500 (Classic) Greetings from Savannah, GA!

[the hobbler]

That is not out of the realm of possibilities! Children love to sit inside and get their pictures taken. I even had one guy come up and say if you let me drive yours, you can drive mine…. Turned out it was a Lancia Fulvia sport S with the rare V4 engine. I could not say hell yeah fast enough!

I wouldn't want to upset the man with the Lancia Fulvia, but I think that you will find that ALL the Fulvias had the V4 engine---not THAT rare! YES, 'points' ignition was the standard system on ALL the 500s. One thing to be aware of is that modern. 'pattern' condensers are not that well made and that they also suffer from prolonged exposure to heat (the 'cooling' air from the engine). One way round this problem is to fit the condenser up by the coil. In the UK we have a couple of suppliers who can supply 'competition' condensors where both the 'feed' lead AND the 'earth' lead are extended, making it very easy to fit up by the coil.

 

[Steve Laidlaw]

I wouldn't want to upset the man with the Lancia Fulvia, but I think that you will find that ALL the Fulvias had the V4 engine---not THAT rare! YES, 'points' ignition was the standard system on ALL the 500s. One thing to be aware of is that modern. 'pattern' condensers are not that well made and that they also suffer from prolonged exposure to heat (the 'cooling' air from the engine). One way round this problem is to fit the condenser up by the coil. In the UK we have a couple of suppliers who can supply 'competition' condensors where both the 'feed' lead AND the 'earth' lead are extended, making it very easy to fit up by the coil.

Thanks again for helping me shed some ignorance! Your knowledge and advice is MOST appreciated. I will be ordering a competition condenser today. Now if I could just figure out the alternator dash bulb… it is not a LED bulb as suspected. Certainly I’m missing something.

 

[the hobbler]

Thanks again for helping me shed some ignorance! Your knowledge and advice is MOST appreciated. I will be ordering a competition condenser today. Now if I could just figure out the alternator dash bulb… it is not a LED bulb as suspected. Certainly I’m missing something.

Shacktune and Swiftune are the 2 main 'competition condenser' suppliers in the UK

 

[Steve Laidlaw]

Shacktune and Swiftune are the 2 main 'competition condenser' suppliers in the UK

Thanks for the info! I’ll check them out.

 

[Steve Laidlaw]

Nice looking Abarth replica you have there. I say 'replica' because Abarth (the Company) stopped making cars in 1971, when it was absorbed into the Fiat family. I see that you have an "Abarth style" instrument cluster---does it have LED bulbs in it or 'normal type' bulbs. I ask this because if you have an LED bulb in the ignition light, it WILL stay on. I have worn the 'T' shirt and seen the video on this problem----I have an Abarth-style instrument cluster in my car, and initially had a LED bulb in the ignition light---just could NOT get the ignition light to go out until I replaced the bulb with a 'normal' type.
Does your distributor have points or an electronic unit in it? I ask this because ALL the electronic units, irrespecive of cost, have a temperature "wilt" point---they do NOT like being exposed to over 100C, and the 'cooling' air coming across the engine, and over the distributor, will often exceed 100C after a 'spirited' run. If you have points, try to also keep the condenser away from the distributor---modern 'pattern' condensers will also wilt if continually exposed to high temperatures. Condensers which can be mounted away from the distributor, and up by the coil, are availabe.
75 bhp? I really would like to know how the engine builder got to that figure! What size is the engine in your "wee beastie"? Have fun with it, and USE it!

You let it slip that you have the Abarth style instrument cluster, and I am hoping to get your advice on the alternator light issue I’m still having. I get 12.6 vdc on the ignition side of the filament bulb, but only 7.2 on the D+ side of the bulb with the car running at about 2000 rpm. Schematics are hard to find on the Marelli alternator that specifies what produces the output to the D+ terminal. I may have a bad alternator altogether and I’m not testing it correctly. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your input.
Best,
Steve

 

[fiat500]

You let it slip that you have the Abarth style instrument cluster, and I am hoping to get your advice on the alternator light issue I’m still having. I get 12.6 vdc on the ignition side of the filament bulb, but only 7.2 on the D+ side of the bulb with the car running at about 2000 rpm. Schematics are hard to find on the Marelli alternator that specifies what produces the output to the D+ terminal. I may have a bad alternator altogether and I’m not testing it correctly. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your input.
Best,
Steve

You could verify that the alternator is good by checking for greater than the 12.6 volts at its output post.

 

[Steve Laidlaw]

You could verify that the alternator is good by checking for greater than the 12.6 volts at its output post.

Thanks for the reply! The output post shows 14.2 vdc once it kicks in and is charging the battery. I’ve tested the D+ voltage at the alternator terminal and at the bulb, and both show 6.8 to 7.2 depending on rpm. (I previously replaced a faulty voltage regulator that was allowing 15.7 vdc and am wondering if this over voltage may have caused another issue?) Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions!
Best,
Steve