Chasing Gremlins -Parking lights, temp gauge, jumpy tach.

[leftfield6]

Got my 83 Spider on the road today for a test drive, after a number of months working out issues with the brakes and other issues. Anyway, Had a few gremlins pop up, so I'll be posting in a number of the forums tonight.

Admission time first. I suck at following wiring diagrams!! I have the Artigue site bookmarked, but I'm not super confident in my ability to read them.

Anyway, here goes. Electrical gremlins abound!!

First up - Parking lights don't work. When I turn on the light switch to the first position, my park lights (including taillights, side indicators, dash lights, etc.) do not come on. If I move the switch on to the second position, my headlights come on, but still no parking lights.

Now here's the oddity. The 83 Pininfarina comes with that odd little European switch on top of the steering column that turns on all parking lights, but turns them off the first time you turn the steering wheel. The lights work perfectly with this switch!

Second Gremlin - Temp gauge does not work. Okay that's not completely true. It worked one day a few weeks ago when I started the car in the driveway. Sometimes it immediately pegs all the way for 20 seconds or so, then drops back to zero. Most of the time though, it just stays a zero all the time.

Third Gremlin - Tach is jumpy. Cruising down the road, I can hear by the sound of the engine that I'm maintaining a steady RPM, but my tach os jumping up and down erratically between 3-4K.


I'm sure there will be more, but let's start there. Any help is appreciated!!

[TX82FIAT]

I'm sure you have read a lot on the electrical systems in the forum.

Clean all grounds... trunk, two pods in engine bay, engine/trans ground, any other grounds you see. Clean all light bulb sockets and connection points that may corrode. look up the brown wire fix to understand the primary feed to the ignition. Check you alternator voltage and consider the 95 amp alternator upgrade if needed.

If these items do not work then you will need to get under the dash and trace each circuit that is not functioning. start with grounds, voltage and current.

[ORFORD2004]

For the RPM check the wire of the magnetic pick up under the distributor cap.

[majicwrench]

Running lites, gotta check the fuses. Methinks, without looking at diagram, that switch on column feeds power from some other fuse. If all the running lights out is not likely a ground issue.
Not sure what style fuses a 83 has, but you have a test light right?? Touch the terminals in the fusebox where the fuse connects on both ends. Is common to have a bad connection tween the fuse and the terminal. Don't just pull the fuse and look at it. Check it with a test light, ground lite lead, touch tip to fuse terminals, each end, gently. You want to find the issue, not disturb it.
Keith