Electrical

[andrewcramb]

I am Andy Cramb from Glasgow, I am a new member, just finished restoring my 1964 convertible Morris 1000 1098, when I purchased the car it had been off the road, garaged for 2 years, it had a New Battery, Coil, Points Plugs etc. new Fuel Pump almost everything Electrical after the rebuild I connected everything as I bought the Car, It was wired Negative earth , after starting the Engine and running the car for the first time, everything seemed to be working ok, I revved the car only to find the Dash Light got very bright after a few seconds it faded, after this, I have no Fuel Gauge, Indicators, Interior Heater Fan and maybe the Brake lights, the Black and White Wire, CB to the Distributor and the other wire to the SW have not been switched round for the Battery to work on Negative Earth, I assumed all this had been done, as everything looks new and it ran until I increased the revs, could I have done in the Voltage regulator? any advice and suggestions to cure this and get the Battery connected properly would be great
Andy Cramb

[mike1864]

I don't reckon the polarity of the SW and CB wiring makes a lot of difference to the performance (though purists might argue about the eventual spark direction!)

It certainly won't have done any damage or caused the problems you describe.

A few questions: Are you running on the original dynamo; or has it been converted to an alternator? What is the battery status? It should measure 12.7 volts if fully charged (actually nearer 13.0 in this colder weather). If it's reading 12.1 or lower, it's effectively flat. This needs addressing first. If you've no access to a voltmeter, do the other electrics work? Especially high current stuff like the headlights.

Mike

[andrewcramb]

Hi Mike
Thanks for getting back to me
The Battery is fully charged, reading FULL on the Charger, it still has the original Dynamo, when the Headlamps are on with the car running, press the accelerator and the lights brighten with the speed of the Engine , so it looks like there is a good charge getting to it, just looking for a fix for the faults I said

[simmitc]

The warning light should glow brightly when you switch on and then extinguish when the engine is running fast enough - exact speed depends on whether you have a dynamo or an alternator. It is posisble that the previous owner had got some wires crossed and fed the power for the other circuits through the warning lamp which has now blown as if it were a fuse. If you search this site for "wiring diagram" you should get a very good schematic of how the wires should be arranged; it is certainly worth checking that everything is in the correct place. First question though is dynamo or alternator?

[simmitc]

The circuits that you list as not working are all ignition switched, so it could be that the connection to the switch ois wrong, or that the switch has failed. Also check that both fuses are OK - a multimeter to check where power is reaching would be useful.

[mike1864]

Just to be clear, the car is running OK? And the dash light you mentioned is the red ignition one? Does it still come on when you turn the ignition on, but then go out as soon as you start the engine. This is as it should be.
As the other posters said, it's looking like a dead fuse or - as it's been laid up - corrosion in the fuse holder. Cured with emery paper and (if you've got it) switch cleaner spray.
Try this before pulling the wiring apart!
Mike

[andrewcramb]

Hi all
I found the problem, I checked the fuse, then checked the fuses and then checked the fuses, everything seemed ok, still no joy, so I checked the fuses, everything seemed fine, until I actually inspected them in my hands, the silver ends on the fuse was attached, but they weren't making contact, so I replaced the fuse and everything is working
Andy Cramb

[mike1864]

It's good to hear it's sorted; and in under six hours. Some of the threads on this forum run on for weeks!

One classic was where an un-mentioned re-wire had put the main feed wire to the fusebox on to the wrong side of the starter solenoid. The symptoms had everyone foxed for ages till someone spotted the mis-wire in the OP's photo.

Mike