Fiat Spider Electrical Problems

[Rambo]

Hi all new to the forum and fiats. I have just restored an old 79 spider 2000 and am now in the process of installing a new radio. I spent a week trying to get the voltages right for the thing as it requires more power wires than the old one. So i got it going good and found out the radio was defected because it was not playing music although it was working. So after fooling around with my wiring it seems that my courtsey light and engine cooling fan do not work as it get up to the high temp zone and nothing happens. My courtsey light will not work i think the bulb got damaged but i cant seem to get the wiring right becaused sometimes when i connect it a certain way it plays the bell on the car. Any body know how those wires hook up? I plan to go to the radiator switch and connect the wires for the fan to see if its getting power later on? Any advice on why would that happen? Fuses are all good accept one blew but i replaced it.

[baltobernie]

Sounds like you buggered the cooling fan and courtesy circuits when you installed the radio. Modern radios are pretty easy to install, electrics-wise. One wire is ground, one wire has voltage all the time (presets and clock), the other has voltage only when the ignition is On. The other wires go to the speakers. If you are blowing fuses and so on, you're going in the wrong direction. Perhaps it's time to unhook all the radio wires, and get the car's electrics running right.

[Rambo]

I don't think i messed anything up i used the old radio power for the source that was only on with the ignition. i grounded it to this metal bracket behind the radio by loosening a screw and using it to pinch the ground wire. The old ground tied into the speaker ground and wasn't going to work with the new radio because for the speakers to connect it needed power and ground for each speaker. It was wired so that the speaker ground was the radio ground and it just had power for the speakers. The hot all the time source i got from a wire that was part of four wires that were not connected to anything. The four wires consist of a single blue wire and three dual strand wires all connected to quick connects. I removed the quick connect from some of them a used one wire that was part of the dual strand that always had 12 volts. I believe those wires are the power antenna option wires and i don't have a power antenna. Although the hot wire was part of a dual strand that connected to each other in a quick connect. I don't know if those have to be connected to complete a circuit. I will try to diagnose my problem today before i get my new radio in because the old was defective. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Rambo]

Update: When i connect the two wires on the radiator switch together the fan comes on so its get power. The only thing i can think of is a bad radiator thermostat switch or my temp gauge in the dash is reading hotter than it is and is making me think its going to over heat. I guess i could test that by driving it. Its moving temp is 190 so if thats right it must be a a bad switch. Any suggestions?

Also the court sey light works when i connect the two wires that i used for the radio i guess it completes the circuit. Could i splice it into the radio power wire that i used or would that not work? The fan i beileve has its own circuit but im not sure if this interferes with the temp gauge. I dont think it does becaues the gauge works but im not sure if it has to do with how much power or not. Any advice is much needed?

[JEEPER]

Are you dealing with factory wiring or something that has been added? Please give the color of the wires that you are working with if they are factory. Do you have a wiring diagram?

[Rambo]

i am dealing with factory wiring. I will post some pictures in a little bit.

[baltobernie]

Update: When i connect the two wires on the radiator switch together the fan comes on so its get power. The only thing i can think of is a bad radiator thermostat switch or my temp gauge in the dash is reading hotter than it is and is making me think its going to over heat. I guess i could test that by driving it. Its moving temp is 190 so if thats right it must be a a bad switch. Any suggestions?

The fan should not come on until about 210 degrees. Let the car idle and see if it comes on. Stop the test if the temp gets above 220 or so - then you've got a bad switch.

[Rambo]

Update: When i connect the two wires on the radiator switch together the fan comes on so its get power. The only thing i can think of is a bad radiator thermostat switch or my temp gauge in the dash is reading hotter than it is and is making me think its going to over heat. I guess i could test that by driving it. Its moving temp is 190 so if thats right it must be a a bad switch. Any suggestions?

The fan should not come on until about 210 degrees. Let the car idle and see if it comes on. Stop the test if the temp gets above 220 or so - then you've got a bad switch.

