MGB no start, no sound from solinoid

[Sopwith_Camel]

1968 mgb.
the car has always started right up.
i was at the shops the other day got back to the car turned the key and nothing, no clicking from the starter solenoid. i poked at the wires under the hood. and at the white under the dash. and then it started.

i got it home and tryed to tighten the wires at the solenoid but the nut just turned and wouldn't cinch down and make a good electoral connection, so i order a new one.
I put the new solinoid in yesterday cleaning up the contact from the solenoid to the starter.
I got power back but Im still not getting anything to the starter.
I checked the ignition switch, the battery kill switch, the wire from the ignition to the solenoid.
oh this solnoid had an extra small spade connector I use the one closest to the main contact where the power comes in from the battery.

when it stops raining i will go out and try to re run the line from the ignition.

 

[NutmegCT]

Raining? I'm betting your ground wire/strap has finally deteriorated and no longer completes the circuit to your starter.

I had that happen on a 1955 Jaguar, after washing it (and spraying the undercarriage) on a hot, humid day.

 

[JPSmit]

I'm betting two wires backwards - don't ask me why I think that.

 

[Sopwith_Camel]

the starter was dead, i waked it a few times but. no luck. I. found one in the shed fitted the new starter soolinoid then reliesed it was for a jag and had the opening on the wrong side. finaly i pulled the high torque one out of the GT and put that one in. Im hopeing to sell the roadster at an event tomarrow, hence the stress and working in the rain. fine the GT can be dead for a week.

 

[Sopwith_Camel]

moss has brush replacement kit. is that something I could do myself?

 

[YakkoWarner]

I'm not sure how different your 1968 is from my 1970, but mine also has a relay up inside the engine compartment that triggers when you twist the key, just has slide-on spade lugs. If thats not triggering you'll never get power to the solenoid lug on the starter.

 

[Sopwith_Camel]

i havent seen any relays. the pervious owner sent in for restoration in poland, and the wireing harness was a mess when i got it. for exsample the light switch would turn off the car. so there might be some gremlins I didnt find four years ago.

 

[YakkoWarner]

I just poked around with some wiring diagrams - (using the Advanced Autowire diagrams which apparently were originally published by Bentley). Some 1968's apparently did NOT use a relay (diagrams listed 1967-1968 and 1968-1969), the white with red stripe wire goes directly from the key switch to the starter solenoid. On another diagram (listed as 1968-1970) the white with red stripe wire goes to a relay (probably added because of the amount of current draw) which has a different wire (white with brown stripe) running down to trigger the starter.

So 1968 may or may not have a relay - if it does, it would be a square-shaped device a little larger thana Zippo lighter mounted on the right hand side of the engine compartment near the fuses with 3 wires (brown, white with red stripe and white with brown stripe). It grounds to the body of the car through the mounting screws, so if you DO have one, cleaning up those grounds would be where I'd start on troubleshooting.

 

[Sopwith_Camel]

great reesearch ill check in the morning.

 

[JPSmit]

It's also worth noting that you can bypass the solenoid completely and just touch a jumper cable from the battery to the starter. If it starts it's the wiring if not, check the ground strap first (and you can use the other jumper cable as a ground cable) - though in my experience a broken or missing ground cable has the starter move sluggishly rather than not at all.

 

[Sopwith_Camel]

well dont know why that one stopped. i mangage to make a working starter motor from 3 broken ones.