Hi, I own a Punto dynamic 2003. For quite sometime now my Engine Failure/ Gearbox Failure light spasmodically lights up. I`ve taken it to the main Fiat dealer and though it cost me £40.00 they could not find the cause. Subsequently, I cannot sell the car privately. Does anyone know of the problem and how to rectify it. Please advise. Eric.
Sometimes...and I mean only sometimes, if you disconect both battery leads and leave the car for at least 24hours; the problem goes away. Now I am by no means a modern car electonic/gizmo/ruddy complicated sensor expert...but this has been known to work.
I hate modern cars and am astonished at the volume of cars that I see at car auctions, where a number of the dash-board gizmo lights are illuminated. In particular the engine management light. I`m slowly coming to the conclusion that the vehicle manufacturers have these fault lines built into the cars computors so that at random mileages these lights come on. And of course; one then has to take the vehicle to the main dealer!!!!!!! £40 an hour labour charges and manufacturers computor connection charges!!!! and they call it progress!
Of course the manufacturers have also covered themselves for the owner who thinks "f***k it, its running ok I`ll just leave it" The car will shortly go into whats termed "limp mode" So then your still snooooooookered!
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Yes disconnecting the battery is always worth a try. 
A lot of this stuff comes on because of all the emissions rubbish - something in the emissions techno garbage (I'm with Rob on this subject!), tells the ECU there's a problem and lights up the management light. Does it go away again of its own accord?
Something like that might be solved with an old fashioned Italian tune up, particularly if the car has been used on lots of short journeys etc & some of the gubbins has clogged up a bit. A long motorway blast might help - of course if it's something actually wrong with the engine that might be kill or cure, so it was only a thought.... 
The fact that a dealer can't find a problem leads me to an assumption that either it's something simple like a clogged widget or dodgy sensor, or that the dealer is incompetent - that's 50/50 I guess!
Membership Number: 5260
I hate modern cars and am astonished at the volume of cars that I see at car auctions, where a number of the dash-board gizmo lights are illuminated. In particular the engine management light. I`m slowly coming to the conclusion that the vehicle manufacturers have these fault lines built into the cars computors so that at random mileages these lights come on. And of course; one then has to take the vehicle to the main dealer!!!!!!! £40 an hour labour charges and manufacturers computor connection charges!!!! and they call it progress!
Of course the manufacturers have also covered themselves for the owner who thinks "f***k it, its running ok I`ll just leave it" The car will shortly go into whats termed "limp mode" So then your still snooooooookered!
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Agree with you on that one Rob
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