Alfa Romeo Repair: electrical/selespeed probs with 156, alfa owners club, south london area

Question
hi Stephen, wondering if you had any advice -
I have a year 2000 1970cc selespeed petrol 156 with a few idiosyncrasies:

1 at certain revs the temp guage, speedo and tacho start to wobble and jiggle all over the place, sometimes the speed will show 0 for several minutes whilst I am going around 100kmh

2 every now and again the engine splutters and the fuel injection light comes on

3 the other night without warning the selespeed got stuck in 3rd with the result that the car stalled and i had to get towed home. it is still stuck in 3rd.

I wonder if these are likely to be related at all via a cpu/electrical fault somehwere, and also whether you'd have any particular recommendations for service in the the south london area.

cheers
toby

Answer
I am in Montana, usa. Cannot help with service over there.

With your description, start at the battery terminals--clean them to bright with a wire brush.  Then, with terminals still disconnected, touch them together for 15 seconds or so.

Now, look at the battery: does it bulge, does it smell of sulfur and is the voltage below 12.5 volts with a recent charge. If you find any of these things, replace the battery.

Now reconnect the battery cables and look for loose connections where you can.  If problem persists a good mechanic is required.  How about trying the Alfa owners club.
You can find one with google...