Morris Minor Owners Club

You said the dizzy WAS sparking..... A trick you could try is to rub oil all over the rotor arm - and then try it. And - I don't see the 'Morris Minor Centre' on here offering you advice..... So -we need to know if you are getting any sparks at the plug.....
Problem is - if you have not fitted/gapped the points and condenser correctly - you may have introduced further problems into the equation...........

KatiePotatie wrote:It seems like not a week goes by when something doesn't go wrong with Martha. Today she just cut out whilst I was driving along & now won't start. Last week it was the brakes, before that it was the gearbox.

I fear she is becoming too expensive, and think it might be time to think about getting rid of her. Upsetting to even think about. This is the car I learned to drive in, and the reason I have made some very good friends, but the cost of keeping her may outweigh any sentimental value...

Katie, most "new" (new to theor owners_ Minors have been neglected! therefore you always have to work through the problems caused by past negelct, then the car will be super reliable for years. otherwise you will fix all the problems, then the next owner will benefit from all the hard work and new parts and not you. you have been warned! ;-)

The Dizzy WAS sparking, then it wasn't, I fit (and adjusted) new points & condenser and it is still not sparking, nothing is sparking. Tomorrow we are going to try a coil from a working car to see if that is the problem.

I am able, (despite what you may think) to follow instructions & manage to fit quite simple bits on my car, you know, the condenser & points are fitted & set correctly, please, if you are not being patronising, have a read of what you write before you press 'submit' and think about how it may sound? I appreciate the tips, but you just seem to be coming across as exceptionally patronising, bmcecosse. I am a new Morris Minor owner, not stupid.

The Morris Minor Centre were actually really helpful, so before you pooh pooh them, I would like to thank them for their help, in real life, not on the internet.

chickenjohn wrote:

KatiePotatie wrote:It seems like not a week goes by when something doesn't go wrong with Martha. Today she just cut out whilst I was driving along & now won't start. Last week it was the brakes, before that it was the gearbox.

I fear she is becoming too expensive, and think it might be time to think about getting rid of her. Upsetting to even think about. This is the car I learned to drive in, and the reason I have made some very good friends, but the cost of keeping her may outweigh any sentimental value...

Katie, most "new" (new to theor owners_ Minors have been neglected! therefore you always have to work through the problems caused by past negelct, then the car will be super reliable for years. otherwise you will fix all the problems, then the next owner will benefit from all the hard work and new parts and not you. you have been warned! ;-)

She'll be a brand new car before long!

Don't give up on her. If you had a modern you would be having problems with central locking or electric windows!!!

Very sorry if my comment sounded patronising, but i just couldnt think of anything else to say and was just trying to give a useful comment.

The Cam sensor and air flap went on my Skoda Octavia 2008 £971 to repair . My Morris will be still on the Road when the Skoda in in the Scrap yard .

I have found bits for moderns are too bad if you buy second hand from the right place, £10 for a fuel rail end and throttle position sensor for 1.4 fiesta.

Have you tried kicking the hub caps?

My money would be on this being fuel supply related, as ignition problems wouldn't normally cause the car to just stop dead, unless it was something like a broken wire. No harm in trying a new rotor arm though, or giving the plugs a good clean (as well as checking the gaps). Check, clean up and WD40 all connections in the ignition system.

Clutching at straws a little, but if it still won't go once you've got a healthy spark at the plugs again, you could try giving the carb float bowl a good wallop (while the ignition is switched on). I had a similarish problem to you a couple of months ago - I backed the car out of the garage, then as I was closing the door it abruptly cut out and wouldn't re-start. Checked for a spark, which was there, so gave the fuel pump a whack. No joy, so gave the carb float bowl a wallop with my fist, which was followed by a mad chatter from the fuel pump for a second, after which the car started fine and still got me to work on time! I presume the valve was sticking, resulting in no (or not enough) petrol getting through. Checking the fuel filter might be a good idea, just to make sure it isn't blocked. There might have been some detritus in the bottom of the fuel tank that's been sucked up and has accumulated in the filter.

I'd agree with what others are saying regarding a Minor being pushed into everyday use for the first time in a while. Faults inevitably come to the surface which will need fixing, but once this has been done the car will be reliable.

Ok Katie - only trying to help - I've done my best at a distance to guide you, and you haven't followed my advice up to now, so I will leave you to it.

Aww, I just read through this whole thread and it started kinda depressing and has turned out REALLY depressing.

I have no idea whatsoever how to help -- haven't had Mog on the road in two years, so haven't tinkered with the ignition stuff -- but I can safely say that Minors are among the simplest and least expensive cars to run. Even over here in the States, where I have to import parts and shipping is crazy (and the dollar keeps dropping against the pound, grrrr!!! ), and being a "uni" student and having no money and working on Mog only over summer and Christmas breaks, and having thought Mog was structurally safe and reliable and then I wrecked it and thank heaven because it was terrifically unsafe and I never would have known -- even with all that, I wouldn't give up my cantankerous baleful piece of caveman technology to save my neck.

