Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello all. The ignition light starts to slightly flash when I pick up the revs and then goes off again. This flashing is accompanied by a tapping noise coming from the regulator box. Never had this problem before and it is unsettling me as I suspect it will cause greater problems in the long term. Assistance would be most welcome. Cheers Glee

Does your car have the original dynamo or has it been converted to an alternator? If dynamo then the control box is important, if an alternator the control box is just used as a junction point. In use the control box will click a little as the mechanical points open and close, but it is not normally significantly loud or obvious. Do you have a volt or multimeter to aid in testing?

Thanks for the post. I have a dynamo and multi meter. I have never heard the clicking before and something is definitely wrong because the ignition light flashes when the clicking occurs.

As you have already isolated the noise to the control box, the simplest thing is probably to just swap it for a replacement - they are cheap enough second hand from scrap yard or club spares, or someone on here might have one. They are easily available new, but might be a bit expensive if that isn't the problem; although a spare is always useful.

It's easy to remove the cover form the control box, just flip up the spring clip and lift the cover. There might be something obvious, and you can also check that the click corresponds with movement of the relays.

Other things that you could check are the fan belt adjustment and the dynamo brushes. Use the multimeter the check the voltage at the battery with the engine running. Is it fluctuating with the clicking sound or fairly constant?

Try simply cleaning the contacts in the control box with some sandpaper first, they may be dirty causing them to stick.