Hello! I'm a long time reader, but that fact that my little red Fiat won't start made me sign up and ask for help. My 2008 Grande Punto has a 1.3 diesel engine.

About 1-2 months ago I got the error telling me to check the spark plugs. I ignored that problem, thinking I'll take my car to a service until the fall/winter. Then after 1 month, my engine started behaving like this (check the video. I know it looks a bit brutal, but if I do it slower, it won't crank at all), but after trying 4-5-7 times, it would start.

youtu.be/k4H_bAktkQI .


Being the smart guy, I ordered 4 new plugs and replaced them, thinking that's the problem. All good, got them, replaced them, but the engine did that thing again where it doesn't crank, but tried it again 2-3 times, and then it started and worked ok, but after running it for a few minutes, I turned it off and it didn't start since.

Now although I have a new battery (bought in December) my first idea was to charge it. I have a pretty small charger, but after charging the battery over night (I hope it charged, I don't trust the charger that much), I couldn't start it again. I read the forum and looked for the fuse F35 and relay T18. It doesn't have any fuse on the 35 position, and the T18 relay looks ok, the connectors don't look burnt, but I don't know how else I could check.

So please, do you have any idea about what I could do? Because right now I'm stuck and the only option seems to pay for an expensive tow truck and take it to a service. Thank you a lot!

So to be clear you have changed the spark plugs + battery. Have you done basic checks. Check that the battery is good. Alternator is charging?

 

[awkward]

Yes, I changed the glow plugs and the engine worked ok after that. I'm not sure about the battery yet, I brought it inside to charge it some more, because the battery charger is pretty slow. The voltage on the battery is 12.5 while not connected. I plan to try to jump start it tomorrow if that doesn't work. I don't know about the alternator, because I can't start the engine...

The thing that makes me think it might be some other problem is that it usually starts after cranking it 4-6 times. That happened for 4 days.


Thank you very much!

 

[Pickwick]

Have you checked the main earth cable - the black one from the battery negative to the chassis to the gearbox - and its the earthing points for corrosion?

There are some pictures of the cable and the earth points in this thread:

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-guides/169204-grande-punto-engine-bay-earthing-points.html

The cable is known to corrode internally beneath the insulating cover so it may look ok but could still be making a poor connection. The connection can improve and degrade through small disturbances / vibrations resulting in random starting problems.

One way to test the cable is to bypass it with a pair of jump leads - one from the battery negative to the engine block and another from the engine block to the chassis - then try starting the car. If it starts ok with the extra leads in place you've got a problem with the earth cable. This test is described in this thread:

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/318839-electrical-gremlin-thread.html

 

[awkward]

I read about that, but I wasn't sure that could fit my problem. Today it's raining, so tomorrow I'll go with the fully charged battery and try that too. Thank you!

 

[Bernievarian]

The video doesn't help much...

- Is your dash really looking like a Christmas tree or is it a video artifact?
- "it finally starts after 4-5 tries" : does it crank and doesn't fire or NO crank at all?
- how is (was) the car maintained (serviced) in general?
- besides the glow plugs, have you got other warning messages or MIL flashing?
- do you hear the primary pump (from under the back seat)?
- could you MES it?

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)

 

[awkward]

Hello! That's only on video, luckily. If I move the key slowly and let it do its job, it will do that thing from the 2nd time I tried it on video, where it doesn't crank at all. It usually cranks for 1-2 seconds, then stops while making a kinda of white noise.

The car is from 2009, I bought it 2.5 years ago. After the warranty period, some mechanic from the lady's workplace took care of the car exclusively. Before buying it I went to the Fiat dealership for a complete check and they didn't find any error.


That was the first error message I got beside some light bulbs I changed before. I can't identify the sound from the primary pump, but I'll listen/look for it more carefully.


I have no idea what MES is... but I plan to buy an OB2 cable to try find out more about the problem.


Thank you a lot for the answer!

 

[varesecrazy]

MultiECUScan

Diagnostic software

 

[Bernievarian]

MultiECUScan

Diagnostic software

that can read Fiat'specific bus and codes, read sensors, activate devices etc. Buy it from the official seller, with the requested adapter (Yellow #3 )and you won't get stuck with connection problems as you might be with cheaper chinese clones...

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)