I ran it until it got to the hot zone at the end of the gauge. Thanks for the help everyone. I think i'll drive it to make sure the gauge is reading 190 while driving to rule out a gauge problem then ill replace the switch. I plan to flush the cooling system before winter as it has not been flushed in 10 year. I had doubts about the switch being broken because its such a coincidence that it would happen at that same time. I am going to see if i can find other 12volt source so that i can connect the other wire back together so the courtsey light will work. I just need to know if i have to use that wire could i splice the other wire that needs to be connected into it. I just dont know if that will interfere with anything.

[DieselSpider]

Pointing a cheap non contact thermometer at it would be a simple check and take some of the guesswork out of things for about $11.



http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contac ... 93983.html

[redcars]

If you have ANY air in you cooling system it will act like yours is. It will cool when driving, but will not turn on the fan when setting still. Make sure the system is burped and air free.

[Rambo]

Pointing a cheap non contact thermometer at it would be a simple check and take some of the guesswork out of things for about $11.



http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contac ... 93983.html

I have one of those and get less temp than my gauge depending on the spot. Where exactly should i aim it? It shouldnt have air because i have not fooled with anything and it has worked fine the past month.

[spider2081]

On my 81 Spider the cooling fan and the horns are both on a 16 amp fuse # 10. The Courtesy light, clock, power antenna, hazard lights, and hi/lo beam switch are all on an 8 amp fuse #9
If your radio draws a lot of current on the "hot all the time" wire the 8 amp fuse may not be big enough. The JVC radio I installed draws over 5 amps with the volume at high levels needed for highway driving. I thought the "hot all the time" wire as just a keep alive wire for the radio clock and memory and had installed a 1 amp fuse. Tec support informed me it is also for the power amp and should have a dedicated #12 wire connected to the battery. I used the wire feeding the in line cigar lighter fuse for my "hot all the time" for the radio

[bradartigue]

Wiring diagram: http://www.artigue.com/fiatcontent/Wiring_1980_1982.pdf

Factory wiring for the radio is a plastic connector. It has a ground built into it. It sounds to me you are using the wrong wires. You need to find the connector that has these:

Brown = +12V
Black = Ground
Violet = Right Speaker +
Gray = Right Speaker -
Violet / White = Left Speaker +
Gray / Black = Left Speaker -

And on another connector:

Light Blue / White = Power Antenna Motor
Light Blue / Red = Power Antenna Motor

The radio lacks a constant power source. You need to add this from the battery to the radio, or tap into a constantly hot circuit. If you use an old radio that doesn't have a memory or clock then you don't need this.

[Rambo]

OK so today i got the new radio in and tested it to see if it worked. It worked good like its suppose to except i ran into more problems. I removed the old mounting plate for the old radio and tried to install the new radio. The problem is that the hole in the dash is maybe a millimeter too small and it wont fit. Also i have no way to mount it. It has a sleeve and a trim plate it would work flawlessly if i could put the radio in through the front and put the sleeve on the back to secure it but the sleeve is right up against the trim plate so that's impossible. Below are pictures explaining what im saying. By looking at those im hoping someone can tell me how in the world am i gonna make that mount. Also another issue is that i used crimp connects to connect the speaker wires and its static unless i push them together. Whats a better way to connect those wire nuts, etc.? Also by barely touching my antenna connector it broke off the antenna wire (obviously it was done poorly in the past). I have some extra antenna connectors but how do i reconnect that? The wire is strange to me as it has a tube in the middle with wires in between the tube and the insulation. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1026705901 ... 37bxkvP0HA

[DieselSpider]

Pointing a cheap non contact thermometer at it would be a simple check and take some of the guesswork out of things for about $11.



http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contac ... 93983.html

I have one of those and get less temp than my gauge depending on the spot. Where exactly should i aim it? It shouldnt have air because i have not fooled with anything and it has worked fine the past month.

What issues do you need to track down? Radiator fan switch was one so the bottom tank on the radiator near to the fan switch would be a good starting point as would the housing with the temperature sensor that the gauge is reading and probably the thermostat housing. Taking a comparative reading of the top and bottom tank on the radiator will give you a basic indication of its health too.