[lohithrao]

Vipul, thats a great info for me. am facing the similar problem offlate.
guess will clean up the fuse....thanks

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

Not sure how much this would help but here is what happened to my car:

Car would crank fine but refuse to fire. The fuel pump was working for sure. So I opened the bonnet but shut it after I could not find anything obviously wrong. Magically, the engine fired right up. Later, I got a similar stalling problem at a low speed corner.

Instinctively, I opened up the fuse-box in the engine compartment marked EFI. Took each fuse out. One of the fuse showed signs of arcing. Cleaned it, and put it back. Problem solved. An EXAMINER test later showed that there was an Ignition fault registered in the EPROM. The fault has not come back on since, and my car is fine now.

[planet_rocker]

i think there should be a separate thread relating to Palio Problems and Possible Solutions. Lot of threads on the forum which has solutions to various problems. We can even redirect few to Palio - The FIAT Forum . i will try and collate them in a separate thread.

Thanks Vipul.

[vipul_singh]

Do let me know, I would be happy to contribute solutions wherever I can. A lot of us here have, fortunately or unfortunately, managed to get a fair bit of insignt into the car. So it would be great if we can share the knowledge in an organized way.

But we should probably keep the list focused on Palio related issues so that generic issues do not dilute it.

I saw a great list at bimmerfest where someone had listed a list of common faults with the E36. Although that one was written partly in jest, we could have a similar quick reckoner here.

[planet_rocker]

Originally Posted by karizma_devil

when closely inspected the door sounded as if there was water inside.
When i tampered with the rubber drain cap on the door, I was SHOCKED about 2 liters of dirty water came out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Am surprised amy be due to rain water might have entered but about 2 liters ??

it rained heavily in Kolkata - thanks to the depression pre-Laila Cyclone in West Bengal. i always park my car at a higher ground (where i live is usually prone to water logging) when it rains. suddenly found water creeping inside the cabin from the rear right door.

i thought the rubber parts around the door are leaking - but found none. then i discovered that water is creeping in from the door pad and the lower part if the door pad has swollen. i tried to open the rubber drain cap and whoa! i was to see two muddy/greesy water falls from the door drain caps.

i guess the rain water leaked inside the door through the window seals. Now, why do we need those drain caps in the doors?

this post has no relation to the thread topic - but ^?

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

But we should probably keep the list focused on Palio related issues so that generic issues do not dilute it.

Amen to that, vipul.

Let me continue with what our Karizma devil started.

I have been facing a similar 'unexplainable' problem with my Palio [1.2 NV ELX - April 2005 - 23000 kms on the odo]

I am on my 3rd battery. The earlier two lasted just about 2 years each! Both were Exide - DIN50. The battery used to loose charge without any apparent reason.

(Drove for 1700 kms over three/four days without any hiccups on the 2nd one. And the day before the return trip was to start, guess what? Battery dead!)

Got fed up with another round of recharging (and with the return trip in mind - was already loosing time there) - went for a new Amaron instead - got only DIN45 which is OE as per them for the Palio.

Fitted the new battery, started it - everything fine. Relieved. Washed the car and started preparation for the return. Packed everything and ready for the trip. Thought I will go and tank up and check the tires.

What happens when I reach the petrol bunk? The battery indicator lights up (when the car is running)

Nightmare, I thought. May be this indicator was malfunctioning since beginning? Rush to the battery dealer. He checks the battery - voltage is fine. Re-directs me to a electrician. Charging current is fine and there is no issue with the alternator / rectifier.

But I am not satisfied (1200+ kms to be done in next two days) with his approach.

FIAT A.S.S. is willing to do the test - but next day.

Go to TVS - they were the dealers of FIAT earlier. Told to come back next day. Next day, the car starts - no battery discharge indicator!! Anyway, better to be safe than sorry - so leave the car at TVS. Evening car is returned, saying that there was a loose contact. What loose contact? Some solder problem, I am told. Whom are they taking for a ride??

Anyway, do a test drive of about 25 - 30 kms. Nothing wrong. Proceed with the return, arrive in Pune without hiccups.

Thought it was all due to some bad karma.

Surprise, surprise - the new battery was flat within 15 days of purchase

Now, twice before the entire alternator, rectifier and wiring was checked. Problems? ZILCH!!

And, Amaron distributor was acting funny. He says bring over the car!! How does he expect me to do that? Every owner has a spare battery in his garage or what?!

So called up my garage. Got a spare battery. Took the vehicle to the garage. Took apart the alternator. It was a Bosch (Made in GB!). There was no problems - everything was fine.

