Technical punto elx speedgear automatic warning light

[kdc19670]

i have a 2001 automatic 1.2 16v elx speedgear and the gearbox warning light has been flashing on the dash.
I took it to a garage and they changed the transmission fluid and filter

Now when i put the car into drive the flashing light still comes on but there is also a clicking noise whenever i press the break and the noise that my car makes when i go into reverse (a sort of warning alarm) is constantly on no matter which gear i am in

My local garage can't find any fault with the car and they have had it for 5 days

Can anyone please give me some advice?

 

[dave]

tell them to clean the plug and conector on rear lights 99.99% of the time it fixes it

 

[kdc19670]

Thanks Dave
I will tell the garage what you said and hopefully it will fix my problem

 

[Ziggy122]

Can Easily do it yourself

2 Nuts and the light cluster comes off
Some Wet and Dry paper and give the Contacts on the light a brush up
Some Spray cleaner and pop it back on

Usually sorts it as dave says

Ziggy

 

[kdc19670]

told the garage what you said and they looked bemused/confused/bamboozled

quote: "why would a faulty/damp connector to the rear lights cause the gearbox warning light to flash and make the computer think that the car was in reverse" unquote

I said that i wasn't a mechanic and was only passing on advise from other people who had similar problems.

He said "you better find yourself a fiat mechanic because I can't fix it love" Then he gave me a bill for £120 for the time they'd spent trying to fix it.

Ziggy - it's not something i can do myself because i am riddled with arthritis. I am also very clumsy and would end up shorting the whole electrical system if i even touched a wire

I will find somebody, somewhere to help me. Failing that, it's been fun on the bus this week

 

[kdc19670]

tell them to clean the plug and conector on rear lights 99.99% of the time it fixes it

Just got my car back after asking a friend of a friend in the trade to clean the plug & connector. He said there was a bad earth connection and did whatever one does to remedy it. Been driving around for about 10 miles and my problem seems to be cured.
Out of interest (because i need things explaining to me) can you tell me why a bad earth would cause the gearbox warning light to flash and the reverse alarm sound to go off and the clicking noise? I'm very curious

By the way, when i stopped my car the lights warning light came on the dash and my back brake light has blown - do you think this is connected to the original problem? Or is it a coincidence? And how the heck do i get to the bulb.?

Sorry to be a pest, but you seem very knowledgeable about my type of car

 

[dave]

it affects it as the reverse gate on the gear changer (the thing you hear click) and reverse light are all the same circuit, so when the earth is bad the gearbox ecu sences a fault and puts warning light up, garages should charge you £120 because they are too thick to look up a fault, its well known and anyone in the trade should know it now. you need to remove rear cluster to get the bulb out, what town are you in?

 

[Ziggy122]

kdc - i understand using your arms may be a problem

but its honestly nice and simple,

or even get a family / friend to do it for you

its really really easy, 2 Bolts to take the light cluster off
Pop the cable off (nice easy Clip)
Clean + Abrade
Refit

10 min job for anybody really

Ziggy

 

[DaveMcT]

It never cease to amaze me how many mechanics don't like working on Fiats, but are quite happy with Frumpy Fords and Absolutely Vauxhauls.

The Punto HGT is a special case (with everything crammed in), but the 1200s are so easy to work on they are throwing away good business.

On cars pretty much everything has wiring only to the fitting. The return wire is the body shell itself - known as the earth. The bolt-down earth connections can sometimes come loose or corrode so give a high resistance. This can cause all sorts of odd effects until its cleaned and refitted.

By the way some of the Ford Focus autos which have a normal type gearbox and clutch operated by automatic servos is actually a Fiat system.

 

[kdc19670]

Dave - I am in Wigan. I pulled in to the place i get my tyres from and asked him to change my brake bulb. The bulb was fine, it was a problem with the contacts. He bent some wire or clip thingy and tested it over and over until it worked.
I'm a bit nervous driving the car now, but i'll get over it in time.
Another light came on last night when i was taking my son to work, but it was only for petrol.

Thanks to everyone on this forum who has helped me sort out my problem, you're all brilliant people who offer good advice. If you were local i'd buy you a pint Cheers

 

[DaveMcT]

Ideally take it to an auto electricians who will know how to clean the contacts. Not that its difficult to do.

 

[dave]

ah wigan long long way from me so i cant look at it

 

[bay1ems]

hi dave
was wondering if you could tell me how to locate the rear bulb as having same problem with reverse beeping thx sam

 

[Emilyhoz86]

Just for info this rear bulb had gone on my speedgear and having been quoted £100s for a gear selector switch which the fault code came up as... My husband changed the brake bulb and hey presto problem fixed!!! Great advice saved me hundreds

 

[MSH1]

i have a 2001 automatic 1.2 16v elx speedgear and the gearbox warning light has been flashing on the dash.
I took it to a garage and they changed the transmission fluid and filter

Now when i put the car into drive the flashing light still comes on but there is also a clicking noise whenever i press the break and the noise that my car makes when i go into reverse (a sort of warning alarm) is constantly on no matter which gear i am in

My local garage can't find any fault with the car and they have had it for 5 days

Can anyone please give me some advice?

Hello everyone!
I am BRAND NEW here and very much a mechanical novice, but I am determined to learn and become self-sufficient in fixing my 20 year old Fiat Punto MK2 SpeedGearA.

Like the person above, I have this same problem, except that I only get the musical tone when I press the brakes.
A little history:
The gearbox warning light and the musical tone would surface from time-to-time and then it would go away for months...
My car hadn't been driven since xmas eve, but we've driven it for the last two days and the following things have happened:

1) On the first day of driving the power steering light (NEVER EVER BEEN ON BEFORE) came on
2) The gremlin gearbox light constantly flashed, musical tone and clicking sound when we pressed the brake.
3) The gremlin light goes away when the car is put into reverse gear and the clicking brake sound goes away when the car is put into reverse gear.

NOTE: THE CAR WAS WORKING FINE PRIOR TO XMAS EVE and during the first drive this week despite the issues mentioned above it was also running fine.

Yesterday we drove the car for the second time this week and the following things happened:

1) The power steering light didn't come back on
2) The gremlin gearbox light kept flashing, the musical tone was intermittent and the clicking still happened everytime we pressed the brake.
3) The gremlin gearbox light goes away when the car is put into reverse gear and the clicking sound goes away when the brake is applied in reverse gear.



Today, I didn't drive the car, but I turned it on just to 'keep all the juices flowing' as they say, and whilst it was idle the gearbox light was still flashing!

Now, I've read the really helpful tips below, especially the one about cleaning the plug and connector.
It seems like a simple fix, but I don't know where to begin, what precautions to take -- basically I don't know how to do what you are suggesting, though I want to know how to do it.

Please can anybody take me through this step by step?

Has anybody else had similar problems?


Thank you!

 

[MSH1]

Updated observations:

1) In addition to the musical tone and clicking noise that comes when I press the brake pedal, the display which shoes the current gear changes from De (because the economy button is switched on (the reason for the "e")) to R and then back to De when I lift of the brake pedal.

2) At the start of my drive despite the clicking sound when pressing the brake, the musical tone wouldn't ALWAYS come on, nor would the gearbox warning light.

3) When I returned home to part, the gearbox warning light was flashing and for the first time the yellow bulb with the letter A inside it had lghten up.

Preliminary conclusion, I really beleive this to be a glitch BUT would really like advice as per my introductory post above.
I thought these further observations would help!
The car runs beautifully otherwise!