Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi
My left hand tail light won't come on (checked the bulb; the brake and indicator lights work fine; also tried cleaning the bulb holder and replacing the bullet connectors ). The festoon bulb in the number plate light (a recent replacement by the previous owner) was also blown (the replacement bulb won't come on - tried another in case it was faulty still no joy).
On a couple of recent occasions the car battery appeared to be flat - after using the starting handle and running the engine a bit it had enough power to start the engine.
I don't know if these faults are related or multiple. Any advice greatly received.
The car is a 1971 saloon.

p.s. I found a 35amp fuse in the in-line fuse holder under the regulator - is this supposed to hold a 10amp fuse?

Not sure if you are referring to the front or rear lights but assume the rear since you are talking about the number plate light. Check the bullet connectors inside the boot down where the spare wheel sits as these can work loose or just corrode and then don't have a good connection which might explain why the tail and number plate light have stopped working. Whilst you are there clean up the earth connections. Clean up connections with some emery cloth or sand paper and a drop of WD40.

If there are bad connections this might explain a flat battery but maybe not??

As above - and yes 35amp is fine.

10 amp fuse for the inline fuse which protects the sidelights.
Festoon bulbs and connections can be unreliable, you need to check that the bulb is secure and the contacts at both ends are tight against the bulb.
If the brake light is working but the tail light is not then it is not an earthing problem since the stop/tail is the same bulb. Assuming that you have checked both elements of the bulb it must therefore be either a poor contact in the bulb holder or a bad connection somewhere between the faulty light and the working light. Check the bullet connectors at either end of the section of the loom which runs across the boot well.

Thanks for this info... I'll give it a go