Won't start

[peter]

I have started my restoration on my 82 spider that I picked up in South Carolina late last year,I started up my car as many as 2 times a week due to the cold weather conditions here in Toronto. To make a long story as short as possible I began 2 weeks ago to strip the car right down and just the other day stripped the paint all off , unfortunately the paint was too dull and weatherd due to the South Carolina climate that I had no choice but to strip her right down. Much to my surprise I found not a spot of bondo or rust ( just incredible ) Here lies my problem and I am not sure what is causing this but she won't start again, last night I removed my fuel pump and found that it still had power going to it , I then removed my fuel filter and found that the original filter was still on !! I am hoping that this is my problem but I am not so sure, I will pick up my new filter tomorrow and install myself but I believe the problem is in the electrical aspect , I removed all the lights front and back and the signals on both sides. Please if anyone knows where the problem lies please advise as I'm at my wits end in trying to figure this out and the fact that I need to get it up and running for this weekend as it's going in for the paint job and new top ..

Peter

[rlux4]

Have you done any electrical diagnosis yet? Is there spark at the plugs? On an earlier thread I shared how my '82 wouldn't start, I raised the hood to check spark and found the coil wire to the dist. had come out. No spark, no go. Another reoccuring problem with non starting was a loose connection at my double relay. Your problem may not be either of these, but I thought I'd throw out what I've run into.

[perthling]

Check the connections on the ignition barrel - I had a fault where if I had inadvertently knocked one of the connectors it would slip off the ignition barrel but then fall back into place lying next to its spade connection point - not the easiest to find!

[So Cal Mark]

the fuel pump grounds at the left taillight. You'll have to attach the black ground wire to the mounting stud to get the pump to run

[STP]

Hi Peter,

I am located in Hamilton and had a similar problem last winter with my 81 Spider - I purchased my spider from the same area as you 2 years ago and ripped out the interior last winter and would start it up to move the car from one side of the garage to the other to work on it. After doing this a couple of times it would not start. It turned over fine and the fuel pump seemed to be working OK but it would not fire... I had it towed to my seasoned italian mechanic, Pasquale, and he threw in a new set of spark plugs into it and it started right up! I had put in fuel stabilizer into the gas tank and I am wondering if this fouled the plugs. I am not sure if this will solve your problem but it may be worth a try. Good luck with your restoration.

Steve