Technical NON sparking Uno

[rlkee888]

Hi Unofisti.

please help me. i have a 1991 uno 1400 pacer sx, while driving 120km/h it cut out & died. everything on the car is standard, so far i've replaced HT cables; plugs; cap; rotor; igntion switch; ht coil, ripped out the immobilizer, checked all earth points, motor swings but no spark even from the ht coil, tested flywheel sensor, OK!; could it be the Digiplex 2 ECU packed up? is there a way to test if its the cause?. Spoke to Fiat here in Capetown South Africa, they have no idea (nevermind their stock status & price). I asked the salesman if he sells matches so that i could burn the car. i hate the fact my BMW is now more reliable than my uno when i've looked after my uno more than the bmw, 10 000km & the oil is still gold.

Help PLEASE!

Robin.

 

[Uno driver]

First check the HV coil.

 

[thepottleflump]

Have you checked both crank and fly wheel sensor. I had one go on a UT and it checked out ok resistance wise but didn't work.

 

[rlkee888]

Thanks for replying guys.

first its a brand new ht coil i bought and with the pacer sx there is only one sensor on the flywheel 'cause its a digiplex2 its integrated in one sensor.
Anything else?
thanks for the great help!

 

[Chas Uno]

Have you checked the distributor cap and also the lead to it from the coil? Have you checked to see if you're getting voltage at the coil? If there isn't any then you won't get a spark.

Also check the cambelt, because if that snaps then you might get the same symptoms. On the 1.4 engine that isn't good news at it will probably wreck some valves in the process...

 

[rlkee888]

Thanks again for the reply.

Brand new rotor; distributor cap; ht cables; ht coil; ignition switch have all been replaced new. I have today taken out the tdc sensor in the bell housing there is continuity but auto elecs say that if it gets hot it might not work, well everything has been standing for 4 weeks, thats as cold as it will

Is there a way to test the ECU on a Digiplex2? what does the TDC sensor contact with? teeth on the flywheel? could they also wear down on the flywheel? can i short the tdc for a spark?

Thanks again guys:worship:

 

[rlkee888]

OK Guys this is what happened.

There is a reason why a ground cable goes in the ecu and the unit is made of plastic on the outside, so what i did was while the ignition was on i started testing every cable that goes in the ecu one by one. i even put the test light on the aluminum part of the ecu and there was a light?. the only reason i could think of was there is positive coming in and its not grounding, so i took a jumper lead and connect it directly on neg- and on the body of the ecu. the car started once and ran perfectly.

Thanks for all the good advise, i guess it was luck i figured it out. Anyway does anybody know what the price of a new Digiplex2 ECU go for? I phoned Fiat here in Cape Town, their reply is I can forget about buying it here because they are not willing to carry or order any parts for an Uno!!! very bad service!!!

Let me know.

Thanks

 

[rlkee888]

Hi Everyone,

I know this is quite an old post and still get asked now and again on how I got this sorted, sadly my response is to get rid of the car ASAP. I did the whole carb conversion to the car and it performed like an 1100 and guzzled more fuel than my Alfa GT 1750. I really miss the car and still love Italian cars but with the crap service from Stealerships in South Africa I will never buy an Italian car again. I drive a Nissan Navara D40, its big and light on diesel but will never give that satisfying drive an Italian car ever did for me.

Best Regards and love your car while you still can.

 

[a73uk]

What kind of carb conversion did you do? If the carb isnt suitable then its bound to drive worse!

The problem, especially in places like Africa, is that they have a rough life & good mechanics are seemingly thin on the ground. Add high part prices & poor dealerships into the equation & it really can spoil the reputation of the car..

Theres many 1000`s of Uno`s around the world, many of them, especially in Europe, have done 2-300,000km`s with the original running gear, they really arent a bad car at all, if anything they are more reliable that their replacements & are much simpler to work on. In fact, in the last 20-odd years I`ve had Uno`s, they`ve been more reliable & much cheaper to run than all of my other cars, including BMWs, Nissans, Hondas, Toyotas, Volvos etc, & if anything has gone wrong, they`ve still always got me home (apart from a gearbox failure that was my fault for ignoring an oil leak)..

Its unfortunate that Japanese manufacturers have such a strangle hold on the market in ZA, maybe someone should open a decent Fiat dealership, or at least parts shop there..

 

[lancepbul]

hie all I agree with alll of you, well i live in zimbabwe and I have owned a total of fifteen unos and currently I have a uno turbo mk1 an X 1/9 1500 and a uno fire these cars are so reliable and strong but the dealership for parts and service is a huge setback, I drove to south africa looking for spares and the fiat dealership service was terrible