MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGB Technical - Distributor ground strap

I recently got my warrantied Petronix back from the repair shop. However I realized that when I sent it in, I also sent in the distributor ground strap. Thats the little black wire with braided cloth insulation, that connects the dizzy body to the breaker plate. My question is, can I use regualar insulated wire as a ground strap for the dizzy, or do I need the special cloth braided insulation?
Bill
Bill Mertz

Bill, Ordinary wire works ok but it may not last as long as the more flexible original
pigtails. The vacuum advance keeps the breaker plate moving as you drive so a
stiff ordianry wire may become brittle and eventually break. FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

Bill,
You can buy woven insulated wire in very small gages and lengths, with any number of terminal combinations from most electric motor rewind shops. You can also buy insulated woven copper as well as high quality terminals from many RC modeling shops.
Mark Childers

Are you sure it was insulated? Mine isn't (after all, it connects the bare metal points plate to the bare metal dist housing....) When mine broke, I made a new one out of solder wick I bought at an electronics supply house. This is the supple braided copper wire that is used to remove solder from circuit boards &c. Don't use stiff wire as it may restrict the action of the vacuum advance.
Rob Edwards

All distributor ground straps are about the same size and any of them will work. The problem is that more modern ignition systems do without them. I picked up a couple from a GM dealers parts department. I thought it was best to get them before only archeologists can find them.
Dan

My Ford-engined Scimitar *didn't have a ground strap but relied on three sliding contacts for continuity through the points. Gave several heart-stopping moments where the engine nearly died just as I pulled out into traffic before I retro-fitted one. It *may* work without one, but don't rely on it.
Paul Hunt

Bill,
DO NOT put that new pertronix in without a good groundstrap!!!!!

You notice how many wires that Pertronix has? TWO. One goes to +12VDC, the other one goes to the negative side of the coil to turn the coil on and off.
Where does the Pertronix get the grounding it so desperately needs? Through that groundstrap.

Pertronix units do not last very long without a good ground. I wish they would document that a little better in their literature, it would probably save them a lot of warranty replacements.

David "love my Pertronixes (Pertronii?)" Lieb
David "another inane comment" Lieb

Well I think I called every car and electric place listed in the yellow pages and no dice, so I ran to the pick and pull and found a strap that fits good enough. its not long enough to reach the original screw terminal on the breaker plate, but there was another screw in the breaker plate that was a bit closer and should work fine.
Bill "saved by the pick n pull again" Mertz
Bill Mertz

This thread was discussed between 27/08/2002 and 30/08/2002

MG MGB Technical index

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