# My 81' Fiat Spider Does Not Turnover At Times

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-81-fiat-spider-does-not-turnover-at-times/30596>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** fiat, starters, spider, ignition, electrical-wiring, start\
**Created:** [May 17, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-81-fiat-spider-does-not-turnover-at-times/30596 "2009-05-17T18:47:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SpiderKe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@SpiderKe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SpiderKe)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-81-fiat-spider-does-not-turnover-at-times/30596/1 "2009-05-17T18:47:53Z")

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I drove my Fiat to the Boardwalk on a hot day. It sat for about an hour and when I got back in it, it would not turnover. All of my gauges & radio are working just fine. I can hear a clicking sound each time I tried to start it. After a few tries, it cranked right up. Any idea as to what could be causing the intermittent starting issue?

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-81-fiat-spider-does-not-turnover-at-times/30596/2 "2009-05-17T19:43:29Z")

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A clicking sound usually indicates a weak battery. The gauges and radio may work fine, but the battery may be to weak to turn the engine. Cars that don’t get driven often have a hard time keeping their batteries charged. How old is the battery? Are the battery cable connections clean and tight?

It’s also possible that the connections at the starter are dirty or corroded, or both. Clean all battery cable connections and tighten them. This includes ground connections.

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**Author:** ![wizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a87d85/32.png) [@wizard](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wizard)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-81-fiat-spider-does-not-turnover-at-times/30596/3 "2009-05-17T21:16:31Z")

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Do all of the above mentioned, and if it does it again, replace the starter. '81 to 2009 is a long time.

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**Author:** ![SpiderKe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@SpiderKe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SpiderKe)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-81-fiat-spider-does-not-turnover-at-times/30596/4 "2009-05-18T19:30:47Z")

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Thanks! I did all of the above. As I was taking a look at the Starter, I noticed there was a red wire that was barely touching it’s connection to the Starter. As soon as I touched it, it came off. I re-fastened the red wire back to its connection. Any idea what the red wire is and could its loose connection be the cause of my intermittent no-start issue?