Re: Berlina Magic

["Dean W. Cains" <dwc@domain.elided>]

Hi Damian:

Here's my guess, and a guess is the best I can do without being there.  It 
has been fairly common for Spica owners/mechanics not-in-the-know to 
install a bypass switch on the cold start solenoid.  This was a band-aid 
for a poorly adjusted Spica injection pump that was too rich for starting a 
warm/hot engine.  With the switch flipped one way the solenoid would engage 
and the car could be started from cold, but with the switch flipped the 
other way, the car would be easier to start when warm.  By no coincidence, 
the Spica cold start solenoid is wired in parallel with the starter 
solenoid, so they operate concurrently as you turn the key to start the 
car.  Perhaps there is a short somewhere in the switch wiring that prevents 
voltage from reaching the starter solenoid when the switch is flipped in 
the "wrong" direction.  Check your wires in the region of the starter and 
Spica, and see if you can find some that shouldn't be there.  I'd also bet 
that switch isn't fused, so it can be a potential hazard if it's 
intermittently shorting to ground, which it may be.  This is not meant to 
imply that your Spica is misadjusted, just that it may have been sometime 
in the past, and that someone tried a kludge for a quick fix.

Regards,

Dean W. Cains
Lutz, FL
'74 Spider Veloce

At 09:46 PM 9/9/2002, you wrote:

> Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 17:13:59 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Damian Magista <magista@domain.elided>
> Subject: Berlina Magic
>
> Ok, I just wanna say that, I LOVE MY NEW FRIGGIN' BERLINA!!!
>
> It's the best $700 I've ever spent. It's cool, it's fast and it's an Alfa. 
> Who
> says sedans can't be fun?
>
> I love it so much in fact that it's going to be my daily driver and my
> girlfriend will take over the Milano (which I love too).
>
> I'm going to paint it to look like an Italian cop car...heeheehee...
>
> Now on to a technical question. Every once and a while it will not start. All
> the lamps will go on but it will not turn over. There is this little toggle
> switch underneath the instrument cluster on the right hand side of the 
> steering
> wheel that you have to flip when this happens. After that it starts up just
> fine. What is that switch? Is it stock or did some joker install it? Can I 
> get
> rid of it?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Damian
>
> Damian Magista
> 87 Milano Gold
> 72 Berlina 2000
> magista@domain.elided
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided