Guys
My neighbor recently had a 1970 Fiat 500L imported from Italy. Car looks wonderful and apparently ran OK before it was shipped to the US but since it arrived at my buddys house it has never run.
Engine is a whopping 650cc with 2 cylinders.
I first looked at it last night and found that the battery was connected in reverse polarity. Swapped that and no difference. Next thing I spotted was the main coil lead was actually plugged into one of the spark plug outlets on the dizzy cap instead of the center connector. Fixed that and still not running. With all these little issues resolved, I started basic troubleshooting. I traced 12V from the battery (in the front) to the engine (in the rear) to a relay box on the rear firewall. The relays have been bypassed as the original dynamo was swapped out for an alternator. However I only get 9v at the alternator. I traced the cable and found the conductor was broken inside the insulation. I made up a new cable and had 12v at the alternator. As if by magic the car starts and runs for about 2 mins. I nearly made it to step 6 before the engine died from what sounded like fuel starvation but who knows. During the 2 mins of running I measured the voltage coming off the alternator which was about 13.5V. Not bad for idle. I am thinking the alternator is most likely undamaged from the reversed polarity episode.
When it won't start I have checked the spark and it looks strong. I also checked the gas by disconnecting the fuel line and watched it pump gas into a container as the engine was cranked. Spark plugs are new.
I tried spraying some starter spray in the intake which didn't make any difference. At this stage my mind is saying the problem is fuel related but since it ran for a couple of minutes I don't thing there is a blocked jet. I did pull the fuel filter from the carb and it was as clean as whistle.
Any suggestions on what I try next?
My neighbor recently had a 1970 Fiat 500L imported from Italy. Car looks wonderful and apparently ran OK before it was shipped to the US but since it arrived at my buddys house it has never run.
Engine is a whopping 650cc with 2 cylinders.
I first looked at it last night and found that the battery was connected in reverse polarity. Swapped that and no difference. Next thing I spotted was the main coil lead was actually plugged into one of the spark plug outlets on the dizzy cap instead of the center connector. Fixed that and still not running. With all these little issues resolved, I started basic troubleshooting. I traced 12V from the battery (in the front) to the engine (in the rear) to a relay box on the rear firewall. The relays have been bypassed as the original dynamo was swapped out for an alternator. However I only get 9v at the alternator. I traced the cable and found the conductor was broken inside the insulation. I made up a new cable and had 12v at the alternator. As if by magic the car starts and runs for about 2 mins. I nearly made it to step 6 before the engine died from what sounded like fuel starvation but who knows. During the 2 mins of running I measured the voltage coming off the alternator which was about 13.5V. Not bad for idle. I am thinking the alternator is most likely undamaged from the reversed polarity episode.
When it won't start I have checked the spark and it looks strong. I also checked the gas by disconnecting the fuel line and watched it pump gas into a container as the engine was cranked. Spark plugs are new.
I tried spraying some starter spray in the intake which didn't make any difference. At this stage my mind is saying the problem is fuel related but since it ran for a couple of minutes I don't thing there is a blocked jet. I did pull the fuel filter from the carb and it was as clean as whistle.
Any suggestions on what I try next?