I would agree with the bad connection. However, I would focus on three
places. The battery terminals, battery ground, and then the connection
of the battery cable on the starter post. It would be prudent to
disconnect, clean, and reconnect those connections first. My 71BGT used
to be plagued with this problem which tended to usually be the
connection on the starter post which lies low to the ground and is
exposed to the elements more so than the battery connections.
David Councill
67 BGT
72 B
dcouncill@msubillings.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Gosling, Richard B
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 8:36 AM
To: 'Larry Daniels'; MG List
Subject: RE: Starting Problem
Sounds to me like there is more resistance than there should be between
the
battery and the engine. With little or no current being drawn, you see
the
same voltage at the coil as the battery is giving out - 12V. When you
engage the starter, it tries to draw a humungous current, so there will
be a
massive drop in voltage across any resistance between the battery and
the
starter. Even when things are working fine you can see voltage drop to
around 8V when the starter is engaged, just due to the internal
resistance
of the battery itself.
Likely causes could be:
Poor or corroded contacts on the battery
Partially damaged or disconnected cable between the battery and the
engine
Partially damaged or disconnected earth strap from the engine back to
the
battery
Dead battery
Since this car has only just been acquired, and we don't know what the
DPO
has been up to, if I was a betting man my money would be on a missing
earth
strap, with dodgy battery terminal questions coming a close second.
Richard Gosling
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