Strange Starter and replacement starter issues. Help please

[tfitzgerald]

Hi guys,

I am happy to have found a forum like this. After reading through most of the posts, I can see there are several people who love these cars.

A little back ground. I purchased my 1981 spider in May. I knew what I was getting into with all of the problems that come with Fiat ownership, but I also knew about all the fantastic driving the car can do.

A couple of weeks ago I started the car and backed her out of the garage. I heard a little noise under the hood. I turned the car off and the noise was still evident. I lifted the hood and what I heard was the starter motor turning. The solenoid was not engaged, but the starter was constantly turning. The only way to stop it was to undo the battery. I pushed the car back into the garage and went to work.

The next day I decided to attach the battery once again. The starter started turning again. Figuring it was the solenoid I ordered a new starter. I don't have to go into the details about removing the starter we all know how fun it is.. but at least I am a full member of that club.

With the new starter installed, I turned the key and she fired right up. A few spins around the block and a couple of restarts I was ready to have a beer for a job well done. When I went to put the car into the garage she would not start. She would 'click' but she would not start. Moving the switch from 'ON' to 'START' SEVERAL TIMES will eventually make the car start. I thought it could be a battery problem so I pulled the battery from my 1960 Cadillac but it still does the same thing. If the battery is turning over that beast, I have full confidence that it is in excellent working order.

I have cleaned the battery connections with the right tool. I cleaned the ground that goes to the bell housing. I cleaned the ground that the negative side of the battery attaches to. Up until the starter started to give me problems, I did not have any other problems with this car.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Todd

[So Cal Mark]

there are two trouble spots to inspect; first is the connector about 5 inches down from the ignition switch, second is a connector on the left fenderwell. The ignition connector can get loose and melt the connection, the left fenderwell connector leads to the starter. It sounds like your touble is low-voltage related and either of those connectors can cause that