Brown wire fix on 1984 Spider

[txSteve]

I am working the electrical on my 84 and had questions about the "brown wire fix/surgery" (referring to the 2 approaches I have read about).

One approach (http://www.mirafiori.com/faq/content/bwfix/bwfix.htm) recommends running a new wire from the starter solenoid stud to the back of the ignition switch. The other approach (http://flumichigan.italiancarclub.com/T ... urgery.pdf) recommends running new wire from battery terminal to ignition switch. The recomendation is to run this additional wire to a second post on the switch, where as the second approach recomends splicing the wires. As far as I understand it the 2 approaches should have essentially the same result in terms of starting from the battery or from the starter solenoid. Is that correct? In terms of terminating into the ignition switch I would have to assume that using the second post would be the best option.

Also, just for my understanding... I actually have 2 brown wires here. One runs from the battery along with the red battery wire up to the drivers footwell and then over the steering column over to the passenger side where it terminates into a relay on that bank of relays under the glove box (not sure where from there). The other brown runs from the starter solenoid stud back through the firewall and into a connector. Which brown wire are we "fixing"?

[rlux4]

When Fiat went with the FI system they added a 2nd brown wire, which as you've found out, goes to the dual relay. This is the relay for the fuel pump and injectors, so the FI system doesn't run off the brown wire at the ignition switch. Because we already have a 2nd brown wire it's pretty much a concensus that those of us with FI don't need to do the "brown wire fix". However, adding relays for the headlights and wipers is recommended.
Ron

[txSteve]

Awesome, thanks for the information Ron.

Do you know if power windows should be relayed as well? Mine are so painfully slow I actually wish I had the manual crank

[wikkid]

Your '84 should have headlight relays already from the factory.

[rlux4]

Whoa. See? You learn something new every day.
Ron

[GeorgeT]

Awesome, thanks for the information Ron.

Do you know if power windows should be relayed as well? Mine are so painfully slow I actually wish I had the manual crank

Power windows had a relay from the factory.

[azruss]

I have always felt the cable from the battery to the starter is undersized. May want to look at changing that out to a bigger wire, or add a second lead. At the price of copper these days, that could get expensive.

[RRoller123]

It would be a good experiment to run the car with every possible option turned on (in the driveway idling) and after about 10 minutes, see if there is any perceptible temperature increase in the battery-to-alternator wire.

[txSteve]

Your '84 should have headlight relays already from the factory.

Then I am not really sure what else to try. These seem to be the 2 big things to try to work around electrical issues in the Spider. Yet if both are already done on my 84 then why do I still have these same issues? The headlights are incredibly dim; the dash lights are so bad you cannot even see some of the gauges at night; the wipers are slow and the windows take a good 30-40 seconds to put up. So if the issue is not the "brown wire" and headlights have already been relayed, what else do i look at?

[txSteve]

I tested the battery itself and it has 12.2V, so its got plenty of charge.

[RRoller123]

It is most likely bad grounds at the ground pods, which on the '80 are on each inside front fender well and 1 more under the dash near the steering wheel. Clean (and maybe recrimp new connectors if really bad) each of the connectors and make sure there are good ground connections. This is quite frequently the source of problems such as you mention with these cars. I measured something like ~11 VDC or so at the headlight connectors, which sounds ok, but when the relays were installed and the grounds were restored, the lights were literally twice as bright! Amazed I was.

[wikkid]

Two things:
1. on those grounds mentioned above, also use dielectric grease;
2. 12.2V is basically a dead battery, believe it or not. Have it bench tested under load - most garages and auto parts stores have the equipment to do it.

[txSteve]

Thanks, I will get the battery tested and clean up those ground points.

A sort of unrelalted question since a few of you own later models... This is the first Spider I have owned with the battery located on the side of the trunk. When I bought the battery is basically just pushed over into that recess and "held" in place with a bar. It sits directly on top of the frame metal. Is that the expected set up?

[giuliot60]

I just had an electrical problem on my '81 that appears to have been caused by the ground pod connection under the dash (G3). The car would not start and several components would not work in the run position. Coincidentally, they were all grounded at G3. The car runs now, but I don't feel that the ground connection is as solid as it could be (screw doesn't feel like it's tightening completely and I don't want to strip it).

Anyone solder them together?

So, FI cars don't need the brown wire fix? I was planning on doing it, and adding relays to the ignition. Would it hurt to do the brown wire?

[rlux4]

I don't see how it could hurt. In fact, because we've been assuming that it's not needed because there's already a 2nd brown wire (goes straight from the battery, unfused, to the dual relay) I haven't heard of anyone with FI doing it. Doesn't mean it hasn't been done, I just haven't heard about it. If you do it, do it before adding relays so you can let us know if it made a difference. Relays we already know make a difference.
Ron