Re: Won't start when engine is hot....(Alfetta)

["Paul Irvine" <kcabpilot@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jeff, your problem is that you have an obvious acute fixation on Alfettas.

Seriously though, I had this exact same problem on my '79 Sprint Veloce. You
don't have my old car do you?

Here's what I found:

When the engine was hot the starter wouldn't function. If I unplugged the
wire to the cold start solenoid on the spica pump it would usually go so I
wired in a cold start solenoid kill switch and used it when necessary. (I
had already gone through the starter removal, disassembly, test, reinstall,
etc, etc). As summer came on it got worse in that sometimes it wouldn't
crank right from the get-go even though the engine was cold. If I killed the
cold start solenoid momentarily to get the starter to engage I could turn it
back on and everything was fine. As the summer days got hotter however there
came a day when killing the cold start didn't work either.

I found that if I jumpered a wire directly from the battery positive
terminal to the solenoid spade lug and just touched it for a second to get
the starter to engage I could then climb in, turn the key and everything
worked fine. So I did this ridiculous routine for a couple of months. I
actually crimped in a disconnect so I could unplug it and momentarily hook
up the jumper without removing the air cleaner. I kept a special jumper wire
in the glovebox. I could do the whole thing in about 20 seconds and it was
so reliable that after flashing the starter I could hook it back up, close
the hood and climb in with complete confidence that it would start.

I never fully answered the question of why it was doing this. Some people
suggested the ignition switch but that never answered the question of why it
would work after flashing the starter with the jumper (which completely
bypasses the switch).

So after reading what I've told you I can see that I'm not being of much
help but the method described works and hey - it beats sitting around for
forty minutes...

Paul Irvine - Antioch CA
Project Alfa - very nearly completed
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