Morris Minor Owners Club

lastnight the moggy ran out of electricity, so out with the starter handle to breath some life back into it.
ignition on, out of gear, cranked the engine over and over and over and over, yet not a cough, splutter or vague indication of fireing.
i have tried a few times before when the car did have electricty, but the same lack of starting was also observed.
so, why wont my moggy start on the handle?

n.b, i have managed it successfuly on my landrover, 2 wolseleys and austin, so i think i have the knack for it

The fuel pump is operated by the battery did it click at all even with a low battery.did you put the choke on

Jamie

Check for fuel delivery and spark at the plugs. Give the engine some choke and open the bonnet and pull the accelerator cable as you crank the engine. As long as there is enough battery power to light the ignition lamp then there should be enough to start the engine on the handle as all the power that was being used by the starter is available to spark the plugs.

If it starts first time normally it shouldn't be a problem to start on the handle, just set the choke as you would for a normal start.
If you don't get any signs of life I'd suggest looking at the timing.
If it kicks back it needs retarding a bit.

As you say MarkyB - if it starts fine off the key normally and runs OK then the starting handle operation is purely down to technique or a failure to do one of the normal starting operations....
To start off the handle you need to turn engine until you get to the compression stroke (feel for max resistance) then give the handle a sharp "jerk" whilst keeping a loose grip on the handle to allow it to spin off the crank nut freely without ripping your wrist off....

mike.perry wrote:As long as there is enough battery power to light the ignition lamp then there should be enough to start the engine on the handle as all the power that was being used by the starter is available to spark the plugs.

Agreed. I've managed to crank started my old girl when completely flat, but I still needed the help of 7.2Ahr gel cell to get her to fire.

I don't think the fuel pump is an issue, as there's about 12 seconds worth of idling sitting in the float chamber. My guess, for what it's worth - timings out.

I had the same problem last week, battery quite dead except for light, car wouldn't go.

I have an alternator, does the spinning alternator sap the battery of any power?

as said above, doubt it's fuel pump, there's loads of fuel in the float chamber.

Andrew

an alternayor still charges the battery even on tick over a dynamo wont

I know, that's why I changed from a dynamo as it can be a pain in winter traffic jams. But doesn't an alternator rely on battery power to power the rotor windings instead of using a permanent magnet like a dynamo?

Hence if your batter is quite dead, when the engine (and alternator) is turning on the starting handle, the alternator may soak up some battery power (where a dynamo won't) leaving less for the spark.

Just a thought, as even with a quite dead battery when I had a dynamo mine would start, whereas currently have an alternator and it won't.

Maybe I need to do a back to back test.
Andrew

dont know sorry

i have all ways had dynamos and not had a problem, even in winter lights, heater radio wipers and in traffic jams

also dynamos are easier to repair, new brushes and away we go again

Sorry for digressing Chris

I generally turn it over a few times with the ignition off, choke out to fill each cylinder with a good charge before getting it the point of compression, "ignition on" then spin the handle, starts well like that.

Sounds like you're used to the starting drill with other cars though.

maybe the others are right and the timing is a little out? Or the ignition system isn't in tip top order?

Andrew