Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi All!

I'd really appreciate some help if you could. I have a 1958 Minor 1000 who's starting to die on me. She has been refusing to start for a while now, and so I've been starting her with a portable jumpstarter for a week or so. At the beginning the battery would charge up after a drive and be sufficient to restart her throughout the day, but then need jumping again the next morning. Now she won't even turn over even after I've just gone for a drive, and even with the jumpstarter is getting harder to start. Once started, the volt meter on the dashboard shows as average (around the middle of the meter), but now when idling and with the clutch in it's dropping right down low, almost to the point of stalling, and my radio won't work and the indicator beeps slow right down....

Obviously, the first step would be to get a new battery, but as I'm pretty skint right now I thought I'd better check first - if the battery refuses to hold a charge, is it just because it's completely clapped out, or could it be a regulator problem?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Nell

It does sound very much like a dead battery - they don't last forever.

Does the ignition light come on when you first switch the ignition on, then go out when you start the engine and rev it a bit?

In the beginning yes, but now it's staying on for longer than usual...

It may be worth taking a look at the dynamo brushes then.

Does it start OK if you charge the battery up using a mains charger?

I haven't tried that coz i haven't got one! But that'll definitely be the next step. My boyfriend's msning saying that the light definitely goes off, so the car's not running on the battery alone...

Ta for your help! If I could presume a little more on your advice, I was looking under the Technical Tips section and it said that if the car was slightly misfiring under acceleration it could be that there's no oil in the damper under a black cap on the carby - was looking at the carby just now, and do you think it means the hexagonal lid thing sitting atop a goblet-shaped well? Sorry for the poor description - I have no idea what I'm looking at! I top that up with oil?

Thanks so much!

Thats the place ;) you just want about a teaspoon of oil such as 3in1 in there.

Thankyou so much! Hope you have a lovely day

Check the fan belt is tight - main cause of poor charging - there can be just enough to put the red light out but not to put any apprecaible charge into the battery. The 'misfire' may be due to low volts !!

If you have a Dynamo then you should tighten the fan belt until it is JUST possible to turn the fan blade by hand. If you have an Alternator then you should NOT be able to turn the fan by hand, it must be tighter.
If your boy friend is proficient then changing the dynamo brushes is a simple job but failing that an exchange reconn'ed Dynamo is well under
£30. The battery can be checked with a 'discharge' tool at any auto electricians but will have to be fully charged first. (Do not overlook the fact that the end plate of the Dynamo has an oil hole in the centre which should have a few drops of engine oil injected regularly).