FI relay or fuel pump going bad?

[MrGreen]

My car was off the road and not ran for about a year while I cut out all the alarm and remote start stuff as well as many burnt wires. Gas had gone very low. Starts like a match. Filled the tank and after about an hour of driving I experienced irregular response from the gas pedal. I thought maybe some sludge from the bottom of the tank. Not long after it stalled. When I went to restart got a slight grunt from the starter and nothing else. Towed it home. The next morning it started fine. Drove it for an hour, made a stop, went to restart. Got the same grunt from the starter. Waited 2 hrs and she starts right up.
Thought maybe the fuel pump but the starter should still turn waiting for gas. FI relay?

[spider2081]

I would inspect the ignition switch 6 cavity connector. Pay particular attention to the brown wires and the red wires and their pins.
Then under the hood check the red wire spade (push type) terminal at the starter solenoid. Also near the charcoal canister there are 2 single bullet connectors one is in a breown wire and the other is in a red wire. be sure these terminals are tight and clean.

[MrGreen]

Checked out the wires to and from the starter. Changed out one worn looking one from the starter to a relay mounted on the driver side of the engine bay. the problem persists and seems to happen faster now. Now when I try to restart she does not crank and I just hear a loud humm from the fuel pump. I'm thinking the fuel pump. Is there some feedback from the fuel pump that if it freezes up would kill everything else off?

[lanciahf]

Automatic or manual transmission spider?

[MrGreen]

manual

[MrGreen]

Have a nice new fuel pump and filter and still have a car that runs for ten minutes idle drops until it dies. restarts after about 20 min.

[RRoller123]

Try it again, this time with the gas cap removed.

[MrGreen]

Thanks for the tip but I dont understand what Im looking for

[RRoller123]

The tank make up air vents through the charcoal cannister. If you have a sealed gas cap and the system is clogged, the engine will start and run for awhile, maybe 10 minutes or so, then die. Leave the cap off and run it and see if it still does this. If so, the make up air line system is likely clogged.

[MrGreen]

Leaving the cap open did not work.
Thought maybe moisture in the tank so added dry gas-didnt work
Changed the ignition coil - didnt work

Bled some air out by the Throttle heater plate and changed the connector for the water temp sensor to the ECU and it ran for an hour and a half (sitting in the driveway so I did not get stranded somewhere) through at least three fan cyles and died. as I tried to get it to continue by pressing the accelerator got a nasty cloud of blue smoke as it died.

Bled a little more air-this time a continuous stream of fluid before stopping. Changed the wire to the dash temp gauge, which had not worked before. Ran for ten minutes, again the death of blue smoke.

[ORFORD2004]

Open the double relay under the glovebox to check for bad soldering.

[kmead]

I am a bit confused by some of your statements.

If you hear the fuel pump buzz, then in all likelihood the fuel pump is working. However, it really shouldn’t be running if the engine isn’t running or the starter isn’t turning the engine over, this should be fixed once you get the car running properly.

Is the starter turning the engine over when you are turning the key? If the engine isn’t turning over, that is one issue to be solved and unrelated to the injection system or its parts.

To solve most of your general electrical problems, download the Fiat 124 Electrical Diagnostic Manual: https://www.dropbox.com/s/65f18z1ga3xmt ... 1.pdf?dl=0

The general starting, running issues are all covered in a different manual from Fiat which covers the fuel injection system: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xeg7c78cjbkec ... p.pdf?dl=0

You should also buy or download the electrical wiring diagram for your year of Spider, there is a website you can search for that has them for free, you need to become a member.

I would also suggest you consider buying Brad Artique’s book Maintianing the Italian Roadster from LuLu.com: http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/bradley- ... 15692.html
This book will help with making more sense of the above links.

All of these require patiently stepping through the diagnostic procedures to get to the solution to the problem.

Karl

[RRoller123]

Pull off the hose going from the cyclonic air/oil separator, which vents the crankcase, Drivers' side, low down behind the alternator, and runs up to the throttle body, rear side, near the spring. See if there is oil being pumped up through this hose and into the throttle body. You can pull it at the throttle body. There should be only a little oil, some oily mist at this top end.