Well, I've owned this '77 MGB for all of a week now.
Here's the order of events as I observed them (questions follow):
1.) Picked up car in Gardner, MA and drove it to Brookline, MA
(approximately 65 miles) on Sunday, 8 June.
2.) Took the car out for a quick spin around town on Monday evening, 9
June.
3.) We had brutally hot weather on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
90-94 degrees everyday and really humid. On Friday, the weather
broke--in the form of torrential downpours. Because of one faulty
electric cooling fan (out of two), I opted not to drive the car around
town in the heat.
4.) Saturday morning--car wouldn't start. I thought I flooded it.
Fortunately, it was just going to be a joy ride, so not really a big
deal.
5.) Monday, checked spark--YOW. It's there, alright. So I checked
the fuel pump--sure enough, the previous owner had used a bunch of
tape to wire the power source connection to the pump, and it had come
unhooked. I cleaned up that mess. And it started. Well, now I'm
going for a ride--to run it clean. I made it to the end of the
driveway when smoke began to come out of the steering column. Stopped
the car and shut it down. Rolled it back to the parking spot (with
the help of two cuties next door) and took the column apart. The
wires to the headlight switch are fried. The red with green tracer is
the most (completely) cooked, the brown one has a little (one inch)
section burned clean. The light blue wire is relatively unscathed,
just some melted red and brown insulation stuck to it. The red wire
still has insulation on it nearest to the switch.
Here are my questions:
1) I know I have to go through the harness to repair/replace the
cooked wiring. Is there any special advice or experiences that would
make this a little easier?
2) With red insulation remaining near the switch, does that mean that
the switch is not the culprit? I have had the switch apart and it
doesn't seem damaged (also, is there a diagram of how these go back
together available?) (I have it in this order: Base box (with copper
nibs where wires connect on outside), copper plate, spring, white
plastic piece, top box (with three way toggle switch). Is this right?
Also, in my haste, I unhooked the wires--which hooks where? And which
way does the base go (two connectors on top, one on the bottom, or
vice versa)?
3) What gauge wire should I get to replace bad sections? (I assume
this is better than taping). Also, are solderless connectors good
enough (I tape over them to be on the safe side)?
4) Does the headlight switch have a fuse in the line somewhere that I
should look for?
5) Where can I get a good wiring diagram? (Anyone want to fax one?)
6) How does one reconnect to the hard plastic white connectors (three
wires in, three wires out)? Are they reusable or do I need new ones?
I'm not that upset because I knew what I was getting into, but I want
this car on the road NOW--so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also, is the 77 B known to be an electrical disaster? I saw some
comment to that effect, but I ignored it because I was buying one.
(gee, that doesn't make sense, does it?)
Thanks in advance for your gracious advice. Please send any
suggestions directly if you don't want to bomb the list. I know I
have a lot of content here, but I'd appreciate everyone's help on
anything.
Sorry it's so long,
Jason Wood
fax 617-248-8090 (please put my name on the top quite prominently)
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