Morris Minor Owners Club

the litany so far....

new fuel pump (which i could have avoided had i realised that some absolute wally - me- had put diesel in rather than unleaded - i know....)
new battery

the very lovely Bob and a nice AA man telling me how clean the engine is and how there is no crap anywhere - clean carb, sparks, oil filters etc...

yet still she seems drawn to the AA van......

last nights diagnosis was that the battery isn't holding its charge. She was running lovely (if a little rich), no clunking, no engine noise, no banging until i stopped, and then no restarting.

So......any ideas about why the charge may be going? The earth on the battery is very secure.

thanks as always.

Dynamo or alternator ? Red light on when running ? Fan belt tight enough ?

red light fades in...aa man said dynamo.....

The car is just testing your mechanical ability. Carry a box of tools, it gives you a psychological advantage

Hi Mark

Did the AA Man carry out any electrical tests on the dynamo with his multi meter ?.... or did he base his assessment solely on the red light " glowing " all the time ( i.e the car indicating an " under charging " situation ).

bmcecosse...Fan belt adjustment correct when I saw the car.

Previous breakdown man's tapping the fuel pump and no noise pointed me towards the pump's possible points/ split diaphragm failure.Mark's mechanical abilites prompted him to opt for the new pump replacement route as the easy option.
Subsequent phonecall with Mark.
New pump installed reflected some life but the car stopped again.Rocking the car brought the pump to life temporarily, with audible clicking.My diagnosis was a blocked fuel line/ petrol tank.
The recent " refilling" of the car's fuel tank was not part of the
original story/ circumstances and I missed the diesel substitution.
A " Public " sorry Mark.

Bob

Mark start from the beginning.
You say no restarting, do you mean it just won't start or it won't turn over, or you can't hear the fuel pump clicking.
If you charge the battery does it the start OK as the colder weather will show up a weak battery.

If the red light is showing - and it's a dynamo - then it almost certainly needs a new set of brushes. Very cheap and easy to do - may as well just DO it - and then report back!

ok

a history....

as bob says...all looks good, and it has a new petrol pump, which clicks well when you turn onto ignition status.

it just clunks deadly - although when the aa man came of course it turned over properly first time, but then after turning it off so he could check stuff it clunked again.

aa man checked the voltage on the battery and said it wasn't keeping the charge, so i am recharging now to see if it holds the charge. The earth connection on the battery wasn't as tight as it might have been, so that could be a small contribution.

Bob - the AA man was there 30 minutes before smelling the diesel, and that was only cos he took the carb to pieces again and got it on his fingers!

it just clunks deadly - although when the aa man came of course it turned over properly first time, but then after turning it off so he could check stuff it clunked again.

Hi Mark that may be a clue, if charging the battery doesnt make a difference you may find the bendix is sticking on the starter motor this often just sounds like a clunk, if so that would explain your previous post that rocking the car enabled it to start normally as the rocking freed off the bendix.
If you take the starter motor out to clean it the spindle needs to be really clean and the only lubrication should be with graphite (not the grease) you can use a soft lead pencil for this as oiling the spindle will attract dirt etc and cause it to stick again.

The 'rocking' started the fuel pump ticking! It didn't free off the starter.

bmcecosse wrote:The 'rocking' started the fuel pump ticking! It didn't free off the starter.

You can be sure of that can you, as clunks aren't associated with fuel pumps.

Having suffered with a faulty starter motor in the past, the first thing that came to mind when 'clunking' was referred to was that the starter motor had 'jammed'.

I can only go with what is written! " Rocking the car brought the pump to life temporarily, with audible clicking " - looks like petrol pump to me!

bmcecosse wrote:I can only go with what is written! " Rocking the car brought the pump to life temporarily, with audible clicking " - looks like petrol pump to me!

And as written

as bob says...all looks good, and it has a new petrol pump, which clicks well when you turn onto ignition status.
it just clunks deadly

Yes - the starter clunks - but no mention of 'rocking' freeing it off!

i think - thanks to Bob - we may be sorted - battery is now charging again, so i am now down to sorting out the new hissing noise and the recurrent various rattles.

thank you for all your help.

Hissing noise is likely to be an intake manifold leak!

everything you say sounds complicated!!

I am reconsidering my noise now and it sounds a bit like a seething - like when you hear hot pressure OR an electrical hissing - so it could be a dodgy connection in the electrical box i think? it seems quiet but then occassionally gets louder / faster when you accelerate. And it sounds roughly in that "just in front of the steering wheel" area.

And it sounds roughly in that "just in front of the steering wheel" area.

I hate things like that so often noises are transmitted so that you thing they have started in one area when its another.
If you think you do have a leak in the manifold area a solution of soapy water or neat washing up liquid applied with a brush will often reveal the leak as it makes it bubble.

right - a more accurate "hissing description"....

not noisy when braking or the clutch is in

more noisy as you accelerate

thoughts people?