Continued Ignition issues after cleaning grounds

[Fiatbrit]

Hello,

I wonder if my ignition switch is giving me some issues or if something else is causing the ignition to switch off. I cleaned all the pods but once in a while it still quits, gauges drop etc. Like it was turned off. If I wiggle the key its hard to tell if it is making a difference at times but it is hard to say for certain. Is there a way to test the ignition switch when the problem is so intermittent? I see the new ones are very expensive. Any thoughts?? the previous owner had a locksmith work on it on the car. Wiggling the wires going to the swithch doesn't see to matter. It is more centered around the key itself. I found a single ground in the trunk and cleaned that too. It is still acting up. Could it be a bad relay or ignition switch. It did this before and I cleaned all the pods and connections and it ran fine for about 50 miles and mostly small runs. It stalled on me and I was able to limp home after a few starts and stops. I recleaned all the pods, including the trunk and the one ones on the coil. It idles and then a here the relays click and it instantly quits. Still acts up. Any thoughts? I have an 1981 Spider 2000. The advise on this sight has been excellent but I may end up taking it to someone more adept then me.

[westy64]

I am not sure that a used working ignition switch is that expensive.
Maybe a quick and cheap step ahead to eliminate this possible source of problem.

[azruss]

the pink wire coming off the back of the ignition switch powers the coil and ignition. With the key on and the car dead, you could check to see if you have 12v to the coil. If you don't have 12v there, you can jump 12v to that location and it will activate all the rest of the wires on the pink wire circuit. if the car comes to life, then you have an ignition switch problem.

[Fiatbrit]

Thank you. AZRuss, I tried what you recommended. The car did not have 12volts at the coil when it quit running. I tried jumping a hot wire from the alternator to the coil and it still did not run. Would the relay cause this? I hear it clicking and the car will run clicks again and it stops running. Is there something else that would deny it do run. Even when I used a wire from the coil to alternator it would not start until I cycled the key several times. Thoughts? It always cranks over with no issues.

[azruss]

what comes to mind is the fuel pump. If power to the dual relay is interupted, then the fuel pump wont run. The click you hear could be the dual relay opening. It could be a bad relay that is cutting out when it gets warm. there is also an in-line fuse behind the instrument panel that supplies power to the dual relay. I would find that and clean it to see if that helps. If you jumper to the coil, it still has to go thru this fuse to reach the relay.

[georgeramos]

if you hve an electric fuel pump you should be able to hear it whirring. if you find its quiet that could be the issue. that happened to me recently.

[Fiatbrit]

Hello,

Checked the inline fuse seems clean. I did notice that when it disengaged if a knocked on the relay box under the passenger side dash it seemed to cycle on and had not acted up for a while. Could there be a bad connection in the relay box?? thoughts.

thanks again for the feedback.

[azruss]

There are a lot of spade connectors going to the dual relay. might be worthwhile giving them a clean.

[Fiatbrit]

Sounds good where are the spade connectors and how do I access them? Do I remove the plastic cover somehow that covers the relays? Do I need to disconnect the battery first? Please advise and thanks again

[azruss]

Most of the electrical connectors on the car are spade connectors. the male is easy to clean as it is just a flat blade. The female requires some technique. Here is what i do. I have a roll of 400g 3" wide sticky back paper i sanded the car with. Wet/dry paper will work as well. fold a small piece on top of itself so you have sandpaper on both sides. cut to the proper width you need. slide the edge of the paper under each "curl" and sand away. also double your sandpaper over again and use the edge to sand the surface between the curl. Now comes the hard part. how to do this when the connectors are in the plastic. This involves taping a small piece of sandpaper to a flat screwdriver with double sided tape. with this, you can do the male spade connectors. with the females, take your double sided folded sand paper and cut it to the width of the spade, so you can slide it into the female and get both curls and flat at the same time. when finished, spray with electrical contact cleaner. You may want to do this with the plugin from the key harness to the main harness.
Anyhow, here is a pix of the dual relay. this is located under the glove box on the metal tray. I think the tray just drops by removing a couple of screws and you have access to all your relays. When I got my car, the PO had bypassed the dual relay. I bench tested the relay and found it worked great. Put the system back to stock and the rest is history.
Dont feel like the Lone Ranger chasing down electrical gremlins. I've been doing that with my lighting system the last 2 weeks, and I'm actually making progress, so there is hope.

[Fiatbrit]

Thank you AZRuss for taking all the time to help me. I will give that a try. My lights were giving me issues before cleaning all the pods and connections there. Guess I need to soldier on. I appreciate the detailed help and photo.

[Fiatbrit]

AZ Russ. Very interesting. I dropped the panel and found that the most rearward to the car relay is totally disconnected. I would attach a picture but not sure how. I wonder if the p.o. did the same thing as you found to my car. The relay that is the most forward in the car is hooked up and does click when I rev the car. What are your thoughts.

[Fiatbrit]

I think the rearward to the car module might be for the wipers. I will clean the connection for the dual ignition relay to see if that resolves it. I do notice that when I rev the engine the relay will click each time it decelerates?? Not sure if this is normal or a sign of a bad relay. Thoughts??

[4uall]

I would suggest going here to get wiring diagrams as well http://www.artigue.com/fiat

[azruss]

most of the relays on that tray are for seatbelt chimes and other foolishness. I have disconnected most of those myself. The dual relay is the only 2 in one relay in the set, so it is easily recognizable. If you are hearing a good solid clicking of the relay, that would indicate the relay is good and you are getting a voltage drop that's making the relay trip, rather than a problem with the relay itself.