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MG MGA - Starter - but it doesn't

My 1600 Mk1 is a terrible starter. The problem is all electrical as when it does start it runs OK. Symptoms are a very slow (and I mean slow) engine turnover and the battery power drains quite quickly – after about 10 to 15 attempts. I fitted an engine earth which was missing and this made a significant difference in the speed of turnover but after a few weeks the problem was back. The starter motor has been refurbished by an auto electrician. Any advice of what to check would be appreciated. I am building a new engine this winter and I don’t want another summer of “will it or won’t it start” as the starter struggles to turn the engine over. Regards Peter
P B Chappell

First thing is to check the connections between the battery terminals and connectors and also the battery cables to connectors (often missed as a cause of poor starting).

Also a battery conditioner is really useful and if you get a CTEK charger it has a recovery program and cold temperature function.
http://is.gd/5EFG8
That way you know your battery is not at fault. It will also extend the life of your battery by a few years!

Another thing is to make sure you are pulling the choke out all the way (I had this problem).

Neil


Neil McGurk

Peter. Check your connections. Are you running twin 6V batteries or a single 12V? The twin sixes offer twice the possible problems.

Recruit an assistant and have them turn the engine over while holding the probes of your volt meter to the positive (ground) terminal of the system and the negative (to starter) terminal of the system. Should read about 12.5 volts without load and should not drop lower than about 11.5 volts under load. If the voltages drop lower you have a bad battery(s) or, possibly, a bad connection between the two. If battery voltage checks out good, repeat the test holding the probes to the battery terminal clamps. Any drop in voltage indicates a bad connection--clean and recheck.

If voltage is good at the battery(s) and at the terminal clamps, check voltage at the starter solenoid on both sides. Any voltage drop indicates bad cable, bad connections, or bad contacts in the solenoid (if detected on the output side).

Then check for voltage at the starter itself. You should find the voltage loss at one of these points. If not, hook up a set of jumper cables from the motor mount (where it attaches to the engine block) and back to the positive (ground unless there has been a conversion) terminal of the battery and test for stronger starting.

The weight of engine oil can have some effect on how quickly the engine spins when cold. The factory suggested a range of oil weights and 10W-30 worked best when I lived up in cold weather country.

Let us know what you find out.

Les
Les Bengtson

Peter, It could be the actual starter switch under the bonnet - burnt contacts inside offer a high resistance. Cheap and easy to do - I changed mine about 2 years ago when I experienced similar problems and now it starts without a problem. Cam
Cam Cunningham

Hi Peter. Take an insulated screwdriver and short out the two terminals on the starter pull switch. If the engine cranks fast, then the starter switch is defective. If the starter still cranks slowly, you have a bad battery, bad cables, or bad connections in the starter circuit somewhere. Cheers, and Happy New Year, Glenn
Glenn Hedrich

Peter, you could also do a test discharge on your battery to see if it is up to scratch. Charge the battery well and then discharge it by switching the headlights on. They should stay at FULL brightness for at least 3 hours if you have a good battery. At the end of the discharge, re-charge your battery for 8-10 hours. This is a good conditioning exercise for your battery as well as being a test, but best to do it in cold weather because your headlights will get rather warm when left on for a long period without an airflow over them. I did mine last week and it performed very well (2x6volt). After the re-charge I started the engine from very cold and it cranked long and well before it fired up.
Lindsay Sampford

Peter,
if you are running on two six volt batteries, check the connecting cable between the batteries, and make sure it is not rubbing against the prop shaft. This connecting cable on my car was bought from Moss UK. It turned out that this cable was rather too long causing it to curve downwards in the middle and consequently started to rub against the shaft as it was turning. The result was that one of the batteries was completely drained, (strange why only one battery and not both). Six volts are not enough to turn the engine so I had to push start it.

Frank
F Camilleri

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I now have the distributor refitted and I will run through some of the tests and check all the connections. I have the standard 2 six volt batteries so this may be where the problem lies. Thanks Peter
P B Chappell

Not so strange Frank, earthing the interconnecting lead will only short out the battery with the earth lead on it. You are lucky the battery didn't explode or catch fire. Good old Moss eh! They seem to be getting mentioned quite a lot at the moment!
Lindsay Sampford

A critical ground point that is often overlooked is where the ground from the battery attached to the chassis. All surfaces at this point (as well as all of the rest of the cable connestions) must be clean (bright metal) and tight. Remember to paint over the chassis/terminal connection to seal it from corrosion when you are done.
Russ
Russ Carnes

I'm with Russ on this one. It was the cause of the same problem for me.

Steve
Steve Gyles

This thread was discussed between 28/12/2009 and 30/12/2009

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