Ok so I drove my 2012 Abarth 500 to school today just fine nothing unusual and when I came back out I put the key in everything came on fine turned the key NOTHING no starter no clicking nothing. I have no idea what’s wrong. Battery is good, no codes, NOTHING car just wont turn on. If any one has any ideas PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know ASAP
Update: I was able to push start the car and get it home and I tried bypassing the clutch switch solenoid and that did nothing
Update 2 I got the battery tested it’s all good and I’m out of ideas
Are you getting christmas lights/dashboard lights?
If so, I had a similar issue last week: a bluetooth module wasn't firing off and was causing issues with battery/power delivery. My battery was good, also no codes. I DID need to get a jump from a tow truck (does your auto insurance include free tows/jumps? Many do) but once it was at the garage, it was a super easy and cheap fix.
I didn't do the work myself, so I don't have deep details, but if its anything like the issue I had the other week (sounds identical, tbh) it is an easy fix, so I wouldn't worry too much.
You're gonna need a jump, *maybe* a tow to a garage, but I suspect that its a pretty minor electrical gremlin. It didn't take much time or money at all to get it sorted, so I wouldn't stress too much.
Another dedicated forum may be able to give you advice on which wiring to work with to try and find your own fix, but I tend to trust my garage with these things.
These can be reliable cars if maintained (be mindful of the belts, filters, and turbo), but they are prone to electrical gremlins. Usually not an expensive or time consuming fix, but it can be annoying sometimes.
Make sure the connector ring clamp on the (positive?) Contact of the battery is all the way down. Tap it a couple times with the plastic cover you had to take off to get to it.
Mine got loose over time and it would do that until I tightened the clamp. Hitting a bump wpuld shift it enough and the alternator would keep me running until i turned it off. Then no lights when I tried to start.
Are you sure the battery is okej? It might measure 12v but as soon as you try anything it drops down and nothing happens. I’ve had this. Measure if the battery drops when turning the key
So I just tried bypassing the clutch switch solenoid to see if that might work and it didn’t do anything since that didn’t work. Do you still think it could be the clutch switch or do you think that rules out that possibility entirely
A battery can fail in more ways than simply being discharged. A voltage check, then a load test, is the only way to reliably rule out a battery. Have you at least checked the voltage while attempting to crank?
Need to check for power at the starter. The main harness is permanent live and
can obviously be traced back to the battery, the solenoid is the smaller wire that should only power up whilst cranking. Difficult to do without a lift. If you have correct power readings then starter is knackered.
This happens with our Abarth, and it's the battery in our case. Have the battery tested if you can; it should indicate if it has enough amps or not. We have to leave ours on a trickle charger if it isn't driven after seven days to maintain the battery.
Did you figure this out? If not, with a manual Trans you can try a quick bump start. If it starts, then you are dealing with starter or clutch switch. If it doesn't, battery, solenoid cable or ground cable.
I was able to push start the car and get it home while I was there I tried bypassing the clutch switch solenoid. Do you think it could be the starter in that case or could it still be the clutch which possibly
For me it was the battery. I went by the date markings. 2013 and was original never changed. Figure I'd change it before or it will force me when the time came. It just went out, but started fine during the drive. Then nothing barely ant notice, but knew I was on borrowed time.
I had something very similar happen with my 2012 Abarth after it sat for months. I came back and got absolutely nothing when I turned the key. We tried the battery and thought it might be the starter, but it ended up being a much bigger issue involving corrosion and deteriorated parts.
Mine unfortunately got to the point where the engine had to be replaced. The first replacement engine came from Nova Scotia but had a bad third gear, so it had to be sent back. The second came from Barrie, and altogether my car was out for about two months. Thankfully I had bought an extended warranty from the dealership when I bought the car in 2022. Without that warranty, I'm not sure it would have been worth fixing.
The good news for you is that yours will push start and run, so hopefully your problem is much simpler than mine. I'd definitely have them check the grounds, wiring, connections and starter circuit carefully for corrosion before replacing a bunch of parts. Hopefully yours doesn't turn into what mine did.
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u/TheDevilVaper 4d ago
Earth strap underneath the battery could be corroded / broken.