Q1: I have a Fulvia 3 Montecarlo in splendid conditions, which I regularly use for regularity competitions. I do my best to keep 100% original and running. My Fulvia came from factory with the Marelli AEC 103 electronic ignition and I got the chance to find a brand new unit to replace the old broken. On S3 Monte you have the choice to connect or not the EI by plugging-in two different connectors to the ignition circuit as indicated in the manual and in the Manuale d'officina. When I connect EI it works well (smoother progression, ~10% less fuel consumption, etc..) but when driving for more than, say, 80-100km tipically on an highway, I get misfiring . I am inclined to relate this to poor cooling of the EI unit, althoug it is positioned in its standard place on the left wheel-arch were a decent air flow should exist. Any hints?
Another point regards the functioning of the RPM meter. To work with the EI it has to be driven by an 'adaptor' (perhaps an integrator) that should convert the pulse coming from the EI into one able to be sensed by the meter. As in my Fulvia this unit is broken and in 5 years I could not find the original replacement made by Marelli (as reported on the spare parts manual), I wonder if anyone knows how the circuit is made in order to re-make it from scratch (the unit is plastic-melted and you cannot analyse inside). I have for the time being connected the RPM meter to the ignition coil in the standard way to work with standard ignition. Any advice? Thank you

A1: It is difficult to judge what is causing your elusive problem of misfiring. You blame the EI but I wonder whether you are sure that other causes have been excluded, for example defective spark plug leads, a tiny crack in the distributor cap, etc. The only way to find out is to connect the car to an engine testing computer unit after the engine is fully warmed up. The EI itself is usually quite robust. Often problems come from bad electrical connections and a poor earth lead. My EI is mounted onto the rain water collecting box and has never suffered from any heating damage. The adaptor for the rev counter is necessary to obtain a rpm reading even if other commercial EIs do not need it. Unfortunately I do not have the circuit diagram which in theory should be available from Marelli. Have you tried to talk nicely to somebody in their customer care dept? The only alternative is to fit another after-market EI unit which does not require the rev counter adaptor. At some autojumbles I have seen the EI Marelli unit (new) sold at the silly price of 400,000 lire when after-market ones usually cost less than 100,000.
Best regards, Andrea

Q2: Maybe you know anything about this. When I bought my Fulvia (1,3S Montecarlo, 2nd Series / Fulvia 3) it had an electronic device in the engine compartment in the top right corner (looking from the front). It is set in an aluminum casing about 12 by 20 by 5 cm large. It has something to do with the ignition. I have never seen it in any other Fulvia.
When I got my car, this device was disconnected, so it is probably broken. But as far as I could see, no other changes were made to the ignition system.
My questions are:

1. What exactly is it good for?
2. Was it used only in the "Montecarlo" special edition, or when was it used?
3. Is there any use in fixing it?
4. Is it possible to fix it?

Anything else you might know about this is interesting, too!

A2: What you describe is probably an electronic ignition module which was fitted as a routine to a number of late S3 Fulvias. The purpose is to maintain the efficiency of the spark plug signal as high as possible without the erratic behaviour of the contact breaker points. With electronic ignition the car has better fuel economy and does not suffer from wear of the breaker points. All my 4 Fulvias have electronic ignition fitted by me.

The factory fitted unit was made by Marelli while other aftermarket products could also be used. The Marelli unit needs a special adaptor to ensure the operation of the rev counter. I think that I have somewhere the wiring diagram of this unit and, if I can find it again, I would be able to mail it to you. However, in the first instance, I need to know from you the precise model of the unit (should be written on the box) and if the rev counter adaptor (a small plastic box) is still present somewhere in the engine bay. Rewiring then would not be very difficult but you must consider one important point: why was the unit disconnected? Is it faulty? In this case it would be almost impossible to repair it. Best wishes.
- Andrea Nistri -