Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Problem with front indicator fitting

Well chaps
Thanks for all your help
It’s fixed
I had all but given up but my eldest son was nosey enough to try to prove his technical superiority to his apallingly incompetent father (despite me funding his every second of life)

Anyway together we worked out that it was that the central pin not being gripped by the hole in cardboard washer isolator ring so that the central pin was just getting pushed back further in the fitting and not coming forward with the spring when the lamp was located

Have to say you have all been right in that the fitting is pretty rubbish

Anyway after both of us fiddling with some long nose pliers we thought we had solved it but when I turned the hazards on to test, all the indicators went dead, as we had unwittingly shorted the fitting and blown a fuse

Next came a very frustrating half hour as we realised the fuse box diagram printed on the fuse box cover was wrong (it actually turned out to be back to front) so we had to take out every fuse to see which was the indicators

Every fuse was intact and everything else seemed to be working

Extremely puzzled

It turns out it was one of the 20 Anp dash fuses in another small fuse box and not the indicator fuse which had gone

Anyway we fiddled on again and finally got the central pin through the hole in the washer and got it to sit on top of the spring with enough grip to spring back

Slowly put the lamp back in and it works

Took the Mog round the block and over a few bumps and it’s working fine

What have I learnt?

1. That my 19 year old son is good for something
2. Morgan front indicator fittings are rubbish
3. My patience isn’t what it once was
4. MMC put my fusebox in the wrong way round to their diagram

Stewart I solved this (after doing an unsuccessful clean up) by going inside the wing and pushing the wiring forward, having made a good contact I then put a dab of silicone to stop the wiring vibrating back out. its a pressure thing as well as a corroded contact.
Ideally a new lamp with a decent spring is the real answer.

Good Idea on the silicone behind to stop the wire to the central pin pulling out further from the back

I think the main cause of this issue is the rubbish card isolating washer

If it was something more substantial that had the central pin glued into its centre, there wouldn’t be a problem

Thanks JB, I think that would have worked but It might have had to have been a long blob

If it goes again, I’ll try it

looks like new stainless screws are needed!

That is well known Stewart - I suspect the diagram is shown from underneath the fuse box, where the cables enter

They all do this sir. Yes, even the brake lights. The fibre washer dishes until eventually the contact doesn't meet. Ultimately the contact will push right through. I fixed mine by supporting the fibre washer with a steel washer to stop it dishing. Cut a slot in the steel washer so it will go over the wire and add some suitable insulating material to stop it shorting. They have been OK ever since.

I thought about replacing the fittings but figured the new ones would do the same before long.

Yes good idea

I use plasticard for modelling so I might make a disk to support the fibre washer

There is an insulating disk, with a small conductor in the centre. Behind the disk there is a spring that should push the disk and conductor up onto the connection (blob of solder) on the rear of the bulb. The feed wire comes up from the rear of the fitting, through the spring and connects to the conductor in the centre of the insulated disk (plastic, or paxolin or thick card)

The springs can weaken and you also get general corrosion, also the feed cable does need to be able to move so as to allow the disk to move, pushed by the spring.

Worth spraying some silicon spray or similar into the fitting and pushing the disk (gently) with a screwdriver to see if you can work it free. Can also feel from the rear to see if there is feed wire that can be eased into the fitting to give it a bit of slack and make it easier to move with the disk.

when you push the bulb in, then you rotate it to secure it, at that point the bulb moves back out away from the disk, and the disk should follow, pushed by the spring. Sounds like the disk isn't being pushed far enough to keep the connection

May also be worth checking to see if there is any corrosion on the conductor in the centre of the insulating disk, you may be able to scrape it away with a screwdriver. Also check the solder blob on the bulb, these sometimes corrode

Ultimately its a fairly crude light fitting by Mr Lucas, the King of Darkness, they should be on the maintenance schedule to lubricate them, clean them, and check for water ingress.

I had the same problem some time ago
Hole drilled in bottom of lense to let the water out !
The water was coming in from the back not the front seal
Sealed with silicon
Removed bits cardbord and replaced with disc cutout of plastic
In the good old days this used to be paxalin

Regards

John
Ps depending where you purchase the new fitting you could be lucky and get one with this type of material