The fact is, it gets to be a love affair with these cars. You SAY you're into your significant other, but REALLY you're out there polishing chromework and replacing condensers.........

Don't lose faith, Katie. We believe in you and we love you, and we want you to have plenty of trouble-free years of Moggie motoring. It CAN be done.

Im sure if we gather together all the knowledge of various members of this board we can get you back on the road in no time!

In my mind, first thing is to identify if the problem is no fuel or no spark. Its all about narrowing down what the problem can be until you only have one suspect part left. When you say it is sparking, do you mean at the end of one of the spark plug leads? If held against the head when the engine is turning over (I think someone suggested this already) there should be a regular spark jumping to the head. If there is a spark, then either the spark plugs are dirty/damaged, or no fuel. Giving the spark plugs a good clean cant hurt. Obviously make sure you connect the leads to them in the same order they came off the engine (Ive got in a right muddle before when taking them all off, then you cant remember what order they go back!)

If its a fuel supply problem, as other people have said most likely muck in a pipe somewhere if the fuel pump is working. If you take the float bowl lid off, can you see any muck in the bottom? also point the pipe leading from the fuel pump into a bucket and turn the ignition on for a few seconds, do we get fuel in the bucket?

If still no luck, take off the air filter cover and air filter. Can you lift the piston inside the carburetor up at all? it will be stiff to move but should not be stuck. Also you could try to pour a small amount of fuel directly into the mouth of the carburetor. Then try starting it. If it splutters or runs very briefly, then that would suggest the jet of the carburetor has a blockage and fuel isnt getting from the float bowl to the engine.

Obviously its harder to diagnose a problem when its not in front of us, but hopefully if you try the things I have listed above and tell us what happened, we can piece it together and narrow down the problem. Over time you will get to know the car better and it will be much more reliable Good luck, and keep us updated! I struggled with mine when I first got it, but you only need to gain a little knowledge before you can get it going reliably.

I asked these Qs Picky - and got no answers. Without feedback it's just not possible to diagnose at a distance. Katie then told MMC a different story about the dizzy - fitted new points and condenser at their suggestion, and now it's not sparking. Now seems I'm 'patronising' (?) - so I had better step away in case I cause further grief.

I'm not about to get into an argument with you bmcecosse, I tried to answer your questions as best I could with my limited knowledge, but you attitude puts me off a little bit. Let's just leave it at that.

Fingolfin - It's true, I do love her, and I know I would never actually get rid of her. For a start, I've already investd too much in her ;) It's a steep learning curve, she is my first car, and back in March I knew nothing at all about cars, but I am learning, now I can even sort out the brakes myself, and it didn't take that long to figure out where to put the fuel either I enjoy my Sunday Morning Martha & Me time, I always get up early & have a bit of play with her, even i it's just giving her a bit of a bath, I'm sure a modern car wouldn't get that out of me!

picky - The fuel is getting through, and last night Ashley came over & we had a look at the carb, I haven't tried putting the petrol in though, I'm a bit terrified I might explode myself or something Everything is ok with the carb, the spark plugs aren't, and neither is the dizzy, but they were, then they weren't. I know this makes little sense, but this happened before I did anything, so my replacing the points & condenser had nothing to do with the disappearing spark.

Ash is coming with his car tonight so at least we can try bits of his car & see what makes my car work ;)

Ok well I hope you manage to sort it. If its on and off then my guess as other people have said is a loose/damaged wire in the ignition system somewhere. I would check the condition of the wires to and from the coil, a multimeter would be good to have/get. Good luck!

Are there no other members nearby who may be able to lend a fresh set of eyes?
Theres no doubting your own ability - as a minor owner its safe to assume some level of competence - but another perspective always helps.

Just to recap - fuel is getting to the carb and you are NOT getting any spark?
If I were you I'd concentrate purely on the sparking problem. The fueling side is a moot issue til you actually get a spark.
Most likely it'll be something silly - maybe the lead from the coil to the dizzy is somehow dicky? Who knows. I think it'll come down to a brute force job - replace the whole shebang and just be glad when it works.

It might be worth checking the low tension wire inside the dizzy. I had the same problem - car stopped dead - and it turned out that a small area of the braided cover on the wire had frayed/rubbed away slightly, causing the wire to touch on the dizzy insides causing a short. Good luck - hopefully it will be an easy fix and you'll soon be back on the road

I hope it is easy to fix, my mum is meant to be moving out next week & I would like to be able to help (read: get her gone asap)

From what i hear on the grapevine, it was the coil...

fancy that...