Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello all. My Minor is running very rough at the minute. The fault has occurred all of a sudden. It has poor starting, usually three or four turns of the key, idles very rough with a chugging/ hunting exhaust noise. (Sounds like a tractor) and it backfires when cold. I have electronic ignition fitted. It also has lack of power and misfires when under load/ changing down the gears when slowing down.

Any ideas what this could be?

Is the distributor body loose? Grab it and try to turn it, did it move?
Can also be many other things but sounds like ignition timing so start with this simple check.

Al

Blown head gasket - don;t run it again till investigated. Compression test required (even thumb over plug hole will do while someone cranks it on the handle) - and may be worth trying another set of plugs in case it's just a fouled plug....but it sounds worse than that...

I have tried new plugs etc. It seems to be idling very fast too, and when I remove the oil filler cap the engine speeds up and runs much smoother.

Check if the choke (yes Roy, the mixture enrichment device ) isn't jammed on. Not just at the choke knob on the dash, but on the carb itself.

Don

Well that sounds more hopeful...well worth checking.

Completely gave up the ghost on Saturday. Turns out it was the electronic ignition at fault. Not even the slightest spark there. I swapped it over for the old distributor (With points and condenser) and she runs like a dream. I would NOT recommend electronic ignition to anyone! You are best sticking to the tried and tested set up! Even if the parts are Chinese rubbish, at least they can be swapped at the roadside!

Thanks again

Kyle

I do generally agreee with you - but the modern Accuspark/Powerspark systems seem to be very good, and very reliable.

Give them there due, they have accepted a return and are willing to refund, so at least I can build up a collection of points and condensers to carry in the boot for that dark rainy night!

Better to carry a complete known working dizzy in the glovebox...

It's still not right... After swapping the electronic distributor for a points and condenser set up, I managed to get 10 minutes of misfire, cough and splutter free driving before it was back. Now even when stationary it is missing and coughing when pressing the accelerator. Any Ideas? The coil (new) is getting very hot after a short time of the engine running. Is this normal? Could the mixture still be out?

Put the old coil back on...the coil is probably wrong voltage and that's why it's getting hot. Why did you change it? It's NEVER the coil!

It's the coil that came with the distributor as a kit...

Any ideas ?? It's back at the garage on Monday so he will have another look then.

Like Roy says put the old coil back on, it's only a five minute job.

old coil is back on, but it was running rough before I swapped the coil.

Have you checked the oil level in the carb dash pot?

Yes all topped up. I have fitted a new points distributor, leads etc, new air filter. Could it be mixture related?

If it hasn't been adjusted and it was OK before then it should be fine. Someone asked if the choke was working, make sure it's actually operating the disc in the carb, If it isn't then you could have trouble starting if the mixture is a little lean.

It starts first turn of the key, but is very rough when idling and when pressing the accelerator when stationary. I'm at my wits end with it ! ha