Misfire/stall Fiat 124 Spider

10

Asked by ystephen Mar 18, 2016 at 01:12 PM about the 1977 FIAT 124 Spider

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Shortly after gassing up and cruising at about 70 mph, my Fiat 124 Spider misfired, backfired and stalled out.  When that has happened in the past it has been because of an over-heated ignition coil.  I carry an extra and when I have replaced it, the car starts immediately and runs well.  This time, not.  Had to get a tow home.  The car will start and run for a few moments, misfire, with the tach jumping, and stall and refuse to start for some time.  The battery charge indicator does not come on when the key is on, however, the battery seems to be holding a good charge.  I've used dry-gas just to make sure the recent fill-up wasn't at fault and have put in a new coil.  Any suggested diagnoses would be appreciated.

2 Answers

425

My 1980 Spider started running lousy one night and only ran at high RPMs. Fortunately I was a few blocks from home and was able to park it in my driveway. To make a long story short, I replaced several components but found that the car ran fine for @ five minutes when cold and then developed the same symptoms. I discovered that the multi-strand wire from the temperature sending unit (front of engine near top of radiator) only had a few unbroken strands. I repaired the wire connection and the car now runs fine. The car was apparently running extremely rich once the engine warmed up. This may not be your problem but it is easy to visually check for this condition.

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