Car broken into, no longer starts

[phil675]

So the other night someone smashed my car window and grabbed the sat-nav out of it which was my fault for leaving it on the windscreen of course but anyway..

It won't start, I've had the window replaced and didn't try to start it until now. It sounds like its going to start but just doesn't. I thought maybe the battery was low and got the jump leads out but a guy over the road suggested I might need to reset an isolator switch or something else to do with the immobiliser. I've done a search on a few Fiat Brava websites and can't find anything useful. Perhaps someone on here knows about these things and could give me a hand?

 

[Durzel]

Shouldn't need to reset an isolator switch (?) or anything like that.

I assume you have a key fob - have you tried pressing it to unlock even though it's already unlocked and/or pressing unlock while key is in the barrel?

 

[BigglesPiP]

OK, do you see the code or injector (ECU) light on the dashboard after the lamp test?

Also, make sure the fuel inertia cut-off is depressed, I think it's to the left of the front passenger seat.

 

[phil675]

Shouldn't need to reset an isolator switch (?) or anything like that.

I assume you have a key fob - have you tried pressing it to unlock even though it's already unlocked and/or pressing unlock while key is in the barrel?

Doesn't have a remote, just a key.

OK, do you see the code or injector (ECU) light on the dashboard after the lamp test?

Also, make sure the fuel inertia cut-off is depressed, I think it's to the left of the front passenger seat.

The CODE and injector light both go off. Do I depress this while starting the car?

 

[BigglesPiP]

The CODE and injector light both go off. Do I depress this while starting the car?

It should be pushed in all the time, it only pops up after a high g-force event.

You say it sounds like it's going to start, so combustion is occurring? If so:
-Sit in it with the door open.
-Depress the throttle about 1cm.
-Turn the ignition on.
-You will hear the fuel pump working, wait for it to stop.
-Immediately start cranking, and about a quarter of a second after this, let go of the throttle completely.
Does that start it?

Just a little background here; which symbol is engraved into the key?

And if it's the left one, do you have the red key?

 

[phil675]

It should be pushed in all the time, it only pops up after a high g-force event.

You say it sounds like it's going to start, so combustion is occurring? If so:
-Sit in it with the door open.
-Depress the throttle about 1cm.
-Turn the ignition on.
-You will hear the fuel pump working, wait for it to stop.
-Immediately start cranking, and about a quarter of a second after this, let go of the throttle completely.
Does that start it?

Just a little background here; which symbol is engraved into the key?

And if it's the left one, do you have the red key?

Hmm tried that, it makes the fuel pump noise even if I don't have the throttle pressed, not sure if it did before . I have the left key symbol and I do have the red key

 

[BigglesPiP]

lol, yes, the throttle isn't what causes the fuel pump to pump, it will always give a burst to get the line up to the correct pressure, so long as it stopped after a few seconds, that is probably functioning OK.

Now you need a friend, go make one. Get him/her to crank the engine while you listen under the bonnet. Put your head about a ft. from the plastic engine cover, as near the back as you can reach. Can you hear a faint click, coming from 4 different places, it will sound like a very faint rattling tappet. This will be very hard to hear over the cranking if you haven't listened to it on a running engine before.

 

[phil675]

lol, yes, the throttle isn't what causes the fuel pump to pump, it will always give a burst to get the line up to the correct pressure, so long as it stopped after a few seconds, that is probably functioning OK.

Now you need a friend, go make one. Get him/her to crank the engine while you listen under the bonnet. Put your head about a ft. from the plastic engine cover, as near the back as you can reach. Can you hear a faint click, coming from 4 different places, it will sound like a very faint rattling tappet. This will be very hard to hear over the cranking if you haven't listened to it on a running engine before.

Well erm, I can't do that right now. If I do here this clicking what does it mean?

 

[BigglesPiP]

It would mean the fuel injectors are probably injecting, and the engine is probably getting fuel.

Once you've heard the clicking or given up listening for it, you would pull a spark plug, then smell it, does it smell of petrol?
You would place the plug on the engine block, and then crank to see if it sparks, remembering to test the 2nd coil with another lead (one coil supplies cylinder 1 and 4, another supplies 2 and 3), if you see it spark this means it *may* be sparking in the combustion chamber, at which point, diagnosing gets harder.

Would be useful to know what engine it is too. If it's a diesel or 5 cylinder this last post is useless.

 

[phil675]

It would mean the fuel injectors are probably injecting, and the engine is probably getting fuel.

Once you've heard the clicking or given up listening for it, you would pull a spark plug, then smell it, does it smell of petrol?
You would place the plug on the engine block, and then crank to see if it sparks, remembering to test the 2nd coil with another lead (one coil supplies cylinder 1 and 4, another supplies 2 and 3), if you see it spark this means it *may* be sparking in the combustion chamber, at which point, diagnosing gets harder.

Would be useful to know what engine it is too. If it's a diesel or 5 cylinder this last post is useless.

Its a 1.6 petrol. Is all this necessary? It only had a window smashed, I'm not that good with this kind of thing so I'd prefer to not take bits out of the engine.

 

[BigglesPiP]

The immobiliser shouldn't be affected by a break in, it's a completely separate system from the alarm and remote locking (if present).

If they tried to start it they could have damaged the RFID reader in the ignition barrel, the car would crank and no ignition at all would occur, but the code light would remain on.

They may have damaged the code ECU (not too expensive, ~£35 @ cost), such that the code light functioning is broken, but AFAIK it wouldn't illuminate during the lamp test then.

Yet you say you can hear it try to start, and you've seen the code and injector lights during the lamp test? It seems as though this may be unrelated to the break in.

 

[phil675]

Hmm, this is really annoying me, I need the car for work tomorrow. It doesn't start sometimes, but starting with the throttle pressed down sorts it. The break in I think was just a smash and grab, they didn't even unlock the car, or take change out of the ashtray.

The only thing I can think of is maybe the guy who came to put the new window in did something to it by accident, maybe knocked something to do with the electrics. Grr.

 

[BigglesPiP]

So there was already a problem.

If you don't want to mend it yourself it looks like it's garage time, the examiner unit makes figuring it out a lot easier.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

It doesn't start sometimes, but starting with the throttle pressed down sorts it.

In that case I think it's purely co-incidence that it's now not starting at all after the break in and the two events are entirely unrelated. Like when your drier and washing machine break down within a week of each other!

If you don't want to do any of the diagnostics suggested by BigglesPiP (which are spot on btw) then it's garage time.

 

[phil675]

I got the AA to come and have a look this morning and it turns out the engine was flooded, the guy just turned the key for a while and it started Thanks for trying to help Biggles I appreciate it, as you can tell I'm hopeless

 

[Griffo]

You know you really shouldn't have left it parked in a lake Phil. The thieves obviously had use of a RIB or some such floating transport thus making the whole effort pointless.

 

[BigglesPiP]

"It was flooded." is what all AA peeps say when an engine took encouragement to start, might not have been the case.

It's very hard to flood a correctly functioning fuel injected engine. Does it start OK now (that engine in good nick will start the instant you turn the key)?

 

[phil675]

"It was flooded." is what all AA peeps say when an engine took encouragement to start, might not have been the case.

It's very hard to flood a correctly functioning fuel injected engine. Does it start OK now (that engine in good nick will start the instant you turn the key)?

Its completely back to normal now, starts without a problem most of the time, occasionally requires a bit of throttle to get going. I do delivery driving so this is probably knackering it.