Morris Minor Owners Club

Took my traveller out for a drive in the country today and after about 6 miles or so he coasted to a halt and wouldn't start again - battery as flat as a pancake It was on a busy road so a long queue of impatient drivers soon built up behind me but thankfully 2 drivers and a cyclist stopped to push him onto the kerb, much to the amusement of passers by.

After allowing him to cool down a bit then looking under the bonnet a man came out of the house that I had stopped outside and told me that he owned a traveller and had a starting handle handy As he went off to get it a mini cab pulled up and the driver told me that he owned a convertible and would give me a jump start

After starting him up and moving to a safer place I went to have a look at the man's traveller, which he has owned for 30 years. Here's a pic:[frame][/frame]

Anyway, got home fine and the charging system seems OK so probably need a new battery, but what are the chances of breaking down in a 1971 traveller right outside the house of a fellow 1971 traveller owner? He also gave me the starting handle to take away with me

If they're reading this, thanks very much to the 3 men who pushed me to the side of the road and also the traveller and convertible owners who got me going again. Much appreciated That's what I like about owning a Minor - someone always stops to help if you need it. I'd probably still be waiting for the AA if I'd broken down in the Fiat!

Louise - I can't see why the battery would suddenly fail... I assume it started the engine easily enough from cold? It MUST be a problem with charging - or simply a bad battery connection? Check the connections and measure the battery volts with the engine at decent revs.....and report back. Dynamo or Alternator??

The engine took a few turns to get started from cold. Checked the battery connections and fan belt - all seem OK - and it's got a dynamo. I don't have a voltmeter but have an ammeter fitted - what should that be reading?

Well - obviously a charge - even with the headlights and heater running - it must still be slightly on the 'charge' side of centre and definitely not showing a discharge - this with engine at decent revs of course... You NEED a little voltmeter...I'll find one on ebay for you...
Here you go..... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-LCD-M ... 53f1c8bba5

The voltage across the battery should be around 14 Volts with the engine running, which indicates it's being charged.

As bmcecosse says, the ammeter should show a charge (+) reading, or hovering around the zero mark once the battery is charged.

thats a lovley story louise , i have had a good battery fail when i went to dtart the car after being at a show used the starting handle to get me out of trouble

I was planning to pick up a starting handle at the National but no need now

The battery suddenly died on my MG.It started purfectly when I got it out of the garage I drove it a few miles pulled in to a garage to get some petrol and when I went to start it to come home the battery was dead.With a push I got it going and ended up getting a new battery.The old one was about 20 years old.

bmcecosse wrote:Louise - I can't see why the battery would suddenly fail...

Not impossible, I had a battery collapse, started car, drove a few hundred yards, stopped car, would not start again, dead battery. No previous problems.

Lovely black traveller!!! I will have to get mine looking as shiny as that.

But back to the battery story, yes a battery can fail, I've had it happen on a Minor about five years ago. The car would start on the starting handle but the electrics struggled and it turns out the battery was completely dead. The plates inside a battery can buckle and touch causing an internal short and inabillity to hold any charge.

Update: Following another break down yesterday, when the car stopped dead, the ignition light wouldn't come on and the starter wouldn't turn, located the cause of the problem. One of the terminals on the regulator was 'wobbly' and on closer inspection the connector had snapped at the rear causing the intermittent fault.

I had the same with my van,it would pack up at traffic lights,junctions etc until I was at home and it packed up I found it was the regulator.I ordered a new one and took about five minutes to fit.