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My Fiat Punto 1.2 Year 2000 MK2 (I believe) will not start. The engine turns over but the car won't start. The fuel light is flashing and petrol gauge says empty which isn't the case. There are three warning lights on the dashboard which is low engine pressure oil, fuel injection system failure and the power steering warning light is on also. My uncle thinks it may be an intermittent problem but he's not exactly sure. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated on what anyone thinks the problem might be.

18/1/16 Had a mechanic look at it yesterday after my uncle checking over everything he could. Mechanic said he checked fuses, Connectors...etc No electrical faults were coming up either. He seems puzzled as to why it won't start. Especially why the petrol gauge flashes and registers the cars tank as empty. (he did I believe check fuel pump, relay..etc) He even changed the crank sensor with still no luck. A few days before this my uncle disconnected the battery charged it for a day & placed it back after that. The car then started. Started it the next day again all was fine. Then day after that it wouldn't start again hence me Calling out the mechanic. I did also mention to him that a little while ago whilst driving I was getting a kind of clicking sound coming from the steering wheel colounn but car & steering was still absolutely fine. The mechanic thinks that the key is damaged and that I need a new one to be reprogrammed why the car won't start. However this doesn't seem to be a cheap procedure & I'm just concerned that it won't work either. I dont believe I was given a key code to test this theory either. I'm so frustrated I just feel like it's something so silly that needs to be rectified (especially since it managed to start up recently) but just can't seem to pin point what that is.

I did try to add this into comments but it strangely won't allow me to.

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    Welcome to the site. There are a wide range of reasons for what you're seeing and we're going to need some diagnostic codes from a scan tool in order to whittle them down. Once you have access to the codes please edit them into your question. Thanks. – Zaid Jan 3 '16 at 17:42
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Check;

1 - Battery voltage is ok

2 - ignition voltage comes to the spark plugs (remove one of the s.plug caps and hold it close to a metal surface on the engine and ask your friend to crank the engine to see if spark exist) If there is no spark, refer to the car manual (ignition system wiring drawings) to see related fuse/relay/diodes.

3 - pressurized fuel exists just before the injectors. Normally it needs to be check with pressure indicator but still you can check if fuel exist in the pressure line (there should be a small valve similar to the tire valves).

4 - Remove spark plugs to check their conditions (carbon build, proper gap, wet etc..) Dry and clean them and install back if they are ok.

5 - Still no luck, check visually the timing belt if its seems intact/ok.

6 - Still all checks ok and engine is not starting, crank it more while pressing the accelerator (let say 30 seconds). Rest few minutes and try again. Engine may be choked.

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My Fiat Punto (2001) has been doing the same for months. I must admit it is getting worse, but the answer so far is to disconnect the battery, preferably for about an hour and she is fine after this for a while and then it happens again. The trouble is that it is happening now every other day instead of a week or two between non starts. My mechanic tells me it is in the mini computer and to do with the codes etc and will cost more than the car is worth to get a new one. It only started happening since I broke the key in the door lock 15 months ago and had to replace it with a new one.

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The only way to figure out exactly what's wrong would be to take it to a mechanic and ask him to read the fault codes, that might give you an idea as to what's causing the issues.

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  • This is not an answer. First of all, this is a DIY site, so "take it to a mechanic" is a last resort after all other options are exhausted, not the first response. Second, pulling codes is hardly something a mechanic is needed for. – kmarsh Jan 6 '16 at 21:16
  • Stack Overflow is a question and answer site - stackoverflow.com/tour So it's a Q&A site not a DIY site, taking it to a mechanic is a first resort when your having engine problems and warning lights, assuming OP doesn't have a fault code reader (would of specified if they did) and they don't want to go and spend £100 on one to then spend hours looking the codes up then a mechanic is the best option. – user2649305 Jan 11 '16 at 9:22
  • From: mechanics.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic "Motor Vehicles Stack Exchange is for mechanics and DIY-enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles." Telling a mechanic to take a car to a mechanic is pointless. Telling a DIY-er to not do the most basic DIY (pull the codes) defeats the purpose of the site. – kmarsh Jan 11 '16 at 19:12
  • OP is clearly not a mechanic as any mechanic would know the first thing to do would be to get codes and do a compression test. + as stated, OP probably doesn't want to spend £100 on a fault code reader when he may never use it again. the purpose of the site is to answer a question in a way that will benefit the asker, that is exactly what I have done. – user2649305 Jan 12 '16 at 12:00
  • You think you have to pay 100# for a code reader? I think you have little to offer here. amazon.co.uk/… – kmarsh Jan 12 '16 at 14:41

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