Start and go then stop and repeart

[Kila28]

Hello, I recently brought a 2014 fiat 500 pop. It does not have a start and stop switch as I checked to make sure that was not the issue. My check engine light is on but the dealer said that it was just a sensor. I went to the gas station and filled my car up then the next thing that started to happen is that I drove away then it stopped on me. It started back up and as I drove, it stopped on me again. This is the first of this happening and I am not sure what it could possibly be. Has anyone experienced this issue or have an idea of what might be going on. I also did not use lower-grade gas. Any suggestions and input would help. Thank you in advance.

 

[lunchbeers]

Did the engine actually stop, as you'd expect with stop-start? Is it a manual transmission, if so it should have restarted when you let off the clutch? Or brake if an auto transmission.

I'd expect a car of that age to have a stop-start system, whether it can be permanently switched off is another question, my 2013 Panda allows it to be switched off all the time but later cars turn them back on when the car is restarted.

If the car is new to you then it may just have started working again, sometimes if the battery charge is low it doesn't work, there's numerous criteria which determines the stop-start system work or not.

Do you have this switch pack between your heater controls? Bottom-left one is a stop-start on/off switch.

 

[portland_bill]

You say 'recently bought', and 'dealer says it is just a sensor'.
How recently, days, weeks, months, years?
Is this the selling dealer? Is it under any warranty, or was it bought as a trade sale?
The dealer may have some responsibility to fix this.

The check engine light could be for a variety of reasons, but a common one is the oxygen sensor in the exhaust, that monitors the exhaust from the engine, and the computer uses this to adjust the fuelling. They do fail, and if they give the wrong reading, the computer will set fuelling to a standard setting. This should be temporary, as, if not fixed, can lead to damage to the catalytinc converter, which is expensive.

Alternatively, this could be an engine temperature sensor. If it is reporting wrongly, again the fuelling will be wrong. Possibly, it is reporting a hot engine when cold, so fuelling is reduced, leading to stalling. Or reporting a cold engine when warm, leading to overfuelling, which can also lead to stalling, and again, damage to the catalytic converter.

The dealer seems to know what the fault is, why is he not fixing it?

Your warning lights are colour-coded, like traffic lights.
Green is information, such as lights on, indicators, etc.
Yellow is a warning, danger, something that needs to be fixed soon, very soon. Such as oxygen or temp sensors, or a lamp failure.
Red, is probably too late. It is for serious issues, most of which require you to stop, before the light comes on. Such as loss of oil pressure, or battery not being charged.
There's one blue one, for headlamp high beam. If you see other blue lights, you're in trouble.

 

[Ralf S.]

As above really.. if it's a just recent purchase, the dealer ought to investigate.

If the engine cuts out whenever you reach engine idle speed, then *only* starts when you turn the ignition key rather than when you put it in "D" or depress the clutch, then that's a fault.

It could be a dirty throttle sensor, or a host of other fairly minor (*once you know what it is*) things... but as Bill says, if the engine fault light is on, and the engine cuts out, then they're very likely connected.

The selling dealer (if they sold you the car with that fault) ought to be able to plug the car's ECU into a diagnosis machine which will tell them what issue is causing the engine fault light. If it's "a sensor".. they need to change the sensor, clear the code and then you should be sorted.

If the error comes back, then the sensor wasn't the only problem.
If the sensor doesn't fix the problem, then the problem wasn't the sensor.. though you still need to replace the sensor to get rid of the engine fault light, since any faulty sensor will cause running issues.


Ralf S.

 

[Baglady1990]

Dealer says what “oh it’s just a sensor “ I’d be telling them to fix it! Imagine letting your customer drive away with the check engine light on!!
Find another dealer! Or garage!