40
How do I flash the headlights quickly?
On Series 1, 2, or 2a cars, press the headlight stalk in to flash the lights.
My windshield wipers, radio, and defroster fan don
…
t quit when I turn the key off. Is that
normal?
Apparently yes, on Series 1, 2, and 2a at least. On a rainy day shutting down a Spider can feel
like getting out of the space shuttle (
”
windshield wipers: OFF, headlights: OFF, fan: OFF, radio:
OFF).
I
…
ve got a flat
how does this damned jack WORK?
In spite of what common sense tells you by looking at it, you just lift the swing arm, shove it into
the jack point, and turn the crank. It really will lift the car (took me years to figure out exactly
how). Be VERY careful if you have rust on your floorpans. The jack can rip the jack point
completely out of the car if it has been weakened by rust.
Sometimes my trunk and hood lights work, sometimes they don
…
t
what
…
s up with that?
On Series 1, 2 and 2a Spiders at least, the parking lights have to be on before the trunk and hood
lights will work.
What
…
s the proper oil filter to use on these cars?
Even though the engine on the Spider never changed in any real way except displacement, many
different sizes of oil filters were fitted to the cars over the years. This is probably the result of
clearance problems with the later cars
“
accessories forcing smaller and smaller filters to be fitted.
The original filter listed for Series 2 cars (PH-2 in Fram numbering, I believe) is enormous, much
too large for any standard filter wrench to fit it. It is also quite difficult to find. The filter
recommended for the final Series 4 cars, in contrast, is very tiny.
However, the filter recommended for the Series 3 cars is big (but not huge), and not terribly hard
to find in most auto parts stores. If you can
“
t find the filter listed in the book for your particular
year, or don
“
t want to mess with a special filter wrench on an early car, fitting a filter
recommended for a mid-
…
80s spider is probably the way to go. I did it for years with no
detectable adverse results.
One final word on filters. SPICA equipped cars come with two fuel filters and two oil filters.
There
“
s a fuel filter in the back, just
”
downstream
„
of the gas tank. While this filter *resembles*
much cheaper Ford fuel filters, they are actually constructed quite differently, mainly to
accommodate the substantial fuel volume and pressure the SPICA system requires. If you want
your Alfa to maintain proper fuel pressure, always use the original Alfa part (it will last longer
anyway).
