[Mgs] MGB not (re)starting

Tue Mar 10 14:28:37 MDT 2020

 Battery connections can "look" fine.  There is a corrosion that sets up with disuse and the battery tenders tend to foster this.  Just take off the battery connections and clean off the battery posts with a battery cleaning tool.  You know, the one with the stiff steel bristles you put over the post and turn back and forth.  Then do the same for the battery cable connections.  You would be surprised how many times it's the simple things like this that are the problem.Mike MacLean69 MGB GT

    On Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 1:21:59 PM PDT, Steve Shoyer via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net> wrote:  

I actually look at the battery connections every time I drive, when I disconnect and then reconnect the battery tender clamps.  They seem clean and tight.

If the battery (or battery connection) was bad, would there still be enough power to start the car when it was cold, and to run the starter for a long time after the car was warm but wouldn't start?  I can try disconnecting the battery tender to see how the battery reacts to only charging from the alternator.

--Steve  (1980 MGB)

 On 3/10/2020 3:50 PM, Max Heim via Mgs wrote:

 Head? Coil? Now you’re grasping at straws. And carb doesn’t match the symptoms. 
  I think Mike was right. Clean and tighten the battery connections. They are out of sight so are frequently neglected. Have you looked at them since you installed the battery? 

    -- Max Heim '66 MGB    

 On Mar 10, 2020, at 12:44 PM, Steve Shoyer via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net> wrote: 

Thanks.  I don't think it's the battery.  The battery is about two years old, and it's been plugged into a battery tender over the winter.  I didn't have any trouble getting the starter to crank, and I was running the starter for a while without the battery appearing to run down.

I'll have to test it by starting the car cold, driving it around my neighborhood for a while, then parking it back in my garage and trying to restart it after 20-30 minutes.  If it won't start I can pull the plugs and take a look, and also test the battery to see if it wasn't holding the charge.  I can also check compression at that point - maybe the head gets loose when it warms up?

I also thought it might be the coil - I had read that sometimes after the coil gets warm it can cause intermittent problems.  If that was the case I'd think the car wouldn't run after being push started, but I'm far from an expert.  I was just guessing at the carb because I've never been good at tuning carbs, and it's the last thing I changed on the car.

--Steve

 On 3/10/2020 3:17 PM, Michael MacLean via Mgs wrote:

  Check the battery connections, clean and replace.
  Mike MacLean 69 MGB GT

     On Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 11:41:43 AM PDT, dave via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net> wrote:  

What is the voltage on the battery?  See:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/r/advice/car-maintenance/car-battery-voltage-range

From: Mgs <mgs-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Max Heim via Mgs
 Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2020 12:59 PM
 To: MGs <mgs at autox.team.net>
 Subject: Re: [Mgs] MGB not (re)starting

What makes you think it was carb related? The fact that you could push start it makes me think it was more likely battery or starter related. It being the end of winter, I suspect a flat battery.

--

Max Heim

'66 MGB

On Mar 10, 2020, at 10:46 AM, Steve Shoyer via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net> wrote:

It was in the 70's yesterday, so I took my 1980 MGB out for a ride.  My current carb is a Weber 38 DGES that I installed when I replaced the cam two years ago.  I drove around last year and it was running well, until one day when I stopped at a store for a few minutes and then couldn't get the car restarted.  After trying to get it going I wound up calling my daughter for help and we got it push-started.  Yesterday the same thing happened.  After the push start the car ran fine, but I just drove it home rather than risk another problem.  I was trying some starter fluid to get it going yesterday, but that didn't work.  I thought that maybe the gas in the tank is old, but the car started up after a little cranking when I originally left the house. 

Any suggestions on where to look?  I didn't plumb the coolant line through the manifold to heat it, but I don't drive too much in cold weather so I didn't think it would be needed.  I thought that the problem last summer could have been vapor lock, but starter fluid should have worked if that was the issue. 

Thanks.

--Steve (1980 MGB) 

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