Lancia Motor Club

Hi

I’m hoping someone may be able to advise on my cars strange behaviour.
It’s intermittent which makes it worse, so car starts and runs fine, however
for no reason I suddenly loose, all lights including brake lights, wipers, and heater fan
If I switch the car off, everything comes back to life, then when I start the engine again
Everything appears to work again for a while then the same issue, I’ve done all the obvious
checking fuse box etc. There is no issue with the ignition loosing power and cutting the engine.
Any advice appreciated I’m running out of ideas !

Regards

John

Hi.as a guess there seems possibly to be a high resistance problem somewhere. Check chassis earth, and connections onto starter motor,not sure if there is a fuse by the starter motor.. everything should go through the ignition switch I think. Just a few pointers, I am sure someone on here will come up with other solutions. good luck

Is the light switch stalk assembly loose, or broken wire inside it. Seem to recall this happened on my car and that was the culprit. Also maybe the ignition switch?. Look at a wiring diagram.

the light and/or ignition switch occurred to me too.

Open the fuse box after disconnecting the (-) terminal on the battery. Go to the first fuse on the left, remove it and replace it after careful cleaning of the contacts with a small file to obtain bright metal. Check that the Lucar connectors at the same fuse are OK and that nothing is loose. Andrea

Thanks for advice so far :) I will strip and clean light and wiper stalk and maybe the ignition switch
And re check the fuse box. I think the earths are OK.

So cleaned all the contacts on the lights and wiper stalks
wiring all looks ok, removed and striped the ignition
barrel and there was one dirty contact which was blue/ black
wire which I believe goes back to fuse box. I’ve cleaned it
up and put it back together so will try and get it back in the car tomorrow 🤞

If that doesn't work it is well worth following the advice Andrea has posted.

The lighting switch assembly must be tight on the outer housing and this must be tight also on the steer column as this is where it derives earth. I have seen fibre washers which creates problems...

Not had a change to take the car out yet but everything is back together, and appears to be functioning, Is it normal for the wipers and heater fan to work without key in ignition ? I can also switch lights on with ignition. Horn and indicators require ignition.

Regards

John

Sorry I meant lights can be switched on without key in ignition

Yes, correct

Thanks Andrea 🤞 it’s sorted

so what was it. Fuse or ignition switch? or lights switch earthing?

Hi

It could be a combination but I think it was ignition, I could post some pics
If I knew how to ! I hope to test it properly this weekend.

The same problem I had with my 2000 HF , the ignition switch was the culprit , I replaced the back of the switch with one I had in my spares and there's been no problem since .

To attach pictures 1) click to reply, 2) click on "additional options" which is in blue to the left and below the main text box, 3) below this click on the "browse" button at the right hand end of the "attach" text box, 4) navigate in your computer to the picture you want, 5) having clicked on the picture you want its' file name will appear in the "file name" box at the bottom of the window where you selected the picture, 6) click on "open" at the bottom of that window, you have now attached a picture and its' file name will show in the "attach" box previously mentioned. The "browse" button to the right will now show "more attachments" so you can go through the routine from clicking on "browse" to attach more pictures. Once all the pictures are attached you can click on "post" in the usual way and you are done. Good luck.

Hi

Just to add to the well written post above, there is a total size limit on photos for each post. You will get an error if the total size is too high. This can easily happen with modern hires cameras as the files they create can be large.

Peter

Thanks for that I will move some pics from iPhone to PC and have a go. I’m 99% sure
it was the ignition switch. Currently got the tank out for a re-furb being powder coated
today so will report back next week :)

Ignition switch, common nowadays for Fulvias to fail, get one off ebay.it about £75 for a MM with new keys, just unplug the old plug in the new and away you go! or something like that, good luck with the lock bolts you may have to drill them out ;)

If you can get a thin blade angle grinder to them to create a slot for a screw driver - a lot less hassle... You might find it easier to take the steering column off and work on the bench...

To remove the ignition switch from any S2 Fulvia, one should disconnect the battery, remove the black plastic surrounds around the steering column (4 long screws), remove the fasteners fixing the ignition lock to the antitheft block, disconnect the multicontact plug, insert the key into the lock and turn it to the "GAR" (garage) position, i.e. first click to the right after inserting the key, remove the key, press with a Philips screwdriver the small side button and the lock pops out. To my (limited) knowledge I have seen faulty ignition locks to be "repaired" with a good squirt of WD-40 or contact cleaner. Andrea

Hi

Well Andrea's advice would have been helpful 😁 I cheated with a dremel and cut a couple of slots in the barrel housing, I’ve not taken the car out as much as I had hoped but I’m 99.9 % sure it was the dirty contact in the ignition barrel because the issue has gone away. I will stick some pictures up this week. I’m making use of the lockdown time by rebuilding driveshafts and fitting new CV boots 😁

Regards

John