Technical No longer starting after chafed coil pack cable

[Stratfordben]

Hi all,

My partner has a 2008 1.4 petrol Bravo and recently there was a problem with one of the coil pack connectors. In changing it, the mechanic found that the cable that goes back to the ECU had been chafed causing the wire to be exposed - after replacing the coil pack the car no longer starts.

It cranks but doesn't fire. It's as if its not injecting fuel. The mechanic has changed the crankshaft sensor as well as the coil pack and has checked the fuel cut off switch and has also checked the fuses and relays. He's convinced it's the ECU. Fault codes have been scanned and there aren't any at all.

Is there anything more we can check? Someone has mentioned to check the fuel pump, where would I begin? I have a diesel Land Rover so working on petrol cars is new to me but I'm not shy to a spanner!

Thanks!
Ben

 

[portland_bill]

There's a lot said here, and a lot that's missing.

A problem with a coil pack connector, resulting in replacement of the coil pack. Not the connector?
A wire was chafed. But was this actually a problem? If exposed, but not touching anything, might not be relevant, although should be covered and protected.

Let's go back to the start.
Finding the coil connection issue was the result of a chance find when checking the oil? Or the result of some diagnosis of a problem, like not starting perhaps? Opening the bonnet and seeing an obvious issue, might not be relevant to the problem. The chafed wire and connection issue might have been working happily.
You say it no longer starts, after the coil pack replacement, suggesting it was starting before, so why was it being looked at? It is unusual for connectors to become damaged unless touched. The manufacturer installs it, in the right place, and it sits, doing its job, for ever. Unless we drop a large spanner onto it, or pour oil or water over it due to carelessness, etc. Why was the wire chafed? It has been designed to sit without contact with other components, so what has happened to displace it? Previous 'maintenance' may have disturbed its natural position. Was the wire chafed, or actually melted?

The rest of your sad tale suggests the mechanic is now scanning around frantically pointing at other stuff, hoping for a similar 'jump out at you' fault to appear.

Next action must be to connect to Fiat specific diagnostic equipment. Basic universal code readers might display a fault code, but may not give enough detail to diagnose issues properly. There are several options for this, a Fiat dealer is one, but comes at a cost, several suppliers have Fiat modules in their diagnostics, and there is the wonderful MultiECUscan (MES). This software installs on a PC and with a set of cables connects to the car with most of the functionality of dealer software. Search for MultiECUscan or MES on here for more detail.

Tell us a lot more about the issue so that the forum can narrow the search area, rather than widening it like your mechanic seems to be doing.