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MG MGA - Starting problems

Hi all, went to start my A today (ran good last week). fuel pump clicking, gas good, battery good. First pull, it turned over a few time quickly. Second pull ... nothing. The gas gauge needle moves to empty when the starter cable is pulled, other than that nothing. Any suggestions? I am looking for a broken ground or like under the dist cap now.



Robert Peate

My bet is that either the wire from the battery to the ground is loose or the one from the battery/starter switch/starter-motor is. Check the connections on both ends of each wire.
David Werblow

Don't forget to also check the cable from the top of the left engine mount to the bottom of the mount.

Mick
Mick Anderson

Robert,

Spooking - the same thing happened to my MGA just this afternoon. After having been stored for the winter, I prepared to start it for this season. Last weekend I charged up the battery and did some other minor maintenance. Today I reconnected the battery and then proceeded to crank the starter a few times with the ignition off to build oil pressure. Then I turned on the ignition - fuel pump ran and stopped, as it should. Then I pulled the starter cable again and nothing, except the fuel gauge moved a little.

At first I thought the battery might not have been fully charged, but a tap on the horn was returned with a loud blast. Then I thought it might be a loose wire or connection at the starter, but everything was snug and the starter is relatively new. So, then I decided to jump start the car by rolling it a bit and popping the clutch. I wasn't able to get up enough speed to get the engine running in the short distance out of my garage door and before my neighbor's lawn and house. However, the jolt of attempting the jump start must have freed up / or moved the starter throw out gear, as when I tried again to start the car by pulling the starter cable (and hoping for some MOWOG karma), it cranked and immediately started.

So, before you start disassembling things, consider rocking the car in gear, as your starter may also have found itself with the throw out gear hung up.

Steve
Steve K

Dave and Mike, thank you for the suggestions. The battery is strong and the connections are clean (lathered in vaseline). I jumped the starter switch to no avail.

Steve K - hey what a great idea. I will try it tomorrow in daylight. It just could be a starter jam like you experienced. I'll keep you posted.
Robert Peate

If you have battery cables with the molded on battery connectors, give each a good tug, sometimes moisture gets in and corrodes the wire inside the terminal end. It looks fine, but all it will do is get hot when trying to start the car.
J Heisenfeldt

Thanks everyone...Problem resolved. JAMMED STARTER and a good recharge of the battery.
Robert Peate

Robert: just an opinion but Vaseline makes a good insulator between the terminals once it gets hot enough to melt. Clean but lathered in Vaseline is an oxymoron. Any gooey stuff including the little red and black "anti corrosion" pads cause more damage than good. Clean Dry connections are what you want.
PS had 2 cars towed in to my repair shop in one day last week for poor connection at the terminals that looked fine to the eye.
If you insist on using anything on the terminals use a dielectric grease it is designed for the purpose.
R J Brown

This thread was discussed between 01/06/2008 and 03/06/2008

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.