Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing I think i have an earth problem

1978 4/4 1600cc. Happily rattling down the road, and then all of a sudden Molly stops. No dash lights (ignition etc.) Rev counter drops to zero. No go Joe. Coast to the side of the road, mostly she will start gain, sometimes with a few tries, sometimes right away. Evey now and the she will hiccough while in motion and then fire again, same symptoms. Any idea where to start troubleshooting? Earth lead from Battery to chassis looks OK, but i haven't unbolted yet. Do you think I am on the right track?

Obviously something electrical. When you say 'no dash lights' do you mean they go out at the same time?

I recently had an issue with a worn ignition switch - any bump would move the key slightly and cut off the power - sometimes slighly, giving a misfire and sometimes full shut down.

Replaced the switch and all fixed (went for an MGB one, almost identical wiring and fitting and a fraction of the price of a Morgan one).

You need to take the earths appart the corrosion is hidden. Use a contact spray.
There is a major earth from the engine to the body.

This is a list of later Roadster earths

I had similar symptoms with a break in the king lead to the coil. A new king lead cured it instantly.

I also had the same, the engine just died. Unfortunately on a fairly busy narrow lane As it was very close to my son's he came straight out and towed me to his home.
We checked everything, especially around the ignition. We found the LT lead from the coil to the distributor was the culprit. When I checked it with a meter it didn't show open circuit, but a replacement solved the problem.

I am on the side of the ignition switch and main battery to chassis earth as your lights and gauges were effected at the same time, if it was just the engine cutting in and out I would look at the main engine earth and coil wiring. It would seem that the power wire to the ignition switch could be loose or as suggested above there is a loose part within the switch, one test is to bypass the ignition switch and see if things work and run better.

Fairly easy wiring on the earlier models Druid. First check sidelights work ok with ignition switch off, and there is current drain on ammeter (assuming you have one). If ok there then trace brown/white wire to ignition switch. If that shows as live (+12 volts) then check white wire(s) out of switch with ignition on. If any intermittency change ignition switch. Any generic one with ignition and spring detent start position should work.

I had a starting problem earlier this year where the engine would always start when cold, but randomly, wouldn't start if stopped during a trip. The local dealer, Berrybrook, suggested that one of the earths was to blame, so I started with the easiest, which was the battery, thoroughly cleaned both parts and reassembled and everything has been alright since, so hoping that was it, if this is of any help?

Thanks for the input folks. I don't think it is the main engine earth, as I'm pretty sure the starter wouldn't crank if it was, and it does every time (and nearly always starts). After a conversation with the previous owner, I am leaning towards a wiring issue at the ignition switch, he had replaced it some time ago for a mechanical issue in the switch, and maybe one of the solder joints he deployed have come awry. Starting to get beyond my pay grade, we have an auto electrician locally who does old cars, so maybe it will be time for him. Will report back if we find anything to add to the body of knowledge.

Might be worth pointing this out to your autosparkie

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/749435/re-non-start-plus-8#Post749435