Since before the Fourth of July weekend the weather here in coastal
northern California (Santa Cruz to be exact) has been perfect for driving
LBCs top/hood-down. Sunny, but not too hot, all day; no fog. So I've been
having a blast driving my '64 MGB every day. Everything's running
well...and then I went out to dinner last night, came out of the
restaurant-- ZAP. The sound of the starter engaging for a split second,
and then NOTHING.
The first question was "To tow or not to tow." Despite the gathering
gloom, I had faith that this was a simple fix. How tough could it be with
early B electrics. My daughter waited very patiently, Walk man headphones
on, for me to walk 100 yds. to the drug store to buy a multi-tip
screwdriver and small Chinese crescent wrench. (I had a socket set in the
trunk, but no way to open the battery cover.) Got back, tested the
headlights--no juice. Turned the key again--no ignition light. No
evidence of fried wire or smell of arc welding. I played with wires I
could reach just for drill--everything seemed to be making good contact.
Tried the ignition again, and presto--pump kicked on and the thing started!
I don't know definitively what happened, or if it will happen again. Any
theories would be welcome.
My pet theory at the moment is that the 5-year-old Group 26 12v battery has
an internal open fault-- that an open circuit was created under load as the
starter bumped, and the circuit closed again when it cooled off. I'm
carrying around a VOM in the trunk as insurance THAT IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN
AGAIN.
Chris Attias
'64 MGB
'84 Alfa Romeo GTV-6
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