Ignition switch

red107 · Post by **red107** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:17 am

OK, here are my issues on my 81 I few months back I was having a intermittent ignition issue. My car wouldn't start from time to time. I figured it was my ignition switch but now i am not sure. The car will turn over, No power to radio, clock has power, Battery light is good. no oil light. Basically no power to anything powered by ignition. All my fuses are good. I have a spare dual relay. it didn't fix the issue. I know ignition switches for fiat are hard to find and pricey. Im going out with a meter to see if there is power coming out of the ignition. Any other ideas. if it is my ignition. anybody no where i can get one. Or a suitable sub. I heard some VW stuff might work.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:53 am

according to your summary, you have power from the ignition switch to the starter, otherwise the car would NOT turn over. but, you seemingly have no 'run' circuit power.

i have to presume that your radio worked before these symptoms started. is it also safe to presume that you have no headlights when the ignition is on, and no wipers? all of those combined would indicate a bad switch.

checking the circuits with a multi-meter is a really good idea. or, swapping your switch for a known good switch from another running Spider would work very well too. (pays to have two running vehicles in your garage...or a buddy).

NEW replacement switches i understand are not a 100% swap for factory original; and as a result, i have heard of guys having trouble getting them to work. a quality used unit may be the way to go for you. Vick Auto sells a new replacement for $140.00 .. IAP sells one for $100.00. i have a used one i will sell you for substantially less; it is from a '78, which should be 100% compatible with what you have now. if you are interested, send me an email -- but please use the email posted in my signature, not that funny icon thing.

red107 · Post by **red107** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:01 pm

I metered the output from the switch and nothing. So i guess the switch is bad. I was told that the switch from earlier years would not work with later years. I was told 79-0n up. But if it will work, I am game. I checked vicks and IAP. 155.00 and 99.00 ouch. I am going talk to a friend of my who use to work for fiat and was a instructor for them. Trying to see if there is a substitute that will work.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:42 pm

my records indicate that the '78 switch will work, as it is the same model as the one on your car.

and, visually, this one looks the same as what i have on my '80.

unless, of course, you NEED a new one....this one is plug and play.

htchevyii · Post by **htchevyii** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:51 pm

On my '72 I had the same problem, no power to the ign. I found another unused terminal on the switch that had power in the cranking and run positions and hooked it there. It's working fine now, but who knows for how long?

red107 · Post by **red107** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:16 pm

My buddy has a spare so I am going with that. He is only about ten minutes from me. He said if he was younger he would start rebuilding them. found this on the web. I might do this to my old one for a spare.
http://www.mirafiori.com/~kdickson/switch/

spider2081 · Post by **spider2081** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:40 pm

If you have easy access to a known good switch for sure that is simple test/fix.
This may sound silly but with the ignition switch all connected and in the "run" position, did you measure the voltage into the switch. If there is a poor connection leading up to the switch it is only detectable while the entire circuit is active. The input wires to your switch are black on terminal 30/1. It connects to terminal 15/54 the pink wire in "run". The brown on terminal 30 connects to terminal "int" the blue and blue/red wires in "run". I think the 'int" terminal is good because the battery light is working. Terminal 50 the red wire has voltage in "start" only and it's input is terminal 30. Seeing the car turns over the input voltage on 30 should be good. So I would focus on the black and pink wires for testing

Let us know how you make out.

red107 · Post by **red107** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:38 pm

So I would focus on the black and pink wires for testing

Those are the two wires I was testing. Anybody know what the other connect out of the switch are for? There are two white wiress with a plug on the end. They connect to another connection. My schematic doesn't show them at all.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:45 pm

ahh... the infamous other two wires...

those are for the buzzer that lets you know that you left your keys in the ignition.

now that you have a replacement switch.... i will be posting this one for sale. great to hear that you have a friend near you with a solution.

red107 · Post by **red107** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:52 pm

Thanks, I just found it in the schematic. Yeah my friend is a wealth of info. He worked for fiat until they left the US. He was one of the top fiat instructors.

james124 · Post by **james124** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:12 pm

red107 wrote:Thanks, I just found it in the schematic. Yeah my friend is a wealth of info. He worked for fiat until they left the US. He was one of the top fiat instructors.

Great friend to have. Maybe you can introduce him to us (kidding).

Regarding the ignition switch, I have overhauled 2 of them using the procedure you already know about. I've tweeked the procedure a bit which makes the reassembly easier. I also have a large supply of the screws and nuts that are needed. I can mail you a few if you like. Email me directly if you want more info. Have fun. JimmyG

Ignition switch

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