sometimes she starts......

[rja]

sometimes she don't. looking at some history here, seems this comes up in threads 'semi-often'. get the elec fuel pump sound in start position, but no starter turning. sometimes. sometimes when key held in start position, after a few seconds, car will start. sometimes. sometimes car starts right up. all elec connections seem tight and corrosion-free (ha) and wiggling the key does no good. seems more pronounced when cold than when hot, but that's speculative. what gives? any ideas? '74 124 sport 1800. thanx, guys.

[burlybryan]

Are you saying that you can turn the key and it sometimes won't crank? I would think that's either the ignition switch or an intermittent ground. This summer there would be times when I'd turn the key and nothing would happen. I'd have to flip it back and forth and eventually it would make contact and trigger the starter. Just rebuilt the switch.

Battery health, poor electrical contacts and weak grounds show up when the weather starts go cool down.

[azruss]

you are looking at 2 possibilities. the ignition switch or the starter solenoid. the solenoid can be "bench tested" in the car. disconnect the car battery and move it beside the car next to the drivers side fender. get jumper cables and a long wire with a female spade connector on one end. connect the red end of the jumper cable from the battery + to the top lug on the starter solenoid. connect the black from battery - to a good chassis ground. I use the bolt flange on the starter. now disconnect the activator wire on the solenoid (this is the small wire the connects in the back or side of the solenoid and plug in your wire with the spade connector. put car in neutral. now touch your long "spade" wire to the battery+. the starter should jump to life. try this several times to make sure the starter responds. If it does, then the solenoid is fine and the issue is the ignition switch or one of the connectors between the switch and the solenoid.

[rja]

thank you for your input, gents. today it has not reared its ugly head and left me stranded. this '74 has a coupla
interlock bypass buttons under the hood. sometimes when i press one of them, the starter turns. have been blessed w/the original owners manual and a year specific wiring diagram for it. i'll be going over it with the proverbial 'fine tooth comb' to chase down the gremlins. i had forgotten what a mess it was to get cars 'legal' here during that era. lights and buzzers and limit switches and pressure switches (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) this site is a godsend for those of us that haven't turned a wrench on a fiat in 30 years. i'm truly grateful.

[rja]

......got an update on this perplexing malady. further on in this section of the forum there is a thread about a mysterious switch on the side of the manual gearbox. the consensus is that it is "emission-related"..... when i go out in the morning and unsuccessfully try to start the car, all i have to do is put the gearbox in 3rd or 4th and back to neutral and it starts right up. i could sure use someone to clue me in on this, because i'm losing brain cells trying to cipher this one! and i need all the ones i have and then some!

[dmwhiteoak]

I don't know anything about a switch in the gearbox but mine sometimes does the same thing. Mine is starting switch related. You can feel in the switch that sometimes it doesn't want to rotate to the start position. But it has never left me stranded. If it ever fails to start I will hot wire it.

[rja]

ig switch seems fine. always rotates to the start position. you can leave the key in the run position, and when you shift to third or fourth gear, you can hear a solenoid or a relay 'click' underneath the hood. then the car is good to start. weird. haven't delved into the wiring, yet; as long as i can get it to start this way it's all good. and also it only seems to manifest when the engine is cold(first thing in the am). i don't understand all the interlocks on this car and maybe never will. sure runs good tho.

[seabeelt]

An excellent anti-theft device

[rja]

An excellent anti-theft device

a very true statement. after a coupla weeks of sometimes starting, sometimes not; installed a fused, 12v switched momentary toggle switch wire to spade terminal on starter solenoid. guess i coulda sprung for a new ignition switch, but somehow i don't think that would've solved the problem. plus, this way was cheaper. maybe i won't get stranded, now.