Morris Minor Owners Club

OK, so here goes.. after running really well for ages, my wife 'borrowed' our 1958 Minor the other day and it died (not long after pulling away from the mother-in-laws...I did wonder if it was strange black magic ju-ju she had conjured up but I digress..)

Symptoms are:

No lights on dash when key turned in ignition
No spark
No 'urge' to the fuel pump
Starter motor turns strongly
Interior lights work but main lights etc don't

Have tried:

Jiggling everything - on the car
Hot wiring to see if it was the ign switch(the only useful thing my Form 3 maths teacher ever taught me) - no result.

Battery seems OK - anybody got any ideas?

Thanks in advance

maybe one of the fuses - contact points of the holders can become grubby.

'Swot I was going to say, but it wouldn't explain the 'no spark' thing. sanddancer, are you certain about that bit?
a

Checked fuses - Ok

Definitely no spark - changed coil, condenser, dis cap, to double check

Any other clues?

Check for power at the live side of the coil.

It's a main feed or earth problem, given that unfused (main lights) and ignition circuit is down. If you have an ammeter fitted check all connections to it. Check the feed OUT of the starter solenoid, and from there to the various bullet connectors.

Thanks for all the suggestions, sadly it'll be next weekend before we can have another go - until then it's parked up at ma-in-laws. If you think of anything before Sunday......

Finally got a chance to go and take another look at the Morris. Took the voltage regulator off and found that it was pretty burnt out at the back - being a pessimist I thought I'd take a look at the wiring prior to reconnecting to the battery - sure enough found a lot of the wires looked heat damaged/fused together.

So, what's easier - replacing damaged wires one at a time or just buying a new loom and have done with it (I have to say the existing wiring does look a bit 'tired')

Any suggestions?

I have just replaced the loom on my trav. If its standard and you are confident with wiring diagrams its not that difficult.

I don't like the quality of the new looms so I make my own. If you want the original look of the cloth weave loom, then yes fit a new of the shelf loom. If the wiring looks tired it makes sense to replace the lot.

If you have wiring damage, it doesn't make sense to replace some of it. The insulation damage will not always be obvious to the eye therefore you may be leaving some wires in place that are nearly ready to short out.
Replacing a complete wiring loom is fairly simple provided you get the correct version of loom. The hardest part will be in the dash as the engine bay and lighting secions are pretty basic.
As for the dash, with the speedo and glove boxes removed, access is not great but good enough.

Problem is just in the regulator - so simply get another and clean up the wiring connections. New loom is NOT going to be a 10 minute job! And not cheap either.

I cut out my old loom, put in and modified the new one (not too many mods) in 1/2 day