Bill:
I must agree with Jim regarding your battery cables. Years ago (back in '79 or
'80 I believe), my Tiger did the exact same thing that you're describing. As
it turns out, the positive battery cable was grounding on the firewall by the
solenoid. The grommet that the cable passed through had worn and caused the
cable to rub the firewall, eventually rubbing the insulation off the cable and
causing the battery to go straight to the chassis. In a few words, a direct
short. One of the telltale signs of this is to keep an eye on the amp gauge as
you turn the key to the start position. Every time I did that, the needle
would bury itself totally to the discharge side of the gauge.
If that is not the problem, then the next place I would look would be the
ignition switch. It's fairly common in a British car as old as ours to have
the ignition switch go faulty on you. One of the other guys said to wiggle the
wires to the ignition switch and see if the headlights flicker. Excellent
suggestion. You could also test the circuitry back there with a test light.
Best of luck and keep us all posted,
Andy Walker
Edmond, OK
B382001600LRXFE
B9006857LRX
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