May be too much?

[KatiePotatie]

It seems like not a week goes by when something doesn't go wrong with Martha. Today she just cut out whilst I was driving along & now won't start. Last week it was the brakes, before that it was the gearbox.

I fear she is becoming too expensive, and think it might be time to think about getting rid of her. Upsetting to even think about. This is the car I learned to drive in, and the reason I have made some very good friends, but the cost of keeping her may outweigh any sentimental value...

[barrie102]

Never give up on them, it is probably something quite simple to rectify.

[bmcecosse]

Oh dear - any idea why it cut out ? Plenty of fuel? Can you hear the fuel pump ticking when you switch on - or is there a deathly silence ? If so - give it a good bang with something heavy - starting handle if nothing else handy. If it starts ticking - off you go again - but it will need the contacts cleaning..... If it's not that - then we must assume it's the ignition circuit, although that usually presents with difficult starting/spluttering etc before dying completely. Check for bad connections or broken wires at the coil and the dizzy. Have you got a rescue service coming to help you ? The good news is - this is unlikely to be an expensive problem to fix -so don't give up on the old girl just yet!

[KatiePotatie]

She's turning over but not starting, plenty of fuel, which is getting through to where it should be & the pump is working, the dizzy is sparking, oil is topped up, battery is fine...The spark plugs looked ok too, but when I have warmed up I will be off out to check them again

It's that every single week there is something new that goes wrong that I have to fork out for, and I can barely afford it, in fact I have had to borrow money to get her gearbox sorted, so I cannot afford it. It's getting very stressful

[bmcecosse]

Hmmm - decide if the plugs look wet - or dry. Wet means it's a spark failure (so could be rotor arm/HT lead come loose/dizzy cap crack - something like that) - dry means fuel problem. Does your insurance not include roadside repair and recovery ?

[KatiePotatie]

I was brought home.

[mike.perry]

So far your car thinks it is in charge, you have to show it that you are in command. Start by carrying a tool box with a few spanners and things, it will think that you know what you are doing. Gradually you will overcome the problems and you will have a well behaved car which will get you to wherever you wish to be taken

[chris_bates]

My guess is that it is the rotorarm. I had two "brand new" ones go within weeks of one another and now always carry a spare with me!

But then it could also be the condenser (or points or even the dizzy cap). In the end I changed everything including the coil - all the bits are relatively cheap (rotor arm £7.51, condenser £1.95, points £2.50, dizzy cap £4.70 or £9.75 depending on the type and if you need a new coil always go for the sports coil at £24.48 rather than the cheap one at £11.95).

I get all my bits from Moss as they have a branch in Bristol but you can always buy online. There are of course other suppliers and I have always found Bull Motif very competitive.

Best of luck

Chris

[KatiePotatie]

So far your car thinks it is in charge, you have to show it that you are in command. Start by carrying a tool box with a few spanners and things, it will think that you know what you are doing. Gradually you will overcome the problems and you will have a well behaved car which will get you to wherever you wish to be taken

I told the man that picked me up that she was a cantankerous old bitch! I do actually have a little tool kit, but I think she knows that a lot of her bits are too big for my socket set. Crafty old cow!

The parts you mention are all pretty cheap from the Morris Minor Centre, so maybe it'll be a bus trip over there later ;)

I can't leave the house at the moment as I am waiting for a phone call or my mum, I am itching to go out & see what's going on with her. Grrrr!!

[stephenpolhill]

Trust me I know the feeling, I was there a few weeks ago and have been there before. There are always periods of issues with the cars but I was told running her everyday will only make it better in the future. You'll always love the car and putting her aside or selling won't do good. Keep going. I did and I am still in love ;)

[KatiePotatie]

It's swings & roundabouts really, what I may save on buying a modern car, I would probably only have to fork out in insurance anyway!

I guess I am slowly doing a full refurb on her

[ASL642]

When you buy a new (well to you anyway) Minor they'll always be a few things that need doing, especially if you're using it as an everyday car after perhaps the last owner only using it a few times a month. Don't replace every part at once, even if you buy them all. Replace one part at a time to see if that is the problem.. Check all the leads. Are they all securely on where they should be? Are any spark plugs loose? Get out the manual and work through these. You'll get there!

[stephenpolhill]

Agreed. Even if the car doesn't tempt you to keep it, think the saving on insurance. Mine next year is 600 or 900 for a similar car, engine etc :p

[dunketh]

My last moggy went through a period of giving me jip. Not starting, running rough - going then cutting out etc...
I pulled all igntion stuff to bits, everything was working in isolation. Couldnt find a thing wrong with it so - I gave up and binned all of it. (fuelling side was fine)
I got a kit from one of the suppliers that basically included the lot, dizzy cap, leads, points, condensor..etc..etc.. I fitted that and the old fella never gave me trouble again.
Being minor parts the bill was approx naff all and no effort to fit - replace like for like.

Now imagine if you owned a brand new shiney Fiesta with ECU controlled bits out the yin-yang and you starting experiencing the same problems - what would you do and what would it cost you??

[dalebrignall]

we have all been there with cars that conk out its usually something simple abang on the fuel pump will get you home .when you change thing do one at a time to find out whats not working ,and keep the good stuff that works in the boot just in case.get a red rotor arm they dont have rivits and dont short out .roy will be on later to say its not the coil

[bmcecosse]

Indeed! It's 'never' the coil...... Check/try everything else first. I carry a complete known working dizzy - any problems just swap them, and deal with the one that comes out later......

[KatiePotatie]

Got a new points set thingy & new condenser, and it made no difference :/ Still turning over but not starting. Its probably something really simple!

At least today I have found out what the inner workings of the dizzy are...I may not know what they DO, but I know what they ARE ;)

[bmcecosse]

Our top tip was the rotor arm - have you tried that? And - ARE the plugs wet?
If you take a plug out - attach the HT lead - lay the plug on the head - switch on the ignition and crank it - does the plug spark ??

[mach2]

Did you set the gap on the points?

[KatiePotatie]

When I asked in the Morris Minor Centre, they said that the rotor arm wouldn't make the dizzy stop sparking, so I got the points set & condenser, which obviously didn't work, so when I have some more pennies, I will try the rotor arm, but right now I am exhausted so can't be bothered running down stairs to have a look at something else it's probably not