A new member in Upstate New York

[BillStokes]

Hello Spider people! Glad to have finally found this site! For anyone interested, here's my story (it's sad but true).

I moved to Rochester, NY (the road salt capital of the world) in 1971 and soon bought a brand new Spider. The front quarter panels had rust holes after just two winters.

In 1975 I sold the old Spider and bought a new one. This time I spent $100 and got it rust-proofed, with a no rust warranty. Hah! After three years I noticed rust in a few spots. How could that be???! Sure enough they had missed a couple of spots, right where the rust was. Luckily I was able to get my money back for the portion of the job they had messed up, or a grand total of $20. Swell.

In 1979 I sold the Spider and bought a new (fiberglass!) Corvette. It had some initial quality problems and after two years it was starting to have mechanical issues so I traded it on a new 1981 Spider 2000, vowing to only drive this one in the summer. That's the car that is comfortably resting, with very little rust, in my garage right now...

Three years ago I decided to do a few things to it-- master cylinder, front calipers, timing belt, radiator, head gasket, water pump-- and after completing all that stuff (with only a few parts left over) the car ran but ran excessively rich. I couldn't figure it out so I had it towed to a shop. After spending $1000 they told me it was running excessively rich (!), and the probable reason was a weak spring in the (Bosch L-Jetronic) fuel injection air flow meter, and a new flowmeter would cost $1000. I had the car towed home. Do I really want to bet $1000 that the air flow meter is the culprit? Anybody ever heard of this problem/solution? I'd kind of like to drive the car again before the tires start to rot...

[rlux4]

Hi Bill, welcome to the forum. Try disconnecting the cold start valve and see if it leans out for you. Sometimes they will run on when not needed and it will definately give you too much fuel. Do you have a FI manual? There is a good basics of the system at Brad Artigues site http://www.artigue.com/fiat.php. Look in the first booklet for the FI section.
As far as the flow meter goes, they can be found used in good condition, but I'd make sure the cold start valve and thermo-time switch are working well, and that the injectors are clean.
Good luck,
Ron

[kristoj]

Bill,

Welcome to the site. We're glad you found us as well. In addition to what Ron pinted out, you'll also want to ensure your coolant sensor is working properly. The instructions for testing it are included in the link Ron provided. If you do still end up needing an AFM, several of the Fiat suppliers sell them for around $500. Also, there are folks parting out Spiders all the time on this site -- check the parts section. You might be able to find a good used one.

[msrmd]

Being a carburetor man (and not to handy at that) I don't have any advice.
But I would like to welcome you.
I think John and Ron got so involved in solving your problem that they forgot to ask you for to post some pix. Trust me they won't forget the next time!
Welcome

[ga.spyder]

Welcome to the site.The manual Ron gave you a link to is a must for the f.i..I am no ace mechanic and had very little knowledge of f.i. systems,but was able to work thru some issues and gain a lot of understanding using that guide. Get a multi-meter and have at it!!
good luck ,Craig

[So Cal Mark]

a weak spring in the afm could occur, but most likely right after the winning lottery ticket appears in my hand. Checking the coolant temp sensor and cold start injectors are good suggestions. The other item to check is the pressure regulator. Remove the vacuum line to it, if it shows signs of wetness you'll have to replace the regulator