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Not starting / did I damage it?

To: mg list <mgs@autox.team.net>, MG-MGB <MG-MGB@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Not starting / did I damage it?
From: Carl French <leylandauto@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 21:41:44 -0700 (PDT)
Car with new harness, 67B very old twin batteries, unk how old. Was near house 
washing car for trip in the AM and then car would not start. just had one loud 
click from the solenoid. Pushing the starting button on my sol. did nothing, no 
sound. With headlights on, turn key and get click and headlights dim right down 
to nothing. At car wash place (fire station) I was able to push start and drove 
to house. Was able to start the car 2-3 times at house but then got the big 
click again. I thought I was a genius by having found the ground strap having a 
very rusty connection to the body (we had just changed the pole connector on 
the strap and I had forcefully moved it around to put battery in a plastic box 
[did not fit]) so it seemed logical I had disturbed the ground. I brushed 
everything to bare metal and reconnected with no change (ok, not that). I went 
to this site;

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/MG_Elec-Tech/start_fault.html

And did a solenoid check that he described in one section. I connected the main 
cable from the battery to the outgoing post on the solenoid and reconnected the 
battery to see if the car would now turn thus showing the solenoid to be the 
problem. What actually happened was I got alot of sparks connecting the ground 
on the battery adn heard what sounded like a boiling battery (WOW) disconnected 
that one fast. I 'might' have seen a VERY small wisp of smoke coming from the 
passenger side of the bay when I got up to it but everything felt OK. 

So, Do you think I have a bad battery? Bad solenoid? Something else? Does 
anyone think I did something bad when I attempted to check the solenoid? I am 
looking for some quick Ideas from you people in California who might still be 
tapping away at the computer. I have a few hours in the AM before we have to be 
on the road and I can push start it to take it 14 miles to my mechanic for 
final sorting out and a little later start but with one more old part replaced 
;->

Carl & Judy French
Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup

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