Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi

Have changed points & condenser and car was running fine for a couple of weeks. Then started playing up so changed points etc again...running OK again but occasionally she just cuts out for no apparent reason. She's restarted each time.

Could I have an electrical problem or is it fuel??

I'm stumped

Phil
"cuts out" infers an electrical problem.Fuel problems/symptoms are are usually described as " it coughed and spluttered....ground slowly to a halt, etc.".
Cause ?...multiple possibilities.Check...with the ignition off, battery disconnected for absolute safety.... the low tension circuit ( the thin wires ) first.Poor fitting /loose lucar connectors at the coil and distributor ? Take off the connectors, one at a time.Make sure the metal is clean ( clean with emery paper, if not ) and non oilly and that the connector is a good firm fit when you replace it.Examine the wire along it's length for any breaks or abrasions.Is the earth wire inside the distributor sound and screwed securely to the body of the distibutor ?
Is there any pattern to the cut out ? It may be that the new condenser was duff...ditto, the rotor arm.Putting the old bits back on , one at a time ( if they were known to be alright before ) may crack it for you.
Still a long llst of other things but give the visual checks a go first.
Good luck with the hunt.

Bob

Thanks Bob

No real pattern to cut out. Idling at lights and approaching a roundabout are the last 2 occasions.

Could I be frying something with electrical short? Mechanic friend has tried to fit electronic ignition twice now but both times it's not worked and he cant get it to fit without 'padding' the gap. We are sure it's the right ignition for the distributor.

Any ideas?

My advice - stay away from electronic ignition! You see the trouble he has had so far - be warned. Do you have the correct coil in the car ? Some of the points (and condensers) on sale these days seem to be of 'variable' quality - best to find new-old-stock if you can!

Check the low tension wire as if it's 'shorting out' it gives the symptoms that you've described. It's possible that some of the outer braiding has worn away or frayed leaving part of the wire exposed. Might have been caused by your friend fiddling about trying to fit the electronic ignition.

I am starting to share the views of bmcecosse regarding electronic ignition. I fitted it because I happened to have acquired it, to try it out as I'd never tried it before. Since I fitted it, the car has done some weird things.....suddenly running rough for a few moments.......a big bang as if the timing was way out.......cutting out unexpectedly......then being okay......then almost cutting out but coming back in just in time.

I drove to Warsaw from Devon with standard ignition, and had no problems at all en route.

To add a bit of balance, since I fitted a Magnetronic module in my Minor several years ago the ignition has been 100% reliable and it's stayed in tune without having to clean and adjust the points every few months. I've now done the same for the Sprite even though it only does about a fifth of the mileage.

Philb, your problem does sound like an intermittent connection (as mogbob says) or the little wire inside the distributor shorting out (as Louise says).

Phil
I'm " tuning into " Moggies with my friend's 1966 model.
Do they have a standard earth strap....engine to bodywork somewhere ?
I came across an " iffy" earth strap connection, which matches the symptons.i.e whenever the engine was thrown around, coming to a stop, going around the roundabouts (because of poor engine mounts ) the earth cable was stretched.Poor electrical connection therefore engine cut out.At rest the strands of wire made enough contact and got warm in the process.It was difficult to spot with a very oil covered strap.
Just a thought.
Bob

Hard to imagine - since the generator would still be 'generating' power into the engine block through it's earthed mountings. So the engine may have temporarily have become insulated fom the battery earth but would have a perfectly good return path to the generator!

It has been suggested that it might be the HT leads. Any thoughts?

Easy to swap them over for your spare set and see what happens!

going to change plugs, leads, points, coil, arm and cap

we'll see what happens

Just swap ONE thing at a time ! If you swop all at the same time - you will not know what was wrong. Start with the simple/cheap options !

Swapped it all over. Had it tuned at the garage. Purring & running like a dream.....for a day!!!!!!
Wife took her out today and she is really bad...ignition red light on....stalling...sounds terrible.

Could it be a problem with fuel supply through carb? As car has been stopping on heavy braking could it be a seal problem?

Any thoughts?

Have you checked the distributer for wear? Sounds like you may have excessive wear in the spindle....?

Also wife said she could smell fuel

Sounds like too slow idle - 'tuned at the garage' - hmmmmmmmm.

Mechanic from garage is friend of wife's and has been working on car with her for a while now. I'm confident he's done it properly. He's an enthusiast and is restoring an old VW camper himself. He is being very thorough with the work he's done.

I can't understand why Patsy canbe great one minute and back to square one the next!?

What are recommended settings? or is it particular to the car?