Technical Punto Juddering / Loss of power

[fubuk88]

ahh thats not too bad then...should be fine time wise.

mines been doing it for a while now (end of Jan...YIKES!)...i just haven't had the time to book it in, so now i'm starting to crap myself! lol

and i been doing 80 mile round trips 4 days a week!

thats the problem with fiats...always more expense on the way! lol

**EDIT - just realised how bad that sounds, regarding me having not done anything about my car since january!...the light has only started coming on the last week/week and a half. And before it only used to happen once a week, and now its doing it most cold mornings. Hence me doing something about it now! **

 

[1383matt]

i too have all these problems im going to clean my throttle body, ive changed plugs and leads-no effect. im sure the injectors are fine. so ill clean throttle body and see how i get on, then ill move on to the rest of the ignition system!

 

[Car nut]

Just spoke to my mechanic on this on going saga :bang:

He said it didnt sound like a throttle body problem.

But more of an exhaust problem but obviously he needs to see\drive the car to analyse the problem.

His conclusion over the phone was

"The catalystic converter had fallen apart as they do apparently, and the parts block the exhaust then when I turn off and restart the car its ok because the bits in the exhaust move. Hope to get it to him tomorrow CoP so he can try it first thing Sat....

As usual will keep you posted

 

[Car nut]

just checked another power loss thread it seems that person was sorted with a Lambda sensor

Just to throw something else in the pot

 

[1383matt]

t as they do apparently, and the parts block the exhaust then when I turn off and restart the car its ok because the bits in the exhaust move.

no, it would be rattling. could be to do with lambda. with mine it rough idols too especially when i turn on electricals so alternator?

 

[aaron_uk]

haven't been on here for a while, but everytime i have a problem it seems that someone else has exactly the same thing happening

I have a 99 Mk1, I have had a hole in the exhaust for the last couple of weeks and being a "poor" student who uses the car only on rare occasions i have so far neglected to do anything about.

on brief journeys the car is fine, but once warm it starts to play up.
Very hit and miss, It sounds like a Lawnmower, strong petrol smell, shakes violently and has a real loss of power!! The Injector warning light comes on and when the cylinder kicks in theres a boost of power and the light goes off.

By the symptoms I can gaurantee a cylinder is failing but i can't work out why. I was tempted to change the plugs and leads but as many are saying that doesn't work is there any other advice? Could it be the hole in the exhaust? ( I believe the hole is just behind the cat)
If so.... any ideas on the cost of a new section?

 

[fubuk88]

cool stuff guys...the car is booked in tomorrow so i will let you know what is said when i get it back. I will hopefully get some light shed on the Coil Pack situation.

its typical though, the car was fine this morning, drove like a dream with no juddering or power loss!

@ Car nut : If its the lambda sensor i don't know whether i will be pleased or annoyed...pleased that its nothing major, but annoyed as i only had a new one fitted last Jan!! lol

ahh well

 

[Car nut]

Fubuk,

How did you get on?


Just been to the garage to get my poorly Punto :yuck: back.

Speaking my man he said he did what it i said it did, that was good for a start nothing worse than saying oh yeah happens every morning, then leave it and F*** all happens :bang: Think we've all been there

Anyway on discussing he said it was like a fuel problem, after i mentioned a bit later that Ive been topping the coolant up quite frequently every couple of weeks, he said it could be the Head gasket

As overnight a bit of water runs into the engine and the car stuters in the morning while the car is trying to run\burn off water :doh:

I had this done on the E30 nearly £900 :shakehead:

Luckily he said this is quite a cheap job on the Punto, gaskets are cheap, head skim about £35 then I think he said new bolts not to sure as no mechanic (If only I was a Mechanic the money I spend on cars) then a couple of hours labour so I think he said £200ish plus vat :shakehead:

Anyway b4 its done an auto electrician is going to run some tests on it early in the morning when the car is cold

Anyway its all booked in to be done + service, cambelt and tensioner, bleeding of the breaks, and rad. Another large bill...

Paintwork next week that the week after dont tell the wife

This is no cheap car to run re repairs my M5 in 2.5 years cost me 1 Insp 2 service £450 + vat + new battery £100 + vat.

I just hope in a fortnights time this is car is perfect but the interior

 

[fubuk88]

Car nut

I got on very well, touch wood!
All in all, the coil pack, spark plugs and diagnosis check with labour cost £151.

I was out last night, but driving...and it was very cold when i came to drive home (my car was frozen up!) so perfect conditions to check if the car was going to judder.

AND IT DIDN'T! so i'm hoping *touch wood* that its now fixed

hope your car isn't as bad as it sounds! good luck! lol

 

[Car nut]

I know its an old thread........

fubuk88, is your car sorted after the repairs?

 

[cronin]

my 2001 1.2 16v sporting has just done this, this time total loss of power, had to call AA out, theyve said its either coil pack, spark plugs or leads, and ive just had leads and plugs done couple months back, engine light on too, my mechanic is fitting coilpack tomorrow wil keep you guys posted, serves us right for buying fiats ive had nothing but trouble!!

found out on old coil pack last person who had it (idiot) superglued a broken socket back into coilpack, so need new wiring now, thank god for salvage yards and punto's being common, i cut the wires from a similar punto to mine, set me back £2, fiat dealer wanted £230 + Vat + Labour for whole engine wiring

 

[Car nut]

fiat dealer wanted £230 + Vat + Labour for whole engine wiring

How F***** much

Was that for the work or his summer holiday

 

[cronin]

i know, i just kept calm and said "well thanks alot for your help" , it made the £2 leads from the salvage taste that much sweeter

 

[xxo0 pk o0xx]

hi, have noiced this problem recently, when accelerating the car seems to be really jumpy some times, sort of as if it was bad clutch control, only that im not on the clutch.

is there a guide anywhere on cleaning the throttle body???

my car does that and cuts out but its louder and not as powerful apprently something wronf with the airbox? any ideas ppl? changed plugs and oil filter no gd :S :bang: cheers

o and i have no lights either

 

[fosco]

Had an issue with my car similar to these on Monday, driving up the M40 and heading up the hill from High Wycombe the car started juddering, loss of power and a flashing EML. Took it easy back to Gatwick and it held up but wasnt perfect. The only upside of the power loss was it was snowing so it was of benefit! Anyway, took it to Fiat who put the reader on and bought up an error of Injection failure on one cylinder...the guys will be working on it tomorrow so will report back with their findings and see how it goes!

 

[fosco]

The Fiat dealer gave the car back after changing one coil and the HT leads, the car drove back fine, the next day a similar problem occurred! No warning lights but the car just wouldn't go up hills without misfiring and struggling. Put another coil on the one they didn't replace and the car runs fine again! Still not entirely convinced the troubles are over though!

 

[corky]

i can bet you its either the following in order what id do first cheapest first

- Lambda sensor
- Ignition coils

my car did the same and i knew were to look but i ended up changing both for that piece of mine and no more EML or JUDDERING!!!

 

[fosco]

You know I had a feeling it might be the Lambda thats causing the issues, of course the codes only tell you the end result of the fault, not the reason why specifically. I will be getting onto the garage and see what they have to say about it!

 

[oseibonsu]

I have had a similar problem on my Punto 55S. However, it has gotten worse, and now the starter motor works, but the engine won't start.
If I change or clean the spark plugs will that fix the problem?

 

[DaveMcT]

If it is the Lambda, the engine will be ok(ish) until its warmed up then it will run rough. The Lambda signal is ignored while engine is cold.