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The "small" Alfa starters first
appeared on spiders in 1987 and ran though the end in 1994. The only thing
superior about them that I can see is they are smaller. They weigh 7 pounds
compared to 15 for an 84 spider starter. Guess which one I have on my race
car.
Being smaller the starters are much easier to replace on the Bosch
cars with the Plenium in place. They also do not require a bracket running to
the motor mount to prevent cracking the bellhousing.
The starters are a
gear drive, so they spin faster and are geared down to start the engine. They
do indeed have permanent magnets around the outside instead of elector
magnets.
I got into an argument with Fred DiMatteo years ago. He claimed
no Alfa spider ever had permanent magnets. He backed down when I offered to
mail him one.
The problem I was having was the the starter bench tested
just fine. It would crank the engine with the spark plugs removed, but not
with them in place. It turned out that one of the permanent magnets had
somehow cracked.
Personally, I would not think the late starter would
work on your 73 Berlina. 2000 Alfa flywheels in 1974 and prior had 130
teeth. From 1975 through 1989 they had 131 teeth. The Motronic spiders from
1990 to 1994 went back to 130 teeth. Why I have no clue.
It may be that
APE sold you a Motronic starter which might work with the early 2000's.
As to your starting problem, as Fred always used to say, "Check the electrical
grounds." In fact, clean and grease both ends of all battery cables.
To
check out the starter, you can buy or make a remote switch with alligator
clips. One end hooks to the battery terminal on the starter and the other to
the wire from the ignition switch. My race car has an emergency switch wired
directly to the starter.
You can also do the same thing with a bit of wire
or a pair of pliers. It is going to throw sparks if you jump it this way, and
having your arms down in there when the starter starts turning can be a bit
disconcerting. But be brave and keep your hands away from the front of the
engine.
Ciao,
Russ Neely
Oklahoma City
________________________________
From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wed,
January 20, 2010 1:12:38 PM
Subject: [alfa] Re: Starter oddity follow up
Well
it turns out that my faulty memory means I did NOT have a spare early
Marelli
starter, I had a spare SPICA pump. What I did do was go to Alfa
Parts in
Berkeley and get a new, small starter for $465. I put it in and still
get...the same click with a no start. Since I'm getting the click, I'm at the
moment presuming the wiring to the starter is fine. I'm about to go down
and
check the main chassis ground to see if it is the issue.
Alfa Parts said the
newer starter with the smaller rare earth magnets (?)
is WAY better, but he
didn't elaborate. Anybody know why it's better?
Just cleaned yeserday's black
from the fingernails...here we go again...
Stevan Thomas
73 Berlina
heckuva
storm here
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