FIAT Punto (1994 - 1999) - 1998 - battery boost - help needed

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Mon 17 Dec 2007 20:13
1998 - battery boost - help needed - 4doorsaloon
Hi all, becasue of the cold weather i thought id give the battery of our fiat punto 60 (1998) a bit of a charge up today, as the car lives outside and only does short runs. It has been labouring to start recently and we probably need to invest in a new battery. Anyway i thought a nice task would be to remove it to the kitchen, give the case and terminals a clean up and put it on charge for a couple of hours. On re-installing the battery to the car the engine cranked over nicely but absolutly nothing from the engine-not even a try to fire up. I've got a sinking feeling here that the ECU has lost everything, ive heard of this battery thing that fits into the cig lighter, but thought a 10 year old car would be tolerant of a battery disconection-my 11 year old Hyundai Sonata gave no problems at all when i fitted a new battery last year.

This battery removal and cleanup of the rusty tray etc is a little job ive enjoyed doing for years on different cars.

does anyone have any advice to offer?
Many thanks

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 17/12/2007 at 21:03

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Mon 17 Dec 2007 20:23
battery boost - help needed - Screwloose
Does the "code" lamp [and the engine malfunction light?] stay on after you've turned the key on?

Do you still have the red key?

Edited by Screwloose on 17/12/2007 at 20:25

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Mon 17 Dec 2007 20:37
battery boost - help needed - 4doorsaloon
thanks for the reply- ive just been out and checked the code lamp goes out and only battery and oil light showing ive checked all spade fuses and the battery hasnt been connected round the wrong way or anything like that - i dont have a handbook for the car nor the red key as its been forced entried in the past with a previous owner
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Mon 17 Dec 2007 21:00
battery boost - help needed - Screwloose

The immobilizer seems OK then. Any chance that a wire has been left off the battery? Sometimes they break off as the terminals are moved.

Fiat ECUs are notoriously fragile; I have had cases where they just die during a battery change, but the engine warning light usually stays on in that case. Engine control relays are a common source of trouble too.

Check the inertia switch under the passenger's seat; just in case.
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Mon 17 Dec 2007 21:34
battery boost - help needed - 4doorsaloon
Screwloose - wonderous! I pulled and tugged at the red wires at the positive terminal ( the ones with a black convoluted covering) because I was beginning to think it didn't matter anymore, and one last try and it burst into life! Thank you so much - I think I'll join the leave well alone brigade now! thank you so much!
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