Technical Strange aircon+ESP problem 1.8

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Technical Strange aircon+ESP problem 1.8

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Mar 25, 2008
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Hi all, I've been having a strange problem with my Punto 1.8 HGT. Now I know this is the Stilo section but there ain't many 1.8 Puntos with climate control and ESP and I've read a few similar problems on here.

Basically whenever i start the car and the aircon compressor fails to engage (below 5c) I get the dreaded ESP/hill holder warning everytime without fail but when starting the engine in the warmer weather (+6c) the aircon engages and I get no warnings at all :confused:

I have swapped the relays around, stress tested the battery and had a full aircon service but to no avail. I'm on the verge of selling the car because of this :yuck:

Previous post : https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/291306-strange-odb-2-esp-problem.html
 
Hi,

Have you tried another stronger battery?

I get ESP and ASR warnings if it's too cold outside as well. althogh for some reason it's fine in extreme cold.

The car acually disables the non essential equipment if the battery is low.
 
Could well be battery causing a problem but the aircon
will not switch on below a certain temperature to protect
the compressor from damage due to the aircon gas turning
to liquid due to cold.

John
 
I wanted to say that as well but I went outside in -22 degrees and turned on the AC. It worked.. so I ended up just putting the battery fault. :)

So battery should be the first to be looked at.
 
Thanks for the replies. Last night I reset the ECU before I went out (-7c) and there was no lights at all, first time ever! This morning (-8c) and still no light. At both times the a/c was off because of the exterior temp

However, later on (0c) the ESP light lit up during driving and the aircon had switched back on?

I'm a bit unsure about spending more money on getting the battery changed as all tests have proved it's ok. I have not had any other battery related issues like the power steering etc
 
Ok I have decided to get a new battery fitted to my Punto 1.8 as I had the old one test again this morning after a 10-15 min drive and it was showing 12.3v and starting capacity of 63%.

The old battery was 18 months old but was only a 36AH with starting capacity of 360 amps which does seem quite small. I'd be interested to see what other 1.8 owners have fitted.

The new battery is the Bosch Silver, has a capacity of 54AH and starting capacity of 530 amps, I'll let you know how I get along
 
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