Morris Minor Owners Club

turned off the engine today, and the red ignition light stayed on. the battery was flat also. not quite sure why the light stayed on though.

Obviously not completely flat - or the light wouldn't glow! If it's a dynamo then probably the voltage regulator has 'stuck in'. This will flatten the battery in ultra quick order - and may burn out the dynamo too because it's trying to run as a motor - but can't turn !! Is this after the 'garage' had fixed your loose wire problem ?? Whatever the casue - disconnect the battery right away!

thanks. yes, this happened after the garage had fixed the loose wire. i disconnected the battery, and then put it on charge. any ideas what to do now? maybe i need a new dynamo? anyway, will see if it's okay after overnight charging.

I would worry about the 'garage' and the 'fixing'. Where was this loose wire ? Open up the voltage regulator - and check the little relays are free to move - one may be 'welded' in constant contact.

the red ignition light stayed on

I had just that fault occurring, one of the regulator contacts had welded itself together, and then melted so that the neatly welded part had fallen off! A new regulator box cured the problem. I think it was initially caused by a faulty dynamo that I tested as a spare! (needless to say - it was consigned to the scrapheap!

I have a good working spare if you want it for the cost of postage?

also if the settings are not right on them that can not push the contact lever back off also they can also cause the battery not to charge properly if they are not connected while in use ,but they are in use all the time and they tend to burn out and stick after years of use......i used to have one on my mini i say used to.....it wound me up so much i got tried of constantly opening the bonnet just to get it to disconnect so it took it out & rewired it & converted it to use a alternator

hi, thanks for the input. although there was a new fuse added under the dashboard ( a modern blade type) when i had electric window washers and a cigar light fitted, the fault was in the box behind the original two fuse area on the chassis in the engine, with a wire having come loose apparently. is this the regulator box? anyway, i charged it overnight, and this morning the red light had gone, it started first time, and when i switched off again, no red light, so it appears normal again. this is the second time this has happened after a trip to the garage (first time just for a normal MOT) and both times corrected with an overnight charge.

TO MINOR HICCUP. Is your working spare a regulator box? If this is what I need if this problem recurs, then yes, that's a kind offer. thanks.
sorry, as you can see I'm a bit of a dumbo when it comes to this kind of thing. wizard at changing a spark plug, and, er, that's it.

The reg box is big one opposite your right hand when you're driving - through the bulkhead, obviously. IE, the top left corner of the bulkhead when you look from the front of the car.

Perhaps a mod should move this to the Electrical section?

doc, I'll try and send it Monday and let you know how much the postage is? How does that sound? Oh and I'll need your address if you want to PM it.

Or just decide now to convert to alternator! And i would be looking for a different garage - it all seems to go wrong after your visits there!

minor_hickup wrote:doc, I'll try and send it Monday and let you know how much the postage is? How does that sound? Oh and I'll need your address if you want to PM it.

that's really good of you. you can send it to ******************, and i will obviously refund the postage.

Errr Mod please

Errrrrr, Lee, ta!

BG

I've PMd the address, btw

Best to keep personal info off this very public forum! Always send info like that via PM.

Hence my errr message

PM recieved, crisis overted