No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

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Fiatracertracer
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Your car is a: 1982 Fiat Spider - Lip Stick Red
Location: Wilton, Connecticut

No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by Fiatracertracer »

My fiat sputters when I press the pedal all the way down.

Feels like it is starving for fuel.

It responds well and runs great when the pedal is slowly depressed.

It doesn't like a quick press down to the floor board and when the pedal is kept in down in that posisition for a long period of time.

It has a new fuel pump and filter and I've run many bottles of fuel injector cleaner through the tank, which has smoothed out the shake had at idle.

Has anyone ever experienced this?
1982 Fiat Spider in restoration
76was124
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Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by 76was124 »

Have you checked the AFM flap, AFM resistance, and your timing?
Current 81 Spider 2000
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Fiatracertracer
Posts: 160
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 11:12 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Fiat Spider - Lip Stick Red
Location: Wilton, Connecticut

Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by Fiatracertracer »

No I have not.

Reading through some material on the net now.... I was wondering if there was a quick solution to the problem from anyone who had experienced this already. Not sure how to check the flap or resistance.
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bradartigue
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by bradartigue »

Sounds like a sticking/slow flap in the AFM.

When you press the pedal all the way down a device called a throttle position sensor (black thing on the throttle) tells the ECU that you are "wide open" and the injectors go full force. When the AFM flap (which measures the air coming in) is sticking the air the engine needs won't come in fast enough and it bogs down.

This is very easy to check, you unbolt the AFM from the air filter house and check the operation of the flap. If it moves very smooth and easily then the flap isn't the issue and you have to start testing things with a voltmeter.
Fiatracertracer
Posts: 160
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2014 11:12 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Fiat Spider - Lip Stick Red
Location: Wilton, Connecticut

Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by Fiatracertracer »

I will have to check it when I get home.
1982 Fiat Spider in restoration
Fiatracertracer
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Your car is a: 1982 Fiat Spider - Lip Stick Red
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by Fiatracertracer »

Is there a "How To" somewhere on how to make adjustments to tune to the AFM?
1982 Fiat Spider in restoration
narfire
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by narfire »

Fiatracertracer wrote:Is there a "How To" somewhere on how to make adjustments to tune to the AFM?
As mentioned above , if the flap is sticky, then gently sand some material away to allow the flap to move freely.
The afm is sealed with the black plastic cover. This can come off as a last resort and some have moved the pins that run on the strip 1/2 a mm or so. the pins are then are running on clean material. The pins spend a lot of their life at the beginning of the strip and that area can sometimes give the description you have described.
Best to rule out all other potential issues first though.
80 FI spider
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bradartigue
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by bradartigue »

Fiatracertracer wrote:Is there a "How To" somewhere on how to make adjustments to tune to the AFM?
There are no adjustments. You do not tune the AFM. You do not tune fuel injection, you make sure everything works, and you leave it alone. It cannot be chipped or fooled.

Download some guides, you should start by reading and not working.
76was124
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by 76was124 »

bradartigue wrote:
Download some guides.
Highly recommend the the one by Mr. Artigue ! http://www.artigue.com/fiatcontent/Arti ... 124_MM.pdf
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KevAndAndi
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by KevAndAndi »

My advice to anyone who acquires a fuel-injected Spider is: Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Instead, immediately send your AFM off to Fuel Injection Corp. in Tracy, CA, and for $200 they will refurbish it and return it to you looking and operating like a brand new part. Best money I ever spent on the car. It is an important component and having it renewed will save you many headaches down the road.

Just my two cents.
Kevin
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bradartigue
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by bradartigue »

KevAndAndi wrote:My advice to anyone who acquires a fuel-injected Spider is: Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Instead, immediately send your AFM off to Fuel Injection Corp. in Tracy, CA, and for $200 they will refurbish it and return it to you looking and operating like a brand new part. Best money I ever spent on the car. It is an important component and having it renewed will save you many headaches down the road.

Just my two cents.
Within some reason I agree. I look at it like this: the FI cars are for people who don't like to tinker, because there isn't much to tinker with. Get a voltmeter and test everything, and if it passes, great, if not, refurb the AFM and replace the senders, get the injectors cleaned, and leave it alone for 10 years. The system lasts a long, long, long time when renewed.
Fiatracertracer
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Your car is a: 1982 Fiat Spider - Lip Stick Red
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by Fiatracertracer »

Brad,

There's an incredible amount of information in these manuals and I appreciate all the work you've done, it has helped me a lot.

Thank you.
1982 Fiat Spider in restoration
Fiatracertracer
Posts: 160
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Your car is a: 1982 Fiat Spider - Lip Stick Red
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by Fiatracertracer »

Fixed.

It was a vacuum hose, it looked good from the outside but it leaked around the spring clamp.
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bradartigue
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Re: No Go - sputters when pedal goes to the metal

Post by bradartigue »

Fiatracertracer wrote:Brad,

There's an incredible amount of information in these manuals and I appreciate all the work you've done, it has helped me a lot.

Thank you.
Editing about 300 more as I type this. Never start writing books. You never stop.
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