[Mgs] [MG-MGB] No Start

[PaulHunt73]

Do not overhaul your carbs at this stage, it may be nothing to do with them.

The first check should have been to look at the tach the instant this started happening, and before you did anything else like turned off, dipped the clutch etc.  If the tach has dropped to zero when the momentum of the car is still spinning the engine, then you have an ignition LT fault.  Additionally if the ignition warning light was on you have lost the supply from the ignition switch.

If the tach still registers then it is either HT, fuel, or possibly condenser if it has points, so check the spark while cranking with a spare plug laying on the block.

What do you mean by 'fuel pump is clicking away'?  If it's clicking all the time the ignition is on, and it's an SU, then either the pump is faulty or it can't pick up fuel, possibly because the pickup pipe inside the tank has corroded through above the fuel level.  The first check for that is to remove the fuel delivery pipe from the carb, direct it into a container and switch on the ignition.  It should deliver at least one Imperial pint per minute and in practice more than double that, in a continuous series of pulses with minimal bubbling.

If the idle drops below 600 rpm the ignition warning light does usually come back on, although later MGB usually don't drop that low.  It won't be the alternator that caused this if there was still enough power to crank.

PaulH.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  Ok, need a start on where to look here.... Was out driving the '76B (w/'75 engine and Z-S) and was going up a slight hill - car seemed to lose power
  and died after going down an exit ramp and stopping at a stop sign (car actually shut off when I pushed out clutch approaching the stop). Would not
  restart.
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