Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing P4 won't start

Hello all

I have just received this photo from my English friends who tells me that the rapid clicking is emanating from the silver piece, which at this distance I don't recognise but guess is attached to the starter motor. Any offers please/

Where do each of the pipes go? It looks like a solenoid valve...is it in the fuel line? They don't look like fuel pipes.

The flutter could still be caused by a relay. Have the relays been checked for clicking while this is going on?

If he decides to look behind the dash for relays, an,d has no spare ones. available, suggest he checks by substitution...swap the extreme left hand (Start) relay with the extreme right hand one (high. speed fan) and see if it will start then.

Thanks Doug. I think that he has decided to take it to Tim Ayres(New Elms) nearby . It's frustrating not to be able to just go round and sort it.
Mr W, re: photo. it is all attached to the starter motor.

Time for tea and cake I think.

Tap the starter solenoid with a soft faced mallet, whilst someone turns the key ?

Worth a try if the car's been stood a long time / damp storage

Tried that Jon but here is an update ( I guess all things are useful ) : New Ems now has it and report that the battery is not holding a charge. This is a new - days old - battery from Halfords and the second battery in two years. Does this suggest a battery drain? Remember that the car has been unused for nine weeks and even with a new battery would only start with jump leads. My friend also reports that on a very hot day last summer it stalled and would not restart until ten minutes had passed. I put that down to fuel starvation caused by the heat as I have experienced the same thing once. Anyway I will update this when Tim Ayres has had a thorough look at it because this might help someone else.

The clock if you have one is a drain as is the immobiliser. On the P4 you can use the isolator switch to turn everything else off but 9 weeks is a long time.

Evening all,

This update is as follows: P4 now fitted with a Bosch battery and starts. As John said, nine weeks is a long time for a car to stand. I don't think it has a clock so if there is a batterty drain then the finger points towards the immobiliser. Fitting an isolator switch might be a good idea anyway. I have always had them prior to the Roadster so I'll suggest that. It may be that all will be well but I think that my friend is now wary. Thank you to all of you who chipped in with ideas.

A CTEK or similar battery charger is the answer if the car regularly stands for extended periods.

An alternative solution is as you suggest Ian fitting a battery isolator (red) switch which I have had or have fitted myself on my three cars over the 17 years of ownership and have never put a charger on any of them.

The longest I have left my Plus 8 dormant due to a long holiday was 10 weeks and she fired first pot up.

I would never feel comfortable without a battery isolator switch in a Morgan but that could be due to a lifetime of working with electronics and seeing the resultant battery explosion due to a top quality battery charger failure on standby generator plants on one of the radio stations I commissioned.

Float charging is out of the question for me, but each to his own as they say as I have said previously on here.