For such an incredibly simple engine they can be incredibly annoying!

I have the exact same problem on my 1972 500L.

I would be more than interested in the outcome of this.:bang:

Jimmy at Ital Corsa has just had a look.New twin spark coil and condenser fitted.Seems to have cured it.
Keeping my fingers crossed.

Mine also has the electronic set up, its never missed a beat since

Did you ever sort this? I have exactly the same thing on a 69 500; been driving me mad for over 12 mths. Just about to try new coil or electronic ignition after trying everything else. New points, plugs, condenser, fuel pump, tappets (hot), flexible fuel lines, carb dismantled and checked for blockages etc, good compressions (hot), fuel pumps to inlet at carb and spark at the plugs. Quicly loosing interest in the car which is a shame because I really like it.

Welcome to the forum mbroady

The suggestion of seicentom "It's not something stupid like the wire to the condenser arcing out occasionally under the cap when the advance alters is it" isnt a bad one.

My 500 mysteriously used to expire before I fitted the 123 unit, and it turned out the base plate on the points was occasionally arcing out and stopping the engine from running. Might be something to check ?

500's have always being renowned for poor ignition etc, like ive said before I wouldnt hesitate in fitting an electronic ignition unit instead.

Hi Topolino 2000, just read your problems re having to wait 10 mins before starting again, and they are exactly the problems I am having at the moment! I have done the same as you but have just fitted an electric fuel pump to eliminate possible vapour locks. Still the same problem! though I have yet to try electronic ignition - because the spark seems fine. Did you eventually solve the problem, I'm running short of ideas.....

Hi guys, ************PROBLEM SOLVED*****************,

Believe it or not it was the rigid fuel pipe from the front to back of vehicle.
It was gunged up inside and there was a small flap of gunge that loosened and blocked the pipe sufficiently to cause it to stall and cut out when hot.
When fuel pressure dropped it cleared again.
After all the obvious things over many months i came to the conclusion that there was a crack or air leak when the engine got hot and things expanded but no.
How do i know this ??? Because a new unleaded engine was fitted and the fault was still there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When i stopped screaming , i realised that the fuel pipe was literally the only thing that had not been renewed. Changed it and problem solved.
Since then i have spoken to a friend at TeSeO (Fiat Technical in Slough)
and he had exactly the same thing on his Fiat 600D. He cured it by also fitting a new rigid fuel pipe. So...............hope this may save someone else from tearing their hair out as i did. Good luck.

Hi, Just found this thread, I took my 71 500L to a car show today, about 25 miles away, this is the first decent run out I have had with the car since purchase. After running about 18 miles at around 50 mph the engine started to missfire and eventually cut out (busy A19, not good). I checked it at the roadside but no fault found, (except I noticed that the distributor cap dosent locate on anything to prevent it turning and is only held in place by the 2 clips!!! is this normal? ) On trying the car again it started and ran well for another 4 miles or so when it started playing up again, let it cool and arrived at show where many admirers seemed to use the word - cute. On the return journey I avoided the A19 and took the "sceenic" route at a slower pace, The car ran better but did show problems once, when I checked it I did find the coil to be Quite hot! Again as the engine cooled (only for 2 or 3 minutes) all was well again. Having just bought the car I havent yet tuned the engine and will be replacing the points, coil, condenser etc. as a matter of course, but that loosely fitting dizzy cap has given me something to think about. At the moment I am making the brackets to fit to the front of the car to fit an A frame to so that I can tow it behind my motorhome to rallies.

Hello and welcome.

The distributor cap shuld not be free to turn - it is retained in place by two clips but the cap should locate on lugs in the distributor body to prevent it from rotating.

If yours isn't like this there is something wrong.

I would definitely consider including a 123 electronic ignition unit to your shopping list - not cheap but worth every penny in my opinion.

It made a world of difference to our car and have heard the same from other owners.

Having said that, if you have gone through this thread you will see that there is a myriad of other really annoying possible culprits!

Good luck and keep us posted.

A less expensive alternative to the 123 kit is the Pertronix kit. I paid $70 USD for mine and it works great. Uses your existing distributor.
Agree with previous post, distributor cap should not spin.
John

Thanks guys, I will get a new distributer cap for now, will possibly look at fitting electronic ignition at some point (pun not intended), might just go for electronic assist and keep the points like we used to run in the 80's

Second the recommendation for 123 ignition. Fairly easy to install, the car more starts easier and there's much improvement in the smoothness of idle. For me it was definitely a worthwhile investment.

Jeffrey

I think I'm having a similar issue. I was driving with no issue then my car jerked a little like it was running out of gas after quick gas stop I was on the road again. About 8 miles later my car started jerking and loss power it would drive but felt like it as on one cylinder. It starts fine but when giving it gas it stalls and sputters. I blew out the gas line check the points and condenser and even cleaned the plugs. The only thing I can think of is maybe I need new points all together due to the fact that my points are pretty old. Any ideas

Hi Terry,

Could be any of the following.

Bad points
Bad plug wire
Distributor cap with carbon tracking
Blocked or restricted fuel pickup in the gas tank
Weak fuel pump
Restricted jet in carburetor

You can buy the Pertronix ignition kit online from Advance Auto Parts. They had the lowest price anywhere.
John

Just make sure the fuel tank is venting! That will feel like running out of fuel and then it recovers. When the car stops, undo the petrol cap and if you hear air rushing in, that's your problem. Guess how I know!! Fiat do two types of cap - vented and non-vented - not sure how the tank is supposed to vent with a non-vented cap nor when Fiat changed over!

Hope this helps.

Ian

I would assume that in later cars there was a closed venting system with a hose that ran back to the air cleaner or thereabouts, for some control of pollution.

I believe that the 126 had a closed system, but I am pretty sure the 500 never did.
John

Distributor cap often tracking, so check that. Also check the distributor is individually earthed. Make sure there's no gunge (technical term) in a fuel filter - some carbs have a little gauze filter where the fuel feed goes in.

I had a similar problem with mine when I bought it and tried to drive it home.
I know a lot of people have already mentioned the Coil, but on mine the coil had been incorrectly connected and the low tension to the distributer and the feed from the wiring loom had to be swapped over. I only spotted this because I had another 126 which was connected the other way round. I see you have already changed the coil, but if you just connected it the way it was then the problem would persist. I hope this is it as it is an easy Fix. Good Luck.
Steve