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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - breakdown

hi all again,
my car has failed to start on 3 occasions since owning it and the same problem each time. use car regularly drive away into garage and next morning no start. each time done the normal checks and found nothing. changed condensor and away we go. never packed up when driving. anyone else had problem like that.
regards bob.
bob taylor

The obvious comment... its the condensor stupid, haha

But not so fast

What happens when you try re-using the old condenor?

im wondering if the dissy ground wire is the issue...it could be your giving it just enough disturbance to realign the dissy ground wire into its happy spot when your installing a new condenser

Its just odd to me to go thur 3 condensors in a short period of time with no before hand issues...just bad always in the morning before you set out on your drive

Or am I the only one thats not grounded in the obvious

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

there you go again prop, not reading thread properly.??? hahaha
who said in a short period of time. its over 2 yrs actually. it just seems funny they all pack up after being parked up after months of use. 2nd time it happened i put old one back and no good. ground wire is good.
regards bob.
bob taylor

Try changing to electronic ignition; never looked back since I changed. Starts every time and retains its timing much better.
Jeremy Tickle

hi jeremy,
had 2 of them accuspark electronic thingys and both burnt out within 10 miles and nobody knew why.that was about a yr ago. found out since that dynamo was pumping out 18.5 volts so that could have been the reason although supplier said no. worked fine on my bgt i had for 5 yrs. dont know whether to try another one.
regards bob.
bob taylor

Oh wow... talk about the differance of one missed placed word ....thats just funny, sorry about that bob

""The obvious comment... its the condensor stupid, haha""

Should have read....

"The obvious comment... its the stupid condensor, haha"

Sorry part 2 bob..

I mistook you for just recently buying one a cuople months back

Mmmm perhaps... there is some kind of small residual leaking power getting to the ignition system, while the car is sitting for the long term

I went back to points and no issue with my car.sitting the last 2 plus years...the differance I had the batt disconnected by way of a batt isolater

Another thought try sanding off the finish on the condenser that contacts the dissy, it could be crodding slightly and not allowing good contact....thats very common on mallorys

Pissing of friends and angring enemies... the dale carnagie method....hahaha

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Bob,
I had the same thing, went through 3 condensors within about 1000 miles, everything works fine, then park up for a few days, then start to get 'missing' which gradually gets worse till it stops altogether.
Replacing the condensor fixes it till next time.

i got pissed off and eventually replaced the points with an electronic set from simonbbc, i noticed an immediate improvement in performance and starting and smoothness and had no issues since...
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

Hi Bob,
I have an old Pirahana set up on my 71 midget and replaced the dynamo with an alternator; other items have failed but that is still going strong (although that'll put the mockers on it no doubt...)

Jeremy
Jeremy Tickle

What condensers are you using? I haven't changed mine for several years and it still runs sweetly. It an original Lucas part not one of the more recent incarnations.
Bob Beaumont

hi bob. it came to my attention in the last 2 weeks or so that my regulator was pumping out 18.5 v. that is probably why it burnt out two ignition modules and is doing in the condensers. i never used to use the car much to notice because i had a run around midget as well but now thats gone its getting more use and i boiled a battery. regulator now adjusted to 13.5 to 14v and have just ordered another module. hope this works this time.

regards bob.
bob taylor

It's the sitting overnight that is the clue I think. Condensation inside the distributor gets into hair-line crack in the dizzy cap, rotor arms and just about everything so the whole thing is earthed. In the time it takes to change the condenser it's dried enough to work. Drench the whole dizzy, leads, coil in WD40 and blast it with an airline to get the oil into every nook and cranny and you'll see a vast improvement.
Nick Nakorn

This thread was discussed between 21/04/2014 and 22/04/2014

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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