Rob, don't forget to check the brake light lamps, are they burned out?
The following is "general" information you can use to get your
electrical system in working order. There is a good chance that the
electrical connections need to be cleaned. The bad rap that Lucas
gets is generally due to the poor quality of the wire connectors and
methods of grounding the electrical circut.
First get a manual so you can confirm the wires are connected properly
(this is the "disclaimer" portion of my message!). These cars are so
old you never know what a previous owner did.
Remove the ground cable from the battery. Next (or first, if you
ignored the disclaimer), remove the fuse block and clean it
thouroughly, replace the fuses with new ones, or at least clean them
up. Most people will try to clean up the fuse block without removing
it, if you are one of those people, go for it; but it has been my
experiance that you cannot do the job adaquately if it is in the car.
To clean it you may want to use steel wool. All the metal parts
should be shiney. This alone could solve all your electrical
problems.
Do not increase the amperage of the fuses or your car will be one of
those that becomes a parts car because the wiring is burned up.
If you still have problems check the grounds. Under the dash there
should be a black wire with several circle terminals attached. These
terminals are to be attached to each instrument. This is abit tricky
to get under there but it must be done. The instruments are all held
into place by knurled nuts. The terminals should be under the nuts,
one terminal for each instrument.
The tail lights are grounded in the trunk, near the back of the car in
the center. Again, black wires, round terminals. Use steel wool to
shine up the terminals and the body where they attach.
If you have done all this and you still have electrical problems then
do the following. Find the wires that are *supposed* to supply power
to the offending item. Check that there is power to the wire (meter
is recomended, test lamp will do). If there is no power clean all the
Lucas connectors that you can find. To clean the connectors use steel
wool on the male portion and a .22 caliber bore brush for the female
part. Both portions must be shiney. Make sure they are fully pluged
in when you are done. Also check to see if the female portion is not
broken, these connectors can crack (especially the tandem connectors),
if they do crack a good connection is imposible. I have not found
anywhere that you can buy these connectors locally, so you may have to
mail order them. There are "similar" modern connectors available but
they don't fit correctly.
If none of this works your car might be junk and you might want to
sell it to me! ; - ) Nah, just kidding, if things still don't work
write the list again.
All of the information above is based on my experiance with a 69 and
76 B, your 67 should be similar.
Larry Hoy
Denver, CO. USA
1969 MGB Roadster
1987 Jaguar XJ6 VDP
"It's not how fast you go, it's how fast you go fast"
=========================================================
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net]On
> Behalf Of Cathy Becker
> Sent: Monday, August 24, 1998 1:11 PM
> To: 'mgs@autox.team.net'
> Cc: 'robertwa@ncinter.net'
> Subject: Lots of 67 MGB Problems
>
> Well.. To start out.. I just inherited a 67 MGB. And I
> know nothing about them.. The car wasn't started for 2+
> years, and I could not figure out why.. Then one day it
> occurred to me that the engine was not getting any
> gasoline. So, I check the fuel pump.. Bingo that was the
> problem. Well, now the car runs, but there are a few
> things that need work so it is road worthy. The wipers,
> brake lights, and turn signals don't work. Neither does
> the tach ( it says 7000+ rpms all the time), fuel gauge
> (always says empty), and the synchronizer in 2nd gear is
> shot. What I really need fixed is the electrical
> components.. If anyone here has any idea on what needs
> done, or if they have had the same problems.. Please
> respond. I need the most input I can get..
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rob Becker
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