'79 spider suddenly won't turn over

[neotrant.com]

Been driving my new '79 spider for a couple of weeks. No problems. runs good. starts fine. Went out this morning to go and....nothing. well not exactly nothing. The fuel pump is humming all lights work etc... but when I turn the ignition key the starter doesn't even make an attempt. Is there some common ailement I should look at? I should note that we've had a few days of heavy rain.

thx

[JonG]

This happened to me in the middle of the night after gassing up on a road trip. Turned out that the ground wire had just slipped off of it's terminal on the starter. Do you hear the solenoid "click" when you turn the key?

JonG

[neotrant.com]

Jon,

thank you for your reply. I don't hear any clicking when I turn the key past the 1st position. I'll check the wire this evening

[Ianc]

Why would you mention you've had rain in Seattle? More remarkable if you hadn't. But seriously - check all the connections to the starter. If the lights work the solenoid should. The starter requires a lot of power - just about all the juice in the battery, but it takes very little power to activate the solenoid. A few days of rain might do it, although Alfas are a lot better in rain than Lucas ever was.

[rcess]

Ian,

Your comment "Alfas are a lot better in rain than Lucas ever was" does not refer to two of my three Alfas. Both my Giuliettas have Lucas electrical systems.

Bob

[neotrant.com]

Well that was painless. Removed the air cleaner and sure enough. A little black wire was dangling loose right next to the solenoid. Just in time to enjoy the single 20 sun break we're bound to have today in Seattle.

Thanks again, All.

[Ianc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcess Ian, Your comment "Alfas are a lot better in rain than Lucas ever was" does not refer to two of my three Alfas. Both my Giuliettas have Lucas electrical systems. Bob