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 - MSD coil, B is not starting

I recently installed a MSD coil on my 72B, now it's not starting. Would this be caused by the new coil? I checked everything else and all look fine, the car is cranking up perfectly but is not starting. What am I doing wrong? HELP
Danny

Have you seen this site which seems to contain very detailed information about the MSD systems -
http://www.martelbros.com/msd/support/msd/msdsupport.htm

Please let us know if you find the answer and aslo I'd appreciate your opinion about the MSD after you have got it working and have used it for a while.
Marc

Danny: Do you have spark at the plugs? Pull one and check while someone cranks the starter.
Make sure that the coil lead is pushed fully home into the top of the cap. Sometimes the rubber boots on new leads are so tight that they can pull the lead right back out.
Andrew Blackley

If it worked before you changed the coil then either you have done something wrong or the coil is bad. If there is no spark as above use a voltmeter on the +ve and -ve terminals of the coil. You should see 12v all the time on the +ve and 12v switched on and off by the points on the -ve. No 12v on the +ve means a problem with the white from the fusebox, which comes via the tach. No 12v on the -ve with the white/black to the distributor removed means a bad coil. A permanent 12v on the -ve with the white/black connected means the connection to the points is open circuit. A permament ground on the white/black means the connection to the points is grounded or the points are incorrectly assembled.
Paul Hunt

This thread was discussed between 29/11/2002 and 30/11/2002

MG MGB Technical index

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