Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) My Mog just died!

G'day guys,

out to the shops to get a few groceries...got back in the Mog, turned key....nothing except a "click" from under the bonnet LHS.

Could not believe she had let me down!

Called out the RACV and the guy checked out everything....battery OK, starter motor connections OK, all other cabling and connections OK so the diagnosis was the solenoid had carked it.

Got a push start and made it home alright and when I'd put her to bed in the garage I just gave it one more try and... she started up OK but

Now, vehicle electrics are completely alien to and me there is only one thing worse than a problem and that's an intermittent problem

Question: if the solenoid has indeed cocked its toes, can it rise from the dead? Can one have an intermittent problem with a solenoid?

Would be grateful for the combined wisdom of TM

and

Currently have a similar problem with A11OGE. Some morning I have to bump start it down the drive, then will work fine later on in the day.

1. Is your battery fully charged?
2. Old starter motors are had to come by, but can be re-conditioned.

It could be the solenoid, for all the cost involved I would change this first. The next time it does this, give the solenoid a crack with screwdriver handle or similar, if this fixes the problem change it.

It could also be the ignition switch. I had a similar problem with an old Citroen and it was the ignition switch. Starter motor is also easily and cheaply overhauled.

It could slso be the battery, modern batteries can go like this when near the end of their life. I change a battery after 5 years (if it lasts that long!!) as a matter of routine maintenance.

Intermittent problems are evil...but a great challenge!

Had the same frustrating problem a long time ago with a Mini Marcos. Very often in cold mornings it failed so I ended up always parking it pointing down hill just in case...and also became very generous in offering a colleague (living in the same house) a ride to work. But going home from work in the afternoons it always started on the first turn. Just like you I checked and double checked everything (think I even changed the solenoid and starter) but with no change in behaviour

With the battery in the boot I later learned that the loss of "starting power" with a three and a half meter plus cable could be pretty big. So I changed the cable to a new one with larger diamter and also a new quality battery and then never experienced any problems again.

It could be multiple reasons...just check the system carefully again and you will solve it! Good luck

The solenoid on my 1972 4/4 bit the dust, and picked a right daft place to it (middle of an uphill junction). However I got the car going and apart from being stopped by the police shortly after, got home fine (at least the police understood why I kept the engine running).

Inspection revealed it had got hot, and it would not surprise me if it had been doing this for a short while before its eventual demise. Quick and easy fix, the solenoid is common to loads of cars - mine either came from Halfords or a local accessory shop.

Did you have the "cheap" solenoid without the starter button on its top? Mine is from Lucas and works since 1967. The starter button in the engine compartement is very handy when checking compression, ignition timing and such. A spare is always in my "travel spares set".

BTW: is it mandatory to kill the engine on red lights in GB?

Frank

No Frank - not yet anyway!

I must look out one of those solenoids - very handy to have a start button under the bonnet

Intermittent starting problems are often the result of a bad earth connection of the battery. On Morgans with the battery at the rear the connection to the chassis tends to oxidise. taking it off, cleaning it with emery paper and coating it thick with battery pole grease can "rejuvenate" a battery which was already declared dead by "experts".

...and can lead to interesting results if the car was left in gear

Thanks for the info, Graham

Frank

If it was, the speed of some green light cycles is so short one might never move again in a vintage three wheeler! Even on electric start, it can take a few seconds to get the engine going again and a couple to engage first gear.

Many older engines don't like a hot restart and the tree huggers fuel brew exacerbates this - vapour locks are more common with fuel that has ethanol added.