[alfa] 82 Spider Bosch FI Help

[Dick Stachowiak <stachowiak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm helping a fellow Alfa owner with a dead 1982 Spider.   In my 30 
years of Spica Alfa ownership, I've never had any experience with the 
Bosch injection system.  The car ran fine during the Central New York 
Pasta Fazoom Italian Car Cruise.  On the way home after about 5 hours 
of very spirited driving, the car lost power and then died.  The car 
was towed the rest of the way home, and all attempts to start it 
failed.  I looked at it this past weekend and find the following:

1- the battery voltage is fine
2 - all fuses are good
3 - 12 volts at pin 10 of ECU while cranking
4 - when the key is turned to the run position the tank and main pump 
run for a few seconds
5 - a new main and combi relay didn't change anything
6 - lifting the flap on the AFM doesn't turn the pump on (is it 
supposed to on an 82 Spider)
7 - the inertia switch is good
8 - strong spark at plugs
9 - fuel tank clean with no rust or sediment

I jumped the pump relay and the car started after a bit of cranking and 
seems to run fine now.  I removed the jumper expecting the car to die, 
but it kept running fine.  It now starts with no problems without the 
jumper, but I really didn't do anything that should have fixed it.  I'm 
wondering if the real problem is is as simple as a plugged up fuel 
filter that caused the pump to overwork during the hard driving.  Is it 
possible that the few seconds the pump runs when you first turn the key 
on was not enough to prime the system with a plugged filter, and when I 
bypassed the pump relay, enough fuel got to the injectors?  I didn't 
have a filter to replace it with, but that will be next on the to do 
list.  I also found in the IAP Spider shop manual a description of the 
pump operation that didn't make sense.  It said that the tank pump runs 
with the key in the run position and the main pump runs while cranking 
and once started via the ECU.  The pumps are wired in parallel and both 
only run for a few seconds when the key is turned to the run position.  
If this was my car, I'd be a bit nervous taking it too far from home.  
Anyone have any ideas?

Dick Stachowiak
East Syracuse, NY

71 Sider
71 GTV
31 Alfa Replicar
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