Morris Minor Owners Club

I have been having this annoying problem for the last number of weeks.Morris Minor will only start when she has had a bit of a run. Leave the car for two days or so and you might get a faint start when pulling starter( 948 splitscreen) but on pulling a second time you will get nothing.Then its out with the starter handle and she will start.
The Car only gets short runs generally and is not used every day..Could this be a factor ?
Starter Solonoid ? Dodgy battery connections ? Dynamo?

One last thing..she seems to be only running on 3 cylinders..I have to order a new set of Plug leads.. there are two types Moggies...Which one is the correct one for the 948 and what is the correct firing sync ?

Rgds

How old is the battery? Is it holding it's charge? It sound like it's not. When the car won't start, do the headlamps work OK, and do they stay on when you try the starter? If not, then again it points to battery trouble. Could be battery OK, but slow drain from either interior light staying on (if you have one) or short circuit somewhere.

Check water level in battery - should be covering the plates. If not, try topping up with distilled water. Charge the battery off the car and keep it off for a few days, then put it back and try starting. If no good, then battery needs replacing. If OK, then look for a short on the car causing discharge of battery.

When the car is running, revving the engine should make the headlamps a little brighter, which will prove that dynamo is OK. Can do a more sophisticated test with a volt meter, but this is a good enough starting point.

Happy (fault) hunting.

If battery

On your last question, there's another thread running about this, but it's 1,3,4,2. A single cylinder mis-fire could be a number of things. Remove one plug lead at a time to prove which cylinder is at fault (if you remove a good one then the engine runs worse, if it's a bad one then it won't make any difference). Be careful, if doing this with engine running, then use insulated tools (damn high voltage) and watch out for moving parts (fan). It's safest to stop the engine and then re-start it.

Having found the guilty cyclinder, remove the plug and wedge it against the block with the lead attached. With engine running, a visible spark will confirm electrics OK, no spark = duff plug, lead, distributer cap etc. If spark OK, then you really need a compression test. Again, good luck.

Thanks.

I got a new battery a few weeks back..made no real difference..
Lights wipers etc etc all fine..and I can not think of anything that would be causing a battery drain...Sparcest interior ever !!!!!!!

56...I would suggest that you are just not running the car enough
to keep the battery charged sufficiently. When it refuses to start
then get someone to observe the headlights when you pull the
starter, if it is a low battery which is causing your problem then the
headlights will dim markedly as you pull the starter. If you do not
have a test meter but wish to check for some sort of drain on the
battery when you park it up then remove the negative clamp from
the battery when you are going to leave it for a few days and see
if that improves matters. If it does not then you need a battery
charger so that you can keep it in good health.

Check the volts -when charging should be 14 volts. Any less - not charging properly. Is the fan belt tight ? Does the ignition (red) light a) come on at all and b) go out when you rev up ? Also check all the earth straps - and the battery terminals. As for running on 3 - try a new set of plugs ! And inspect them as they come out to see which one has not been firing - it will be wet/oiley. Also check the valve clearances - if any have closed up then the valves have recessed into the head - so it's head-off time !! Best to get another one ready first - and just swap them over.

Back in business...

I got a name of a good auto electrician. Brought it down to him yesterday evening..Turns out he is more af a electrical rewinds man. Anyway..Dynamo was ruled out...With one bang of a hammer on the starter he knew it was shagged. He is an old timer and in his words he did thousands of these in his early days. Did not have spare brushs for starter but he modified other ones to fit, and re fitted etc .
Firing now like a a thirsty concorde.

Super! Happy Minoring

Have never ever heard of starter motor brushes wearing out !! But is it still only on 3 cylinders ??

If it's original, therefore 49 yrs old, it's got a right to need new brushes!

Have never ever heard of starter motor brushes wearing out !!

It's more likely they were just sticking - not worn out. I have a set 'in stock' just in case - but I also have at least 3 spare starters too - just in case !