Fiat Adventure Sport : Strange Ignition style

[HemantR]

Hi All,

Last month I got my new FIAT Adventure Sport from Pune.
One question always is in my mind about my car is When I turn my car key ON alng with battery and oil indicator one more indicator also glows according to dealer it's a MPFI indicator and unless that indicator goes-off you should not give a crank/start your engine. But it takes around 4-5 seconds to turn that so called MPFI indicator OFF. In case , if in first try, engine does not get started then i have to completely turn off the keys and again have to follow above same procedure. From standstill in parking it's not a problem , but if in traffic if car stop by mistake then I have to completely turn off the engine and then again start it, which takes total around min 7-8 seconds. And on indian roads stopping for 8 seconds in traffice means you are about to get bursty sounds from back

I don't understand for what it is provided, is it standard for MPFI engine or is it a saftey feature or else ? Is is provided for all MPFI cars in india. ?

If someone from you could enlighten me on this, it would be great.

thanks and enjoy
hemant

[RX135]

Ditto for Petra. But I am not sure what it is for.

[camry93]

Originally Posted by RX135

Ditto for Petra. But I am not sure what it is for.

I remember the dealer having told me this, but I don't seem to be following it at all. I always crank up before the light goes away.

Note to myself: Check the manual ASAP.

[greatDrive]

I usually follow this rule If I am starting petra for the first time in the morning. I dont follow this If I am in heavy traffic, I am not sure If I am adoing the correct thing.

[Revvhead]

Dot have the manual, but AFAIK, it shoud go away after you start. If it does not go off abt 15 secs afetr you start, then stop the car
]What that light indicates while starting that its doing an engine cheak & ecu cheak,
If it goes off all well. If it stays on, somethings wrong. If it comes while driving something is really wrong!!!

And one more funny thing- I thappened to me twice in my matiz, it didnt goi out. so i stopped,switched off complletely and restarted- like re-booting the ecu cpu, it started and went away. Computers!!

[ritik123]

Hemant,

That light stays on while the fuel pump fills the injectors with petrol. If u listen carefully u will notice a sound from the engine (the pumping of petrol) while the light is on.

In Earlier Maruti cars one had to do what u described but now in the newer models its no longer necessary.

In first starts you might experience a problem if u try starting with the light still on as the injectors wud be dry...however in traffic one need not wait for the light to stop glowing.

[ritik123]

The light also comes on if there is any engine trouble. If the light stays on...visit the dealer !!

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Revvhead

Dot have the manual, but AFAIK, it shoud go away after you start. If it does not go off abt 15 secs afetr you start, then stop the car

That is normally true with other lights on console, but not for this. The engine is supposed to be cranked only *after* the light is gone. It prepares the engine for cranking. I am not sure which way.

[ritik123]

Originally Posted by RX135

That is normally true with other lights on console, but not for this. The engine is supposed to be cranked only *after* the light is gone. It prepares the engine for cranking. I am not sure which way.

not correct RX ...the light never goes out till u crank the motor (in new maruti's). Just FYI.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by ritik123

not correct RX ...the light never goes out till u crank the motor (in new maruti's). Just FYI.

Oh ok. I did not know that. In Petra, the light goes off in around 4-5 seconds, and you are supposed to start the engine only after that. The other lights (oil etc) go out after cranking the engine.

[HemantR]

Originally Posted by ritik123

Hemant,
That light stays on while the fuel pump fills the injectors with petrol. If u listen carefully u will notice a sound from the engine (the pumping of petrol) while the light is on.

Yaaaaaa, I have noticed that sound but was unaware of this fact. thanks for that info.
But one more query is in my mind, (i may be completely wrong on mechanical aspect but still asking...... ) Just wondering that, if that Light turns ON if engine has some minor/major problem, it means ECU is quite smart to check engine functionality then why we should not expect that ECU to check for engine dryness by checking it's level or something related to that as that indicator shows pumping of petrol everytime we turn on the the keys even engine is not dry, might be wasting FUEL in that case. ?

[HemantR]

Originally Posted by RX135

Oh ok. I did not know that. In Petra, the light goes off in around 4-5 seconds, and you are supposed to start the engine only after that. The other lights (oil etc) go out after cranking the engine.

same with me also.

[satish_appasani]

I own Palio D. My dealer told me that light is for ECU status. Once the light switches off, it means the ECU is ready. First, i used to avoid most of the times for the light to switch off. Then I made a practice that I turn the key on after getting in to the car and then wear my seat belt. By this time the ECU light turns off.

Sometimes I noticed that if i don't wait for the light to go off and try to start the engine, the engine will never start. Then I switch off and then switch on the ignition and wait till the light goes off. Now the engine starts immediately. This I assume is because ECU is in a certain start-up state where it cannot send the instruction to the fuel injection system to pump fuel to engine. This is again just my assumption.

The need to switch-off the ignition to restart the engine may be there as a measure to avoid reconking of starter motor when the engine is already running.

[prkothan]

Its true for all Palio models. This one related to self checking by 32 bit micro processor in Palio. But if your start before that light goes off, wouldn't be a problem. But its not recommeded.

[aseem]

For all you Palio fans, after reading this post it seems like Fiat has the same starting procedure as Indica
In indica as well one has to wait for 10 seconds before some light goes off and than u can start. Wonder what kind of ecu check Indica does, if at all it comes with a ecu in the first place. Thank god I have a Maruti....... Get Set GO!!! In an Alto

So Palio 1.6 Sport and Swift 1.3 0-100 comparison below:

Swift: 1 second start + 11.5 second to 100 kmph

Palio 1.6: 8 second start + 9 second to 100kmph

Total Swift vs Palio: 12.5 Sec vs 17 Sec

No wonder they had to discontinue the Palio 1.6 Sport...