Technical Immobiliser fault

[Lukedenman]

Evening all, some progress today.

I pulled the plugs. Absolutely horrific for a car with full service history. My SIL is clearly being shafted by her garage, however that’s an issue for another day

These to me look like they’ve never been changed and are genuine Fiat items. Cylinders 1 and 2 were at least in 1 piece, despite the biggest gap I’ve ever seen, 3 and 4 had the top part where the HT leads connect completely broken off. Initially I thought I’d done this, but the material is dirty and corroded suggesting this happened ages ago. Needless to say these need replacing, however I’m not convinced dodgy plugs are the root of all my issues. None of the plugs spark for the couple of seconds of cranking I get before the padlock illuminates and it ceases to crank. Battery is still solid at 12.8v.

So, next for me - the firm I bought the Virgin ECU from has very kindly offered to take this back, refund me and tell me if the data from the BCM has been transferred to it. If it has, they’re sure we can rule this out, if not, the issue may lie here in their opinion.

I’ll attempt to look at the ignition switch as mentioned above tomorrow.

Cheers

L

 

[RalphM]

Bloody hell the spark would need a chair to jump that gap,

 

[RalphM]

If you do pull the switch take pics there are 2 discs behind it and they have to
go back not only in the right order but the right place.

 

[Lukedenman]

Bloody hell the spark would need a chair to jump that gap,

Ridiculous isn’t it
I’ve stacks of paperwork with this, the garage invoices for “Perform annual service” and stamps the book. God knows what else they skimp on but it doesn’t fill me with confidence.

 

[Lukedenman]

If you do pull the switch take pics there are 2 discs behind it and they have to
go back not only in the right order but the right place.

Thanks Ralph, I’ll make sure I do.

 

[varesecrazy]

If the garage havent itemised the 'parts used'.. then suspect theyve done nothing

You can get a LOT of screenwash for £60

 

[RalphM]

It will likely look like this, if your lucky you may get the bolts out but I did it still on,
the white bits on the left end are the wiring connectors the black they plug into
is the switch above the spring with the yellow paint you cab see a small oblong
there's one each side you press these in to release the switch bit, if I did it again
as the switch comes out I would try to slide a small screwdriver through the slots
and hold the two discs behind the switch in place then hopefully slide the new switch
in so keeping the discs in place.

This is were mine came from yours is likely to have 7 connectors the seller seem to know
what he's about so worth asking if not sure.

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[Lukedenman]

If the garage havent itemised the 'parts used'.. then suspect theyve done nothing

You can get a LOT of screenwash for £60

It’s bonkers. I don’t know how firms get away with it. Before my old man retired, he ran a couple of garages/MOT centres and I couldn’t fathom him shafting the customer like this. My brother is in the industry too but always favoured being on payroll rather that rowing his own boat. As such, he’s shared some horror stories of quite a big local garage that has mobile mechanics coming back to base at the end of the day with a footwell full of brand new oil filters.

It does somewhat feed the stereotypes

 

[Lukedenman]

It will likely look like this, if your lucky you may get the bolts out but I did it still on,
the white bits on the left end are the wiring connectors the black they plug into
is the switch above the spring with the yellow paint you cab see a small oblong
there's one each side you press these in to release the switch bit, if I did it again
as the switch comes out I would try to slide a small screwdriver through the slots
and hold the two discs behind the switch in place then hopefully slide the new switch
in so keeping the discs in place.

View attachment 405458

Ahh awesome, thanks! I’ll keep this to hand when I start yanking it apart tomorrow. This looks the sort of fiddly job that goes hand in hand with copious amounts of swearing and scuffed knuckles.

 

[RalphM]

Yep when I did it the language would have made any female within 50 ft pregnant.
ended up sticking the discs back in with some electrical grease.

 

[Lukedenman]

Yep when I did it the language would have made any female within 50 ft pregnant.
ended up sticking the discs back in with some electrical grease.

Excellent, something for me to look forward to tomorrow

 

[RalphM]

Just remembered the switch can be turned all the way round so make sure
you set it the same as the one that comes out or the drive slots wont line up
with the key bit.

 

[Andy Monty]

Check continuity of the little earth tag on the ECU loom at the ECU plug and the ring crimp

 

[eeeno]

I believe most issues with Fiats are due to poor maintenance. The car'd just work fine for ten years, so why bother changing the plugs anyway because the computer doesn't say anything. The ECU can keep compensating for a very long time and there'd be only minor running issues. False economy!

Then suddenly ECU dies. Fiats have low quality electronics. Or.. do they? Well, it'd work just perfectly for the lifetime of the car if the spark plugs were changed on schedule.

 

[nikiitaxians]

Hi, can I just ask if you got this sorted?

I’m having the same issue at the moment with my 2009 Fiat 500 1.2 (68k miles), I ironically drove my boyfriend to the mechanic, stopped at the shop on the way to work, came out and tried to start it, it started to turn over for about half a second and then just stopped. Tried again and saw the padlock light and it wouldn’t turn over.

I’ve tried the spare key and I’ve replaced the car battery with a brand new one and still nothing. Along with the light, it’s showing that fuel has been cut off and airbags disabled. I know the key must be fine as it’s opening/ locking the car and everything’s working fine but I’ve had the car 7 years and never replaced the battery either in the car or key. I never do a lot of miles, in fact 3.8k in the last year and just had it MOTd last week (fail but for other issues).

Will need to get it towed on Monday but not sure if it’s an electrical issue or a mechanic job so any help would be amazing. It’s booked in with the mechanic for Tuesday anyway so if it is a mechanic job then it’d be handy.

 

[varesecrazy]

What is the MOT problem..??

The 500 can throw the fuel cutoff errors for a couple of reasons.. have a SEARCH of the forum
Some similar posts might appear below this thread )

 

[RalphM]

Could some plonker have bumped your car wile in the shop?
have a look under the passenger seat you may find a little box with
a black or red button on top, this is the fuel cut off switch, have a
look in your owners manual it will tell you how to reset it though
you usually just push it, if you have a techy coming you don't have
a lot to loose by giving it a push.

 

[nikiitaxians]

The MOT issue was suspension and brakes so nothing to do with this.

Not sure if the car could have been bumped, was only in the shop for 5 mins max.

Forgot to say the anti theft light is on, just a solid light, no blinking or anything. Not too sure if there is a box ubderneath the passenger seat as the cars still sitting outside the shop. Will hopefully get to speak to a mechanic this morning and get it towed in. Didn’t even get an owners manual with the car all those years ago

 

[nikiitaxians]

Just an update, got some diagnostics done and the only code it’s bringing up is U170187 which the guy said is an issue with the crank shaft sensor so keys are all fine and he said all the other tests came back absolutely fine so kind of a good thing but needa get it to an auto spark to fix and get me sorted

 

[RalphM]

If it is the crank sensor any mechanic should be able to replace it,
they are not meg expensive and all they often need is the tip wiping.