About Paul Expertise Almost anything about most European cars BMW, Mercedes ,Audi ,VW and general auto-ectrical questions
Experience I have been a mechanic in the U.K for 15 years on European cars I am ATA qualified (U.K equivalent of ASE). Also home and diy mechanic for family and friends now re-located to the U.S
Expert: Paul Date: 7/2/2008 Subject: Fiat stalling
Question QUESTION: hi there i hope you can shed some light on this problem, i have a 1.2 fiat
punto 16V its only an 02 plate but lately it has been stalling as i am driving
sometimes with the clutch down which makes me think its quite a big
problem, i have had a few electrical glitches and sometimes warning lights
come on when there is no problem. I just really want some advise so i know
what to expect if i need to go to the garage as have a tendency to end up
paying too much (or getting things done that dont need to be. please help i
would really appreciate it. thanks for our time Donna.
ANSWER: Hi Donna, My suspicion falls with the coil pack (around £70 +labour)as these are notorious for becoming faulty, and can cause engine lights to come on (due to a misfire). Have you had a scan tool plugged into the diagnostic plug (OBDII) as this will give you a clearer indication. Does the stall happen slowly with a slow power loss until a gradual stall or is it more of a sudden thing? let me know and we can go from there - Paul
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi paul, well it usually stalls when i am slowing down especially when
changing down into 2nd gear. I had my car serviced recently and mentioned
the warning lights to the guy (but at the time the car had not stalled and the
warning lights had only come on about twice) he said they plugged it into
diagnostic machine and it didnt show anything. The service was about 2
months ago. /thanks for getting back to me so quickly, very much
appreciated
Answer Hiya Donna, Will the car idle on it's own?, does it only stall when hot/cold or is it not related to the temperature? and lastly does the car feel underpowered? if it will not idle on it's own then the chances are it could be the idle speed control valve, if it does idle on it's own then it could be a open circuit in the breathers causing it to over breathe. let me know, thanks- Paul
