Message text written by "The Barneck Family"
>I have a 74 TR6 that I am having starting problems with. It is not a
problem with the engine firing up but a problem with getting the starter
to work. What happens is I turn the key and some times the starter kicks
in and sometimes there is just silence. I think my problem is in the
starter relay but I am not sure. <
Doug,
The 74 has the unfortunate distinction of being the only model with the US
government mandated seatbelt starter interlock. (Triumphs were not the
only models plagued with this afliction) There is an interlock module
mounted up in the passenger (right hand side) footwell that monitors the
seatbelt interlock switches (switches that confirm that the seatbelt is
fastened), the seat switches (the switches that detect the presence of a
seat occupant) and will allow the starter to operate only if the seatbelt
for an occupied seat is fastened.
The first thing to do is to check the condition of the connectors for the
seatbelt switches and the seat switches. The easiest thing to do is to
unplug the connector that leads to the seat switches. These have wires
that emminate from the seat squab underneath the seat. With these
unplugged the unit will not care if the seatbelts are fastened or not.
(Actually, the easiest thing to do is fasten the seatbelt before starting
the car.) It is possible that these have already been unplugged and are
laying up against the seat track causing an intermittant connection causing
the interlock circuit to sometimes "see" a seat occupant and sometimes not.
It is more likely that the seat switch has become intermittant (due to
age).
The other possibility is that the interlock unit itself has an intermittant
failure. This can be resolved by splicing together the white/red and the
white/orange wires at the unit.
During the period of time that I owned my 74 TR6 the seat switches were
unplugged and I never had any trouble with this module. If your seat
switches are still plugged in then I suggest unplugging them and see what
happens.
Dave Massey
57 TR3
71 TR6
80 TR8
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