loss of power

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:02 pm

Hi i recently reversed my battery to negative earth , since then i have a loss of power , feels a little bit sluggish in general but really noticable when going uphill < there is rather a large hill near where i live which Pob used to get up no problem but he now really struggles. The only thing i have done is the negative earth could this have caused the problem?

Post by **ssnjimb** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:31 pm

HelloJoanne

Did you follow the instructions carefully.

Check your ignition timing and make sure the ignition system is in good service.

Have you swopped the positive and negative wires around on the coil etc

Jamie

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:40 pm

Hi Jamie , i followed the instructions to the letter , cleaned the points and switched the wires on the coil and the dynamo, i'm afraid i have no idea how to check the ignition timing or system

i apoligise in advance for not knowing anything aboout cars

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:42 pm

Hi Jamie , i followed the instructions to the letter , cleaned the points and switched the wires on the coil and the dynamo, i'm afraid i have no idea how to check the ignition timing or system

i apoligise in advance for not knowing anything aboout cars

Post by **ssnjimb** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:44 pm

no no no please dont apologise its a learning thing.

How i learnt was to go to my local library and go to the computer and search there library catalogue for morris minor books.

Order a few and read through the basic maintenance points and become aquanted with them.

As Manuel would say I Learnt Minors I learnt it from a boook.

Jamie

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:56 pm

any hints and tips would be gratefully received , i have to use the car dailey so really need to get it sorted asap

Post by **Sidney'61** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:59 pm

Do the wires on the fuel pump need reversing aswell?

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:22 pm

It didn't say anything about the fuel pump wires so i didn't swap them ?? Do they need reversing?

Post by **mike.perry** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:42 pm

Swapping from pos to neg earth should have absolutely no effect on the performance of the car.
No you do not need to touch the fuel pump or anything not covered in your instructions. I would say that the problem is unrelated and is just a co incedence.
Check the points gap in the distributor and check that it is tight does not turn. You can try slackening off the clamp screws and twisting it slowly one way or the other until you get the fastest tickover, but mark the position of the dizzy first with a blob of tipex or something so you can return to the start if you get lost. If that does not cure it there are other checks.

Post by **PSL184** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:25 pm

There are no wires to switch on the dynamo - Just battery cables and coil. Most probable cause is that the points have closed up and need opening or replacing - This can be a consequence of switching from pos to neg earth as the pit and tip will form on opposite contact faces and effectively close the gap up..... Take out nail file first and file them good and flat before resetting the gap (use the thickness of a corflake packet) and see how it goes.

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:04 pm

Many thanks i did switch the dynamo wires (having re read the instuctions i realise i shouldn't have ! ) will swap them back tomorrow an re clean the points .... What can i say except i am a blonde

Post by **ssnjimb** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:07 pm

it doesent matter.

I have done bigger jobs on bluey and then had to take everything apart. like putting the timing chain back together properly as it was grinding i found i had put the disc with an F on back to front. so i had to take the front panel and bumper back off i was fuming

Jamie

Post by **joannebinney** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:22 pm

Thanks for that Jamie i was feeling just a little bit of a fool lol , i suppose it's just a matter of learning along the way
Joanne

Post by **bmcecosse** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:23 pm

You really should also clean the points in the fuel pump - but that's not the reason for this loss of power. As above - it's likely poor points gap - start checking there!

Post by **ssnjimb** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:59 am

Anytime Joanne

Jamie

Post by **joannebinney** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:23 pm

Big thankyou to everyone ,i re did the points and put the dynamo wires back where they should be

all is now well again and Pob can once again get up the big hill , my own fault for not reading through the instructions properly .. oh well lesson learned

Post by **PSL184** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:27 pm

Well done - you can now feel smug with yourself