No leakage in wiring - tested with two different sets of multimeters just to be sure. The electrician tried every trick in the book - nothing!!

Took the entire alternator assembly to Bosch service centre for check. They reported everything is fine.

Battery guy says this specific battery (DIN45 Amaron FLO) is one of the robust battery in their range and the rate of complaints is less than 0.01%!! The specific gravity in all the cells was less than 1.1 - deep discharge.

He said some item of equipment must have been left on while shutting down. I told him that, with a Palio, after removing the key only the following items work - (a) interior cabin light, in full on position; (b) horn; (c) central locking & (d) the radiator fan. Chances of 'a', 'b', 'c' mal-functioning ruled out. Radiator fan runs only if the engine temp is very high after shut down..not when the car is idle.

Back to the garage - check each and every item of electrical appliance. (To avoid tinkering with the wiring, I have not fitted any additional equipment). Every item of fuse is intact and there appears to be nothing wrong. (In the last five years only one bulb was fused - reverse indicator).

Battery is bench charged overnight. Fitted it back. (Saturday). Due too team-bhp mega meet, didn't touch the car that day.

Sunday - have taken out a 50 km drive in town - in all sorts of traffic conditions. No problems / hiccups.

Today - won't touch the car.

Tommorrow - let me see what fate has in store!

Now, with this entire exercise, only the following two doubts are what I have in mind, for which purpose I have detailed the above problem -

(a) Get the ECU scanned - any chance of getting an error code on this problem?

(b) Get the radiator thermostat checked - that is only other item which still runs with the key removed. So will it malfunction?

[sgiitk]

Another solution to the original topic

I faced something similar in my new Civic. The warning light was coming on intermittently and the voltage across the battery was 12.1V. The dealer later found it 14V on the alternator to ground. After fishing around he found a loose terminal from the battery in the under-bonnet fuse box. In modern cars the power from the alternator goes to the battery through this box. Once terminal (screw on) was loose. So after some time it got warmed up and there was a drop across it. The ECU gets juice from the battery side, and hence detected low voltage. More description in my thread of Alabaster Silver Civic S AT.

[planet_rocker]

KD's problem was directed to a faulty thermostat switch / fuse (or was it the fan fuse/switch?) which was leaking due to some deposits (forgot the term). Get that checked as well.

another problem was leak due to water seeping inside the door / flooding - water could not drain out of the drain holes in the doors and that lead to current leak. get that checked.

the thermostat switch, if malfunctions, will keep running the radiator fan at every interval after 1 minute of normal running (ignition off & hot engine) / or will not run the radiator fan.

get the lights checked - brake lights, etc for abnormal lumen.

keep us updated.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I faced something similar in my new Civic. The warning light was coming on intermittently and the voltage across the battery was 12.1V. The dealer later found it 14V on the alternator to ground. After fishing around he found a loose terminal from the battery in the under-bonnet fuse box. In modern cars the power from the alternator goes to the battery through this box. Once terminal (screw on) was loose. So after some time it got warmed up and there was a drop across it.

Already checked all these - but I am going to tighten all the screws / bolts myself in a couple of days.

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

KD's problem was directed to a faulty thermostat switch / fuse (or was it the fan fuse/switch?) which was leaking due to some deposits (forgot the term). Get that checked as well.

another problem was leak due to water seeping inside the door / flooding - water could not drain out of the drain holes in the doors and that lead to current leak. get that checked.

the thermostat switch, if malfunctions, will keep running the radiator fan at every interval after 1 minute of normal running (ignition off & hot engine) / or will not run the radiator fan.

get the lights checked - brake lights, etc for abnormal lumen.

keep us updated.

In fact my carpet is wet - underneath the front seats to be specific. Got the seat removed and the carpet removed and checked everything. No clues - except probably the underbody grommets were leaking.

Have checked all the lights for brightness / dimness - no problems.

The radiator fan runs very rarely - after I switch off the car. So my doubt was whether it will consume power due to some fault, (even when the fan does not run?). This appears to be remote, because the multimeter attached to the electrical system showed a voltage drop of hardly 0.1 amp after about half-an-hour, which is said to be normal.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

keep us updated.

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

The radiator fan runs very rarely - after I switch off the car.

Day 1 after battery charging - drove ~ 50 kms, (as explained above)

Day 2 - Left the car standing the entire day.

At about 10 PM (more than 24 hours after stopping it on Day 1) started it. Everything works fine.

