Technical Warning light

[Dave-G]

Hi all.
My son has bought a stilo (1.6 dynamic) from an auction & it appears ok apart from a coupe of things.
The engine warning light is on as well as the spanner to indicate overdue service. Is there any way of turning off these lights without taking it to a dealer? The car runs great, but is there a way of finding out why the engine light came on in the first place. If I need a code reader to find out what caused the light to come on, what type of reader would I need for this car?
Thanks for any help

 

[dan-the-man]

This will read fault codes

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UNIVERSAL-CAR-DIAGNOSTIC-SCANNER-CODE-READER-OBD2-CAN_W0QQitemZ150300364653QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150300364653&_trkparms=72%3A1301|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1308&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

With regards to the service light, yes it can be done without going to a dealer BUT not many machines can do this and some have knackered the instrument cluster up when trying to reset it.

Mine got reset by a "friend" who used a snap-on machine.

Dealer can reset but you have to provide proof of service & they charge anything upto £60.

 

[Dave-G]

Thanks for that Dan.
I didn't realise that a code reader could reset the light as well as tell you the fault.
Are the codes standard for all cars or do different manufacturers have their own codes for a particular car? Is there a list somewhere for Fiat Stilo's?

 

[Davren]

The basic (cheap) OBD scanners will turn off the engine management (MIL) light and read fault codes, but will not reset the service light. For that you would need a professional garage type scanner.

There is a set of standard codes used by all car manufacturers that can be read by the basic scanners. There are also special manufacturer codes that can be different for each manufacturer that are not read by the basic scanners.

The standard codes relate to emissions faults whereas manufacturer codes can relate to anything the manufacturer chooses, e.g. ABS, heating and ventilation, security, audio equpment.

There are 2 types of basic scanner, one will show the fault code (if any) and come with a book that you look up the related fault in. The other type prints out the fault on its' screen so you don't need the book. They're both advertised on eBay, the former for about £20, the latter for about £40.

Dave.

 

[Dave-G]

When I said I didn't realise it turned off the warning light, I meant the engine light, not the spanner. I didn't word it very well.
I've bought the one Dan linked to (U480) but got it from a none ebay retailer for £22 delivered. Ebay isn't always the bargain place it is reputed to be.
When it arrives I'll try it out & let yous know how it does, or doesn't.
Thanks for your input Dave.

 

[dan-the-man]

I've got the same one (U480) and i've got rid of a few warning lights on the Stilo and on a Mondeo and a few corsa's

 

[Dave-G]

I've got the same one (U480) and i've got rid of a few warning lights on the Stilo and on a Mondeo and a few corsa's

We have three cars in the family so the 22 quid investment is nothing really.
My Hyundai accent used to have the light come on at regular intervals but not for a while now. I don't know how long a car keeps the code stored, but I'll try it on the accent as well as the stilo.
Just a thought but would disconnecting the cars battery, say, overnight not clear the fault code from the cars ecu?

 

[dan-the-man]

They should still be stored after disconnecting the battery I would have thought :chin: anyone know for sure?

I'm not sure or if they erase themselves after a period of time as well because I had a coupe of warning lights pop up and didn't connect the code reader for about 6 months after they came up and they wern't there.

 

[Dave-G]

Do you know why the light on my hyundai went off after a short time, but the stilo's light stays on?

 

[jmac]

When I said I didn't realise it turned off the warning light, I meant the engine light, not the spanner. I didn't word it very well.
I've bought the one Dan linked to (U480) but got it from a none ebay retailer for £22 delivered. Ebay isn't always the bargain place it is reputed to be.
When it arrives I'll try it out & let yous know how it does, or doesn't.
Thanks for your input Dave.

Dave -G, can you tell me where you purchased your U480 from as I want to purchase one, preferably non e-bay

 

[Dave-G]

Dave -G, can you tell me where you purchased your U480 from as I want to purchase one, preferably non e-bay

I got mine from autotec direct & it cost £22 delivered. I've just had another look to check the link & they have in less than a week put the price up to £27.99. Gits.

http://www.autotec-direct.com/u480-eobd-can-bus-protocol-fault-code-scanner-reader-238-p.asp

When I looked earlier this week the second best price was £25 delivered, from vehiclescan.co.uk.

http://vehiclescan.co.uk/vs480.aspx

 

[jmac]

Dave G, thanks for that, had already found autotec and ordered one at £27.99!!!, but good value as it is cheaper than going to Fiat and being charged £40 to carry out the same check that the U480 does.

 

[Dave-G]

I've tried the u480 scanner & it gave me two codes.
The codes were.....
"P0105"..... (which in the u480 book is)..... "MAP/BARO Circuit Malfunction."

"P0460"..... "Fuel Level Sensor A Circuit Malfunction."

Does anybody have any idea what these refer to?