Morris Minor Owners Club

HI,
Recently traded in my old 91 Mini for a 67 2 door Morris, which I am very glad about (more comfortable and easier on the back!). However, it was radio-less. Afters checking whether it was negatively wired (which it was) I bought an old pye radio from ebay, which looks perfect for the car. I managed to fit it (the previous owner had a radio, and left some wiring so it was a very simple job) and much to my relief it worked*.

The strange thing is - a few hours later, the radio stopped working with no evidence of power going to it.
I changed the fuse, checked the wiring but to no avail. After driving for 30 minutes this morning, I thought to retry the radio and connected it up again - it sprang back into life**.

I am very puzzled.
Does anyone know why this might be and if there is anything I can do to ensure that it stays working?
My first thought was that the radio had drained the battery too much but left enough for the ignition to work.
Many thanks
* it is wired so that it works independently of the ignition (not my choice but just the wires that were there)
** the car has a dynamo rather than alternator

It can't drain the battery to that extent....either a bad connection (most likely) or a fault within the wireless.

I did consider the connections yesterday and checked them several times but that didn't seem to cure the problem (and I certainly did nothing different today).
I do hope it is that simple - the test will be if it works on the way home!
Thank you for your reply.

I also think this is just a loose connection, however some older components can "break down" when hot, recovering when cool.
If you desperately want to keep the radio then you can buy cool spray and test parts on the pcb, this means testing the radio on the bench with a 12v battery until it fails, then spraying suspect components until it springs back to life, but you may be better getting a new radio.

Thank you
I am beginning to suspect the radio rather than the connections.
More strangeness has followed.
Firstly, the radio has been working, however, when I accelerate the fascia light glows brighter.
Secondly, on the way home this evening, the horn stopped working, when I disconnected the radio, the horn began working again.
I am currently disconnecting the radio when not in use.
It is a shame as it is a perfect fit for my moggie.

Check and clean the fuses and the fuse holder clips..

Update
After a month of monitoring the situation, I have come to the following conclusion:
It was the dynamo - or at least partially.
The radio works well but will at times stop working. Once disconnected, it will then rework after a few drives, once reconnected obviously.
Last week, when the weather was poor, I drove a few times with the lights on and wipers going. This was clearly too much for the battery and the radio didn't work. I can only surmise that the dynamo is not able to recharge the battery quickly enough to run the radio on top of other demands. When the car is used without any other demands, the battery is topped up which is then drained again by the radio to a level where the radio is too much for it.
My next thoughts are...
Is the battery draining too quickly and on its last legs
Do i need to upgrade to an alternator?
Or can I make do with as it is?

First thing to check is the output of the Dynamo, the simplest way is a meter across the battery terminals set to 20v dc and it should read around the 13.5v mark with the engine revving at around 1500rpm. If not then check the brushes.
Do you know how old the battery is? If it's been discharged fully and not fully recharged then yes the battery could also be faulty. You could check the battery by connecting the multimeter and starting the car and note what the voltage drops to, anything below 10v if the battery is fully charged I would say to replace it.

A wireless takes a tiny current draw - it is not the problem here. Yes the dynamo could be failing or incorrectly adjusted - check it out! A dynamo in good running order can easily cope with a wireless - and all the other power consumers.

If you are sure the connections in your Morris are correct then it would suggest the radio has had it and needs to be repaired or replaced. If you want to keep that style their companies who will refurbish the radio and if you want/need add connections for an Mp3, bluetooth etc..

Your battery is knacked, it's not holding a charge. If the radio was drawing enough current to drain the battery it would be so hot it would be smoking. The reason your radio does not always work is it needs 12 volts and when the battery looses power the voltage will drop below what the radio needs and so stops working. New battery will fix it

Thank you all for your help and advice
The problem still persists but a new battery is on the cards - in the mean time a solar/wind up radio is filling the void.
If any one is interested it is the Degen DE13 - works a treat.

It's more likely to be the charging that's at fault - dynamo and/or regulator - NOT the battery! have you measured the volts as advised earlier?

Hi,
No I haven't checked the dynamo as I do not have a way of checking.
The battery does recharge (when the lights/wipers/heater are not on) although I did need to use the starter handle this morning.
Thanks

here you go... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-LCD-M ... SwAKxWaAdC

For a simple check for charging start the engine and run it at tickover, switch on the headlights and rev the engine. The lights should get noticeably brighter if the Dynamo is charging. Alternatively electrical multi testers are less than a fiver on eBay.

Thanks - now ordered.

Right - not posted for a few days as my radiator split in the cold this week. I had an interesting hour or so switching in a new rad (the old one had some really bad old patches which had failed so a new one was not only a good idea but needed). Fortunately i didn't mess it up and it worked well.
I tested the dynamo and the battery, when running, was reading 13.9 and ,when the engine was off, the battery read 12.6
When i had the car towed (due to the afore mentioned radiator) the tow driver (owner of a rather extraordinary minor hot rod) mentioned that the dyno bearing was wearing, do you think this is a factor?

No -the readings are fine -it's all charging well. Try a different wireless......

Such a shame. Modern radios look rubbish in a minor. Hid mine in the glovebox.