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MG MGF Technical - MGF not starting after a damp night.???

Hello there.

Does anybody find their MGF won't start the morning after and damp/rainy night?

When I try to start the car it struggles at first, then I leave it a few seconds, sometimes it will cough and splutter a bit and then start, or it won't even attempt to start? Also if I manage to get it going, as I am driving the car kind of looses power and judders? Especialy just as I set of from a stationary position?

Does anybody have any ideas what maybe happening before I have to spend on taking to be looked at.

Thanks.
Steve

Steve,

Sounds like damp HT leads. If they are dirty, then they tend to hold the damp. Give them a good clean first, rather than just spraying with WD40.

How about petrol? Can you hear the pump primeing the system if you just turn the ignition key to the first position? You should hear a buzz fo a few seconds until it reaches pressure.

Tony
Tony

Yeah thats what I thought!

How does one go about getting to the leads? Ive only recently tried to look for an MGF manual, to find out how to strip it down. Whats the easiest way of getting to the leads? I presume it involves attacking it from inside the car? Starting with taking the seats out.

Steve.
Steve

Oh .. and yes the petrol side of things seems fine.

Steve

You have mail Steve.

Bruce
Bruce Caldwell

It is certainly worth changing the leads, and you might as well go for some decent Magnicor ones.

Also, if you have a VVC, a common cause of non-starting in damp conditions is the coil. In fact on my own Mpi I had this little problem and a new coil sorted it. For a short term fix you can sometime find that placing some plastic underneath the boot lid vents can solve the problem, just be certain to remove it before you drive the car anywhere.

My car had to go to and from the MGR garage several times before they managed to isolate the problem, in the end the only way to find it was to get the AA to tow the car to the garage in a non-working state in order to diagnose the problem.

Now, 5 years later the problem still has not re-occured, I've had a few other problems but that's a different story....

Tim
Tim

Steve

Bruce has probably already answered your questions but if not try http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/ DIY pull down and select Maintenance where there are full instructions with piccies on changing plugs and leads.

Note: do not take the seats out just the parcel shelf.
JohnP

Thank you very much guys, that's excellent!

Im sure I should be able to solve the problem now.

Thanks again.

Steve.
Steve

Steve - was it the leads ? I have been experiencing the same problem on damp days as well so be interested to learn if this cured the problem.

Tim - re your coil cure ?? Could you expand a bit. Is it a fix you can do yourself ?
Jon

Magnacor leads every time. I fitted mine three years ago and have not had starting problems since.

The VVC has two coils mounted under the engine so fairly immune to overnight rain.



Brian

Mine does exactly the same thing and its really dangerous as I have a roundabout at the end of my road....the car almost loses all power! As for the starting problem I find that pressing the accelerator down once before starting always works......
Dolly
Dolly D

> The VVC has two coils mounted under the engine so fairly immune to overnight rain

Thought the VVC had coils mounted under rear air vent so not immune to any rain? To add my 2p worth, I had this problem as well. Wet start was OK, cold start was OK, but one of those days where it's cold and damp caused no end of trouble.

Changed the plugs last winter and that got me to this (they last to about 30K, then consider replacing). Then changed leads and not had a problem since. If you have the origial leads on the car (and getting to 4-5 years / 30K+) replace 'em. It's certainly one of the first things to rule out. Don't get the rover replacement ones either.
Leigh

Mines a '97 VVC and the coils are right under the engine. When I went to change the plug leads two years ago I thought it looked like mission impossible.

Help from this BBS put me straight and I did the job in a couple of hours.

Note to anyone changing leads - do them one at a time to avoid mixing the connections up.


Brian

As a confirmed mechanical wimp I will confirm Brian's comments about coil placement. I cheated and paid a 3-man garage just across from my office £5 and he plugged in while his hands were already dirty.

BTW I had already fitted new plugs, my arms just didn't seem to reach round the engine. Wish I had a garage type ramp or a pit!

I'm not totally useless, I have replaced heads on MGBs before and removed LandRover gearboxes but the coils on a VVC are STUPID.
JohnP

So how easy is it to replace the leads? I have never removed the engine cover.

Rover garage replaced the leads about three years ago when I bought the car, but the damp start problem has come back. Last winter a plastic bag over the vent worked but looked very silly when parked in the street.

How much will the leads cost and can I get them from anywhere, Halfords etc.
T Graveling

The leads are expensive.

If you source them from Rover £85.
From a parts place, I don't know, but at least half that I'd think.

Be carful everybody.
I say it so many times, but I have had this problem for over a year.
I changed the leads, then the coil, then got my car serviced and still suffered.
- I soon learnt up to put up with it.

Eventually, I had the car serviced big-time. A realy car lover, cleaning and re-cam belting, water-pumping, etc.. Now, its as if the problem didn't exist.

The point is that leads, and coils, and sparks are generally the first hits, but they are expensive and carry no guarantees.
I think its more down to the condition of the engine as a whole.
Neil H

VVC leads are notorious for wearing and causing damp/wet starting problems through shorting.

I had several sets of OEM leads whilst under the first three years of private lease (and therefore free maintenance). When it happened after I'd bought the car from the lease company and I was paying for maintenance, I bought a set of magnecore leads (the blue ones). This was three years ago and I've never had a problem since.
Dave Livingstone

Magnecor are the only leads to get ... the OEM ones are rubbish. I had this problem for ages, went thru leads, damp proofing, copius amounts of WD40, hairdryer resting in engine bay to dry the coil/lead connection and in the end once I changed to the Magnecor leads I never had a problem. Plugs are changed annually as well. In the meantime cover the engine air vent with a bit of plastic sheeting (er ... when parked and remember to remove it b4 setting off) I did the plastic sheeting thing for over a year b4 I got round to changing the leads - it worked.

Gaz
'96 VVC
Gaz R

This thread was discussed between 07/12/2003 and 13/12/2003

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