Click here to return to the home page.
Morgan Aero 8
Who's Online Now
2 members (JD44, verysideways), 333 guests, and 42 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
John V6 69
DaveW 66
+8Rich 66
Newest Members
4199, GOFFO1965, Joske Vermeule, SBP17, Ulfulf
9,208 Registered Users
Newest Topics
For Sale - `librands double buckle bonnet strap
by DavidPoole - 23/07/25 06:38 PM
Maybe an MX5
by howard - 23/07/25 04:10 PM
Dashboard Turn Signal Light
by Bob_Price - 23/07/25 03:37 PM
Ozzy Osbourne
by Burgundymog - 22/07/25 08:28 PM
FREE - Roadster 100 book by Frank W. Lamaz
by DavidPoole - 22/07/25 07:12 PM
Super Three chain drive conversion
by Alastair - 22/07/25 04:18 PM
M3W - Anyone know this car?
by Biggle - 22/07/25 01:40 PM
Latest Photos
Motorworld München
Motorworld München
by Oskar, July 20
visit to Classic Remise Düsseldorf
my book
my book
by Oskar, July 20
More Pictures of the MHR Visit
More Pictures of the MHR Visit
by DaveK, July 19
Visit to the Factory- Historic Morgan Group
Forum Statistics
Forums34
Topics48,345
Posts813,037
Members9,208
Most Online1,046
Aug 24th, 2023
Today's Birthdays
Captain Morgan, IRWIN
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,880
Likes: 20
H
Charter Member
Offline
Charter Member
H
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,880
Likes: 20
OK Stephen. The click you heard is the solenoid and this suggests either a flat battery with only enough power to activate the solenoid or a duff starter motor / bad connection. That the car now works with a fresh battery suggests that it was a simple flat battery.

A flat battery can be one of three things. No 1 is a duff battery. No 2 is a good battery not being charged by the alternator. No 3 is a steady discharge whilst parked and turned off.. You can get a very good idea of which with a simple digi voltmeter. The alternator should charge the battery at somewhere round 14.5v so step 1 is to start the engine, get someone to rev at say 2000rpm and check the volts at the battery terminal. If the volts are 12.8 or even less then alternator problem. If 14.5 or thereabouts then alternator likely is OK. Lets assume the alternator is OK then stop the engine and turn on the headlights for 20 sec or so to burn off any excess charge on the plates. Let the battery sit for 5 mins and measure the voltage. Take a not - likely its something like 12.8v. Let the car sit for half a day and again measure the volts. In an ideal world it wont have dropped even as much as 0.1v showing nothing draining the battery. But if it has dropped then go straight to that windscreen heater button. It should not show any light at all when the car is parked up and the light it does show indicates its using up your amps.
The whine is likely to be irrelevant - after all it can only be there when the engine is running since stationary there is nothing to generate the AC voltage you are hearing. It could possibly be an indication of a duff alternator but see above.
Last comment. Take the car to an auto electrician and not your usual garage. The average mechanic knows sod all about electric circuits and their testing.

Last edited by howard; 11/07/16 06:58 AM.
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 3,547
Likes: 4
Talk Morgan Addict
Offline
Talk Morgan Addict
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 3,547
Likes: 4
Glowing buttons are rither indicative of a bad earth with the live circuits trying to return to the battery via alternative paths

Or the circuit board that the indicators are driven by is faulty.



If you want to know what state your battery is in have a proper battery load test performed on it that would show up a week battery no problem but that wouldn't make your window heater glow?


Mark - No Longer driving
Archie the Old English Sheep Mog...........
2010 Roadster 3.0 V6 (S3) wink
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 15,794
Likes: 14
Formerly known as Aldermog
Member of the Inner Circle
Offline
Formerly known as Aldermog
Member of the Inner Circle
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 15,794
Likes: 14
Later Aero based cars, the ones with the 4.8L motor, have a digital voltmeter available to display in the small LCD in the bottom of the speedometer. I'm not sure exactly when this started, possibly the Aero S4.

I checked Tarka, following the process you descrived, and the results were spot on: 14.7v charging, 12.3v after a few hours sitting. Turning on the lights, heated screen and seat heater each drops the voltage by 0.1v, so with all on it showed 12.0v.
This suggests that the battery is good and being properly charged.

The switch pannel with the Warning lights and the strip of warning lights below are prone to internal corrosion if they get damp. On Tarka the row of warning lights failed one by one until nothing worked - but the button for the heated screen glowed very slightly and all the switches worked.

All replaced by MMC under warranty.


Peter,
66, 2016 Porsche Boxster S
No longer driving Tarka, the 2014 Plus 8...

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,880
Likes: 20
H
Charter Member
Offline
Charter Member
H
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,880
Likes: 20
12.3v is somewhere around 50% charged Peter - cant be precise because voltage depends on load. However a battery that is left 50% charged isnt going to be happy for long so you might like to attach a trickle charger.

The common problem is that it takes quite a long run for the alternator to fully charge a 50% discharged battery. On my boat it takes 6 hours because the current flow into the battery falls significantly as the charge state of the battery rises.And thats with the alternator running at 14.5 v

Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 15,794
Likes: 14
Formerly known as Aldermog
Member of the Inner Circle
Offline
Formerly known as Aldermog
Member of the Inner Circle
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 15,794
Likes: 14
Howard,

thanks...I possibly need to use the Optimate more.

At 12.3v the car starts without any issue. I wonder how low it has to fall before the car will not start?



Peter,
66, 2016 Porsche Boxster S
No longer driving Tarka, the 2014 Plus 8...

Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,948
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Offline
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,948
Originally Posted By Peter J
Howard,

thanks...I possibly need to use the Optimate more.

At 12.3v the car starts without any issue. I wonder how low it has to fall before the car will not start?



It's not just poor starting that tells you the battery charge is slightly below par. On my Aero, some of the CANBUS sensors seem very sensitive to voltage differences, for example bulb fail warnings. The lights work OK, but warnings are triggered unless the battery is fully charged. Quirky things these Morgans.


Stuart
"There's no skill substitute like cubic inches."
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 123
S
Stephen Offline OP
L - Learner Plates On
OP Offline
L - Learner Plates On
S
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 123
So an update - all appears well with the car. I followed the advice handed out here (thanks again) and the alternator is charging the battery and I've had no further issues.

I suspect the previous battery had gone bad although I'll get the heater light issue looked into as a priority. I also plan to have the non-standard equipment removed too.

Thanks again! smile


Current: Aero SuperSports
Previous: Aero 8 S3
Want: Aero 8 GTN
Page 2 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  TalkMorgan 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5