Tried out the ideas of members (which I saw in other threads). Radiator fan runs and switches off as expected - both slow and high speed.

(Parked the car close to the wall and let it idle for about three / four minutes without AC. Temp rose, fan cut in. Switched off the engine. Fan continued to run for about a minute and stopped. Switched on. Fan still off. Started the engine and switched on AC. Fan started at high speed immediately. Switched off AC. Fan stopped after about a minute)

Day 3 (today) - started without any hiccups on first crank. Have driven about 15 kms so far without any noticeable problems. Everything was working fine - AC, music system, headlights etc.

Plan to leave the vehicle idle tommorrow and get the battery checked the day after.

So, only the ECU analysis. Garage owner does not recommend it, as it will contain only error codes which will probably be erased by the service centre, if I ask them to run the analyser. Any feedback on this?


BTW, Tata-Fiat A.S.S. is choc-a-bloc with cars now. Booking for service is extending to three days to one week

Time for Fiat to think seriously about setting up their own service centres - atleast in bigger towns and metros?

[buntydey]

Guys, I jsut fitted a new Battery (Exide Matrix), and the battery guy checked the voltage with car running, and said it is 15V. He suggested me that I show it to an electrician, since this voltage can fry the battery. Is this true?? With the car running, A/C on, headlights on, the voltameter showed 14.75V; but he said the 15V with only the engine running is a major concern. Please Help!!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by buntydey

Guys, I jsut fitted a new Battery (Exide Matrix), and the battery guy checked the voltage with car running, and said it is 15V. He suggested me that I show it to an electrician, since this voltage can fry the battery. Is this true?? With the car running, A/C on, headlights on, the voltameter showed 14.75V; but he said the 15V with only the engine running is a major concern. Please Help!!

14.75 to 15v is too high. Alternator output should be between 13.8 and 14.4 with the engine running and electrical loads (A/C, blower, headlights) switched on. Any higher will drastically affect battery life. Get your alternator's regulator checked.

Cheers!

[sgiitk]

@R2D2: Agreed 100%. About 15-20 years ago, 14.4 to 15.2 was considered normal. Modern batteries are far more 'allergic' to overcharging. So what you state is absolutely correct.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Plan to leave the vehicle idle tommorrow and get the battery checked the day after.

I have reached dead-end

Because -

After the above exercise, drove down to Calicut from Pune between 24th July to 29th July. Absolutely no problems.

31st July - returned to Pune (by bus).

31/7 to 3/8 - Car idle.

4th August - Battery Flat!!

Only thing remaining to be checked is the ICE.

I am posting details of my problem in the Ask the Gurus thread (under ICE), with what I think could be causing the problem. Pray that I am able to resolve the vexed issue....

[vrprabhu]

As I stated earlier, the only remaining to be checked was the ICE.

Took out the HU and found that one of the connector wires was loose - the yellow one! As per Pioneer manual, it is the direct 12v lead from battery. So in all probability, when the loose lead was touching the body, the battery was getting grounded (it is still a mystery why the fuse didn't blow?!) and caused the battery drain.

Secured the wire and had the entire connector covered with insulation tape. Since last week, the battery is OK (touchwood). Hopefully, this was problem and it is solved....

[DonnieDarko]

Friends,

I have a similar issue as the title of this thread so I didn't think it was necessary to start new thread for it. I gave my Palio 1.2 for a regular basic service( wash, oil change etc.) a few days back, when the car was returned to me the battery light was on even when the engine was running, the driver dropped the car and went off. I drove the car for some distance and noticed that the battery light was not going off under any circumstances. I called the service station S.A next day in the morning, told him what is happening and he said that "it was alright when they took test ride after the car was serviced and then they sent it for wash". But when I received the car the battery light was on then he agreed to get the car picked up to be checked.

The feedback that I have got from him today is that they have checked everything from wiring and other things but everything is alright so they have to take down alternator assembly and send it to the Bosch guys for a diagnosis. He will give me the feedback given from them on Tuesday. I told him clearly that when the car was sent to them it did not have this problem and when I got it back, this problem was present so he replied, "at most, what we can do is not charge the labor charges but I will have to pay the charges of parts if that's required" , is this alright ? The car went for service and after that the problem occurred isn't this their responsibility ? Although I have agreed for his offer of paying just the charges of parts, I am confused if I am being taken for a ride and that they should have rectified the problem all on their own since it started after they serviced the vehicle before that it was absolutely fine.

It has become quite a long post but I wanted to give the whole picture, please suggest what should be done in this situation.