Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Aero SS cutting out

Hi All,
I know this is an issue that has been discussed before but its now become a real issue on the SS and really scary if it happens in a dangerous place, like this morning coming down Stow hill with a queue at the traffic lights at the bottom and literally everything cuts out - except the radio!- so no indicators, power steering,etc and literally standing on the brakes to slow it down and in the end taking a hard left towards Burford to stop piling into a transit van! Once coming to a holt, I turn the ignition key, press the starter and away it goes. However, it happened again a mile later but then all fine. It has happened a few times and I took it back to Morgan and they said it was dirty contacts on the isolation switch. This had been replaced a year earlier at Morgan dealers so I find that a bit hard to believe. It also happened on the S1 again exactly the same symptoms and switch replaced with some improvement in the number of times it failed. I really will never go on the motorway with the SS as a failure in the outside lane could well end up with me meeting my maker!!
Am I the only one to suffer this or anyone with the issue and more important what the remedy is?
many thanks
T

I'd hasten to add that I am not an electrical expert, but I can relate your experience to what happened to me a few years ago. In those days I drove TVRs, and (despite their general reputation for unreliability) I got on well with over a dozen of them. But my 1999 S3 suffered from a number of poor earths, most dramatically when one day everything failed (apart from the radio which was on a bypass circuit from the battery, so kept working). Fortunately I was close to home on a B road, and the chap from the AA replaced the main earth cable to the chassis with a nice fat new one. Thereafter all was fine, so if you haven't tried that it could be a quick and easy fix.

Just a thought, if the OE isolation switches used in production are the same as the spare parts stock drawn upon for repair / replace they could have the same longevity fault ?

Eg, airborne corrosion on the internal contacts which also forms during prolonged parts storage

I know that hill coming out of Stow , must have been a real "brown trousers" moment .

I suspect it is somewhere in the electrical system, but tracking it down is going to take some detective work.

A few suggestions:

Is there something near the battery isolation switch which could be "nudging" it slightly?

Is the battery secure, or does it move in its cradle ?

I don't know the Aero wiring at all , but is there a relay in an ignition circuit that could be failing intermittently? Incredibly difficult to track down , some perhaps replace the relays with new ones?

I would also check the fuses controlling the ignition circuit , I think the SS is Canbus? This is outside of my knowledge.

If there is an OBD II port somewhere try plugging in a code reader and see if any fault codes come up.

I don't believe the main battery breaker is an intended isolation switch although it's used as such given the high battery drain affecting many of the Aero series. Consequently I wouldn't be surprised if it fails regularly with such use in line with your earlier experience when it was replaced.

The (inexpensive) battery isolation switch on my Pembleton failed after 3 years/12,000 miles.
I have prevented a future reoccurrence by re-wiring without a cut off switch (I only installed it in the first place as it was a requirement of the self build MVSA test). Could it be that Morgan sourced the same switch?

many thanks for all the responses. I agree about the corrosion issues and maybe related to the age of the vehicle - I spoke to the original owner of the SS and he never had an issue - I suppose he would say that - but it is now 10 years old and the same age as the S1 when that started. Trouble is opening up the bonnet is a mighty scary thing to attempt to sort anything out!

T

Been there a few times, Best referred to as a brown out. Outside lane of M4.
Autobox means no declutch and coast. Got my attention.
All goes dead, engine, instruments, PAS, wipers etc.
In some cases it auto reboots, sometimes you have to reboot and restart.

I would not rule out the dashboard itself. Have you had any work done on or behind it?
If you have ever seen one being removed it is a bit tight back there and refitting it could snag a cable easily.

I believe mine was caught cables behind the dash following the screen bring re fitted due to leaks?

Hi Alastair,
I bet your life flashed by when it happened on the M4! The failure even of the indicators must cause frustrations with other drivers when you go hard to port! The S1 failed on the A34 once and my other half has never been in it since!
The roof does leak which is why I never go out in the rain if possible but to be honest its seen no rain for months as stuck in garage. No work on the dash and it spent over a day at the factory trying to find the issue and all they found was some corrosion on the cut off "box". But as they still cant fix the bloody fuel gauge I do wonder at how much they really checked. It really does test any brand loyalty doesnt it!
T

Best not to call it a fuel GAUGE. Try something like petrol proximity indicator and it will be less annoying! I use 200 miles as a refill point. The S2 is pretty good. The Coupe was actually significantly improved by the factory during one visit but it remains more proximity than any other car I have had.

For the cut outs, the rain was coming in around the lower edge/corner of the windscreen and going down the back of the dash resulting in a reset of the gremlin box. Two times were when it was lashing down but a third more worrying event was on a dry day on the A34 near home when it reset and continued after generating a very odd cabin smell, mostly provided by me.

On the S2 a regular replacement of the rubber strip and end grommets along with the sisor clamps makes a huge difference. Some still slips in around the top corner of the side window but I can live with that. Ironically in the beginning we bought the Coupe because it could be used in all weathers however the darn thing leaked more than the S2. Mostly fixed now.

Still love them more than anything.